Last Updated on: 12th March 2014, 11:57 am
Who thoughtthiswould be a fine idea for a school project? Better yet, who thought it would be a fine idea to assign it to kids in grade 4?
The assignment for the Grade 4 students at École Mont-Carmel in Ste-Marie-de-Kent was based on the notion that the planet was about to explode.
The students had three spaces in a rocket ship and they had to decide which person they would save among the following: an Acadian francophone, a Chinese person, a black African, an English person and an aboriginal person.
The assignment also included images representing each of the different ethnic groups that they could choose to save.
“Then the exercise goes on with ludicrous questions like, ‘Was it a difficult decision and how do you think the other people would feel?'” she said.
the she in question is Laura Maillet, one of the people who rightfully complained.
Before the hammer was ultimately dropped on this thing, school principal Bernice Ryan actually tried to defend it. No, seriously.
Bernice Ryan, the principal of École Mont-Carmel, said she has listened to Lomax’s concerns, but feels the exercise is a good one, as it is intended to show the students how to be respectful to all groups.
“Children would say, ‘Well, we don’t want to make any decision so we kept everyone here on the planet.’ Or some of the students would say, ‘Well, we’ve chosen to keep the three main ethnical groups in our community, which is English, French and Amerindian, because of being able to communicate,'” she said.
Respectful to all groups…aside from the one you’re forcing kids to maroon on the exploding planet. You can’t honestly expect anybody to swallow that crap about kids keeping everybody can you? Wouldn’t that make the whole assignment pointless?
By the way, is ethnical even a word? If it is I’ve certainly never heard it.
I wouldn’t wish the job of New Brunswick Education Minister on anybody right about now. This is the second time this year that poor Kelly Lamrock has had to reverse a dumb decision made by people under his watch. if you recall, New Brunswick is the province where another elementary school principal tried toban the singing of the national anthem.I’m honestly worried about the state of the education system there, but at least in a few years when the place is full of messed up teens and adults, it won’t be a mystery as to why.
