According to reports, Parklands College in Cape Town took criticism after a grade 7 Transatlantic Slave Trade assignment was posted on social media on Monday.
The assignment and the school’s subsequent apology raised a lot of questions and many parents took to the school’s Facebook page to express their disapproval.
The assignment read:
Fun Activity
Advertisements were placed in newspapers to advertise the slave auction that would be taking place.
You will create an advertisement regarding a slave trade auction that will be taking place, on Friday, 24 April 1835. You will have 30 minutes to create the advert and have it posted in the assignment link shared on Google class today.
The person with the best advertisement will get a Cadbury slab of chocolate when we get back to school.
The apology
The school has issued an apology to the parents and students and has removed the slide, while the teacher has apologised “for not thinking this through”.
Sylvia Steyn, Secondary Faculty principal said: “The activity was intended to establish awareness of the slave trade and the manner in which the slaves were treated, as well as to teach the learners about using resources. However, we acknowledge that the activity should have been worded differently.”
The principal added that the educator would be required to undergo re-education on equality, diversity, and inclusion before returning to a classroom.
“We acknowledge that what happened must never be allowed to happen again. We acknowledge the need for constructive engagement and invite correspondence in this regard,” she said.
