While some might not agree with President George W. Bush’s policies, most would agree that it isn’t a good idea to ask students to compare him to Adolf Hitler, especially when those kids are only in sixth grade.
However, that’s exactly what one teacher at a Washington D.C. middle school did. The McKinley Middle School teacher asked her students to fill out a Venn Diagram - which features two bubbles overlapped - to compare Bush with Hitler. In the overlapped area, the students would have to write how the Nazi leader and the 43rd President of the U.S. are similar.
A parent found the assignment troubling and brought it up to NBC Washington. The instructions on the paper described the two men as leaders “who abused their powers,” presenting a teacher’s opinion as fact, the parent noted.
According to Washington City Paper, DC Public Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson took to Twitter last night to send a quick apology. “No DCPS curriculum says to make these comparisons in any way. A deeply apologetic teacher used poor judgment & will apologize to students,” she wrote.
Henderson later sent a more formal apology to local media outlets.
“The teacher deeply regrets this mistake, and any suggestion to malign the presidency or make any comparison in this egregious way,” the statement released by DCPS spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz reads. “The teacher admits to extremely poor judgment and short sightedness and will apologize to students. The school will also send a letter home to families explaining the incident and offering to address any additional questions should they arise.”
Of course, the apology didn’t stop the Venn Diagram form from hitting Twitter and going viral.
image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com