(The Lion) — A Massachusetts public high school math assignment recently asked students how they “believe systemic racism” leads to higher incarceration rates for black Americans.
The assignment for students in multiple ninth-grade classes at Newton South High School included a chart showing the percentage of U.S. males likely to go to prison by race and age, Parents Defending Education (PDE) reports.
The assignment asked students to interpret a chart showing the likelihood of U.S. males going to prison, broken down by race and age, with the data showing white men having a lower incarceration rate than Hispanics and blacks.
One question asked for the median age at which Hispanic men are first incarcerated. Another asked why the first-time incarceration rate for white men remained flat between ages 60 and 70; the answer, according to the data, is that white men in that age range are rarely incarcerated for the first time in their 60s.
Additionally, it asked students to “Explain how you believe systematic racism creates the data displayed by the above time plot (Compare your answers to the group before moving on.)”
Such a “racism” math quiz adds up to indoctrination, Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for Defending Education, told Townhall.
“Newton Schools work hard to ensure that their captive audience of students uncritically adopts their preferred world view – even in math class,” she said. “What happens if a student doesn’t believe in structural racism? Do they fail 9th grade math?”
It’s not the first time Newton South has been the subject of controversy. Last December, the school’s Gender and Sexual Awareness Club and Gender Equity Club held an LGBTQ+ Awareness Day during school hours, as The Lion previously reported.
The school had teachers sign entire classes up to attend various LGBTQ-related events in the school’s lecture hall. Events included a panel discussion among LGBTQ-identifying students and teachers, “Queer Jeopardy,” something titled “How to Converse: A Guide to Respectful Curiosity” and another titled “The History of Queer Media.”
The school described participation in these LGBTQ-related events as optional for students.
“Students who may not be ready to engage with this material can be dismissed to canceled class in the auditorium,” the school’s announcement said.
Parents Defending Education took issue with that phrasing.
“The implication is that if a student does not want to participate it is because they ‘aren’t ready to engage with this material,’” the organization wrote.
Newton is a city of about 90,000 that shares a border with Boston. Its other public high school also promotes LGBTQ themes. Newton North High School has a sign in its nurse’s office reminding students they can have the school nurses hide their transgender identity from their parents.
“This office is a safe space,” the sign reads, according to PDE. “Please make nurses aware of preferred names/pronouns. Let us know if you would like us to use alternative names/pronouns to your preferred ones when calling home.”
