5th-grade health teacher hands out 'deeply inappropriate' assignment to students

Thursday, September 14, 2023
PLAINVIEW, Long Island (WABC) -- A middle school teacher on Long Island has been pulled from the classroom after handing out a controversial assignment to fifth-grade health students.

The assignment was given to students at Howard Mattlin Middle School on September 11th by teacher and track coach Mandy Bieder.
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The students were asked who they would allow into a fallout shelter in the event of a nuclear attack and were given 10 options to chose from.

The choices included:

1.) A 16-year-old pregnant girl
2.) A police officer with multiple charges of brutality pending against him, he has his gun
3.) A 38-year-old retired prostitute
4.) A 75-year-old priest
5.) A 35-year-old sterile female doctor
6.) & 7.) A husband and wife. They refuse to be separated. He is a lawyer. She is an alcoholic.
8.) A 31-year-old homosexual architect
9.) A 50-year-old musician, previously addicted to cocaine
10.) A 28-year-old drifter with no apparent skills

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In a letter to the families of the students on Tuesday, the principal said they have launched a full investigation into the "deeply inappropriate assignment" which includes the Central Office Administration and a substitute teacher will be provided until the investigation is complete.
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"Our school, and our District as a whole, do not approve nor support assignments that are age-inappropriate, out of alignment with the curriculum, and fall outside of New York State standards," Principal Dr. Joseph Coladonato said in a statement. "This assignment violated all of these criteria, and has no place in our classrooms. We condemn this type of material in the strongest possible terms."

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