COLUMBIA, S.C. (NBC) – A South Carolina school district is apologizing for what it calls an “inappropriate” writing assignment about slavery.
It happened in the city of Columbia, where a fourth-grade teacher asked their social studies class to write a journal entry describing their day to day lives as a slave or a slave owner.
Ursula Harris’ daughter is in that fourth grade class and brought attention to the assignment.
She says pretending to be a slave is a role she never wants her daughter to play.
“I don’t want my daughter to put that in her mindset to think that her options is if she was a slave or if she was a slave owner because neither one of them is a good option,” Harris said.
According to the school district, the writing prompt was included in a learning packet after schools were closed because of COVID-19.
The superintendent said the assignment was overlooked as teachers were trying to get material out to students quickly.
He also added that officials are working to enhance its review processes ahead of next year because remote learning is still a possibility.
