A teacher at a BASIS charter school shamed a black student by teaching a lesson about the civil rights movement by inviting the class to isolate him.
BASIS is known for its high test scores and its exclusionary practices.
“A Phoenix mother says her 9-year-old son was forced to walk through his class as his teacher and fellow students yelled at, humiliated and berated him during a lesson on school segregation.
“Claudia Rodriguez posted on Facebook that a third-grade teacher at BASIS Phoenix Central singled out her son, who is black, as the class was learning about the civil-rights movement.
“The Head of School had the nerve to tell me that there was some educational value in this incident because it started conversations in the homes of the other kids,” Rodriguez wrote. “I felt the need to speak up so that no other child ever has to feel what my son felt.””
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
WOW
Wow this brings back awful memories. I guarantee you, the damage done here is not just to the Rodriguez child but to every child in the class.
I was also 9 y.o. during a similar incident, back in a rural ‘50’s combined 5th-6th grade classroom. There was a pair of students—a 6th-gr boy and a 5th-gr girl—who for some weeks masterminded class feuds by secretly targeting individuals and whipping up sentiment against them through gossip and intimidation. Eventually fights broke out at recess, and our teacher got to the bottom of it. Although that period was horrible, leaving me with daily stomaches, the teacher’s chosen remedy was worse.
She conducted what can only be described as an open-class kangaroo court, requiring the perpetrators to stand up front for hours while she solicited our testimony against them, finally berating them roundly in her “summation” & extracting lengthy tearful apologies. I expect all of us were as emotionally devastated as I was. My revered and respected teacher’s “justice” made me feel I had participated in torture. I was filled with such shame I could barely share it with my mother after much gentle persuation.
That lady was a terrific and wise teacher; her perfidy was profoundly confusing. Some years later she had a nervous breakdown and left teaching; I realized she might have been experiencing the beginnings of mental illness. The incident described in this post deserves a swift firing by the adults concerned before they perpetrate any more psychological damage on the children in their care.
When my elementary ELLs were learning about civil rights and government, I divided the class into the three branches of government. The legislature decided that “blue eyed” people should not be able to drink from the same water fountain as brown eyed people. Of course, I was the only blue eyed person in the class much to their delight. They passed the law, and it was signed by the president. The law was then challenged in the court where it was overturned for being discriminatory. They learned a lot about how government operates, and, of course, they argued in English without any name calling or anyone being marginalized, except me. They introduced other laws as well which opened up a lot of discussion about fairness, civil rights and laws. It was a great thinking and language experience for them.
retired teacher: Sounds wonderful and just the type of thing all students should be learning. You did a good job!
Left me speechless. Some people should not be around kids.
Here’s more and true.
A person (over 80) who hates kids is a temporary grader of short answer responses for Pearson. She can’t hold down a long-term job. She’s been banned from certain restaurants and fired from jobs. She’s frightening.
This person holds kids and teachers lives in her hands with a rubric by her side while she grades those exams. And this person considers herself to be a liberal. Huh?
Right NOW in Longmont, temporary graders are working. It’s sickening.
https://www.appone.com/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=129579&B_ID=19&fid=1&Adid=
JOB DESCRIPTION:
After in-depth training with our content experts, qualified Test Evaluators will evaluate open-ended student responses to elementary and secondary test questions in their assigned subject, and assign scores according to prescribed standards. Paid Training is provided.
All work is performed at our client’s site in Longmont (3 miles west of I-25 off Hwy 119.)
BENEFITS:
Pay: $13.50/hr with the possibility of earning up to $15.50/hour when meeting our client’s performance bonus criteria.
Casual Dress
Great work environment
Paid Training
Potential promotional opportunities for high-performing Test Evaluators
Eligible to work at other Kelly Services customer locations after the project ends.
Same ads are in Cincinnati, but next to the recruiting ad for test scorers was an ad for a job mowing grass and picking up trash for $18 hr starting pay and evidence of finishing high school. That was the maximum pay of test scoring and you had to have a four year degree and no demerits.
Is it April 1 again so soon? This has to be a joke. In poor taste, of course.
I could see a similar role play taking place in a Senior social studies class using, say, a purple hat, as the exclusion piece not race. Doing it several times, leading into discussion. But Third grade? People forget that third graders are still Early childhood and should not be treated as little adults. They don’t have the emotional maturity to understand this kind of role-play.
Charter schools ! Yay high test scores .. teachers are not highly qualified like public schools require them to be .. charter schools .. all teachers have to have some degree not necessarily teaching