With so much concern in society about violence, it is a very troubling lesson. Especially when that lesson comes from an elementary school.
"I trust the teacher to teach my kids work, like actual knowledgeable things," mom Takiema Reynolds said. "Not about guns and not about robbing."
The kindergarten homework assignment was on initial sounds, but two of the examples used on the sheet are eye catching. The first is the word "gun," with a picture of a gun, while the second is the word "rob," with a picture of a bandit carrying a weapon and a bag of cash.
"When they start bringing guns to school and going 'pow, pow,' in class, you'll want to know why," Reynolds said. "You're teaching them and showing them that it's okay to have guns and know about robbery, when it's not."
This is not what Reyonlds her daughter Amanda to bring home from school, so she went to PS 201 and spoke to the teacher who handed out the worksheet.
"When I spoke to the teacher, she was like, "oh, I'm so sorry. I apologize. I apologize. I didn't know. I got it from the Board of Education book,'" Reynolds said.
But the New York City Department of Education released a statement saying, "The teacher used a worksheet that is no part of the PS201Q's curriculum. The teacher apologized. The principal will monitor the homework assignments so this will not happen again."
Most parents were unaware that the assignment had been handed out to a whole classroom of kindergartners. When they found out, they were puzzled and perplexed.
"I don't think it's proper," one father said. "You know, we're humans. Some times we make errors."
Amanda's parents are hopeful that an assignment like this never comes home again.
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