A Washington, D.C., schoolteacher will apologize after assigning students homework that prompted them to compare Adolf Hitler and former President George W. Bush using a Venn diagram.
A parent of one of the sixth-graders
told NBC Washington that the assignment presented the teacher's opinions as fact, which is unethical. Others said it was insensitive to the millions of Jews murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust.
"I think trying to compare Adolf Hitler to an American president is just not right," one parent
told The Washington Times. "I didn't agree with Mr. Bush or his policies, but that was over the line."
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Images of the assignment, reportedly assigned during a "War and Peace" unit, were passed around on Twitter, and show that the McKinley Middle School teacher intended to form a deep connection in the students' minds between the two figures.
"Now that we have read about two men of power who abused their power in various ways, we will compare and contrast them and their actions. Please refer to your texts, "Fighting Hitler — A Holocaust Story" and "Bush: Iraq War Justified Despite No WMD" ... We will use this in class tomorrow for an activity!" read the homework assignment.
On Wednesday night, D.C. Public Schools superintendent Kaya Henderson tweeted out an apology, denying reports that such an assignment falls under DCPS curriculum.
DCPS itself also issued a statement of apology.
"No DCPS curriculum materials suggest in any way that teachers should compare the texts in this manner or compare Hitler to any other individual. One text, 'Fighting Hitler — A Holocaust Story' is part of the current suggested materials. The text about President Bush is not suggested as part of the current year's curriculum, but was included last year in a separate unit," read part of the statement.
"The teacher admits to extremely poor judgment and short sightedness and will apologize to students. The school will also send a letter home to families explaining the incident and offering to address any additional questions should they arise."
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