Elementary school students asked about slavery, number of beatings in math homework

ATLANTA -  An Atlanta parent was shocked after his 8-year-old son brought a math worksheet home that referenced slavery and beatings in the mathematical equations multiple times, ABC News reports .

Christopher Braxton, whose son attends Beaver Ridge Elementary, couldn’t believe his eyes.

One math problem read, “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”

 “Do you see what I see? Do you really see what I see? He’s not answering this question,” Braxton said.

Another question asked, "Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”

Braxton said these sorts of issues shouldn’t be posed to elementary-aged children.  To his dismay, he says now he has to explain why slaves, slavery and beatings are in math problems.

A representative of Gwinnet County School Board said the teachers were trying to accomplish “cross-curricular activity” by putting social studies elements into math problems.

“We understand that there are concerns about these questions, and we agree that these questions were not appropriate,” School rep Sloan Roach said.

For Braxton, the incident just confirms that there are still racists.