From the “you can’t make this up” files: Slaves were included as goods to be traded and sold as part of a class assignment at a St. Louis elementary school last week, according to the superintendent of the Mehlville School District.
Facebook user Lee Hart posted a photo of the assignment Sunday on the social media site with this caption: “A friend of mine’s child brought this home from Blades Elementary School, 5th grade. It is so wrong on so many levels🤬What do you think the plan of action should be? This was supposedly a westward expansion lesson. Some were given food, wood, water, and...slaves!!!!!!!!!!!”
Stated in the assignment: "You own a plantation or farm and therefore need more workers, You begin to get more involved in the slave trade industry and have slaves work on your farm. Your product to trade is slaves. Set your price for a slave. _____________________________ These could be worth a lot. You may trade for any items you'd like." And that’s only part of the assignment.
On the last page of the worksheet, which was entitled "Reflection," students were asked to answer questions about how they had priced their “goods,” according to Riverfront Times, which obtained a copy of the assignment. "Think about the types of items you have and how much money you have leftover," the worksheet’s creator instructed. "Do you think the free market economy is good to be a part of? Do you think allowing people to set their own prices and buy and sell freely is a good economy? Why or why not?"
A district spokesperson told Riverfront Times in an email that the teacher who created the assignment has been placed on administrative leave.
Mehlville School District Superintendent Chris Gaines apologized for the assignment in a statement he shared Tuesday on Twitter. "Students traded and sold goods during this classroom activity,” Gaines said. “Unfortunately, slaves were included as goods to be sold."
He added that “asking a student to participate in a simulated activity that puts a price on a person is not acceptable” and that “racism of any kind, even inadvertently stemming from cultural bias, is wrong and is not who we aspire to be as a school district." "I am sorry and disappointed that this happened in our school," Gaines said. "We will be devoting significant time and resources to train our staff on issues related to cultural competency, implicit bias and equity."