A middle school music teacher in Georgia has been suspended for assigning her students homework that contained vulgar lyrics.
The homework was assigned to children at Bethune Middle School, De Kalb County, in Georgia and included racial slurs, violence, and sexually suggestive language, according to WSB TV.
Parent Crishana Wright was shocked when she saw the printed homework assignment that her sixth-grade daughter brought home.
“It was really against everything I try to teach them [the children],” she said to the news outlet.
The students were instructed by their teacher, Bonnecia Williams, to change the vulgar words into positive lyrics.
De Kalb county school district’s Superintendent said in a statement that the assignment was “inappropriate” and “unacceptable.” He continued: “While we encourage teacher creativity, the expectation is that the instruction is always standards-based and age appropriate.”
Williams was suspended and has since issued an apology, WSB-TV reported. She said in a letter that she “failed miserably” and that she “should have used better judgement.” She also accepted full responsibility for her actions.
“I think we all kind of know when it may be a problem, then if that’s the case don’t take the chance,” Wright told WSB TV.
The explicit lyrics for the assignment were taken from Kodak Black’s song “Drowning”. The rapper had to cancel concerts earlier this year after he was jailed for violating the terms of his house arrest and probation, three months after serving time for drug and sexual misconduct charges, TMZ reported.
“I hate that she is no longer there, or whatever the case may be, but you’re dealing with children’s minds and you have to be cautious,” Wright said.
Minus the vulgar content, incorporating rap at school has been successfully used help children learn, as shown by teacher Erica Buddington earlier this year.
Buddington, who teaches at Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter Academy, changed the lyrics for the rap song “Bodak yellow” by Cardi B, to help them learn geography according to the USA Today network, All the Moms.
She tweeted a video of her student writing what he learnt while others rapped in the background.
Buddington also posted a video of the rap writing “Rapped a map version of #BodakYellow for my babies today.”
