Parents outraged by school homework question on slavery

A school homework question about slavery has left parents seeing red.

Students in Year 11 at Hazeley Academy in Milton Keynes, UK, were asked in their homework to list the “pros and cons of slavery”.

It was part of a history subject but has left parents fuming, the question slammed as “racist, inappropriate and offensive”.

Sabrina Aries is a mother of a student at the school and immediately complained to the headmaster, and while she received an apology, she said students are yet to be addressed about the homework.

Weeks after the incident that is now her main concern, as she revealed the school’s “majority white staff” have been called out before.

“I don’t feel that, individually, any of those teachers meant to cause offence. But I also think that, as a majority white staff, they do not consider history from any other perspective,” Sabrina told Huffington Post UK.

“To me, if they re-educate the children appropriately then I don’t have an issue with the fact that there was a mistake made.

“The fact that the mistake has not been rectified is an issue to me. This is an ongoing problem that I have with this school,” she said.

The homework question was derived from a “Britain: migration, empires and people” study module, where students are asked to examine the reasons why the British Empire pursued the transatlantic slave trade instead of piracy, reports the Huffington Post UK.

Screenshots of the homework were shared on Facebook, including by Paul Lawrence of The 100 Black Men of London, a community-based mentorship organisation.

He saw Sabrina’s post and shared it to show his support.

The school’s principal Tony Nelson said in a statement that teachers stress throughout the lessons on this topic that “we do not see this as a positive part of history”.

“In no way are we trying to encourage, celebrate or praise slavery and therefore we have amended the language in this homework,” he told the publication.

“Instead of ‘pros and cons’ mentioned, we have adjusted this to ‘Reasons why Britain chose to develop plantations’ and ‘Why slavery shouldn’t exist’.”

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