Persuasive writing is a skill that must be honed and schools have done an excellent job in many parts of the country to teach kids how to effectively perfect this type of communication. From arguing about the benefits of free Wi-Fi to death penalty debates, the topics are endless and sometimes heated. But a teacher in Wisconsin took persuasive writing to a whole new, and offensive, level.
An unnamed charter school teacher asked her students to write an essay defending the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, you read that right.
In the letter home to parents, the teacher explained that the goal was to teach the 7th graders how to write persuasively. Parents were outraged, rightfully so, and the school promptly withdrew the assignment.
BBC reports that a letter from the school, Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM), stated that the "paper will be a persuasive paper defending Klan members on trial" which was somehow connected to their recent viewing of To Kill a Mockingbird.
The teacher has been removed after assigning this essay.
BEAM released this statement:
"BEAM feels that the objective of teaching students how to write persuasively is important," the school said in a statement on its website. However, we feel that the choice of topic is inappropriate for a 7th grade class. A new topic will be selected for the assignment."
Gosh, you think? Post Trump election I guess anything is ok. KKK, alt-Right, Neo-Nazi. Next assignment - is lynching ok? What could Hitler have done better? Were the slaves really treated that badly?
