Rochester Teacher On Leave After Making Students Pick Cotton For Lesson On Slavery

A teacher in Rochester New York has been placed on administrative leave after instructing his class of seventh-grade students to pick cotton seeds and put on handcuffs during lessons on slavery.

On Thursday the Rochester City School District said an investigation was underway into the matter in which a white teacher told his class of mostly Black students to pick out cotton seeds during a lesson on slavery and how cotton was processed.

News of the lesson went viral on Tuesday after Precious Tross, a mother of a student at the School of the Arts, shared a Facebook photo of the pieces of cotton her daughter was given in class. The post has since been shared over 500 times.

“I don’t have a problem with you teaching our kids about slavery, and what our ancestors went through, and how they had to deal with that,” Tross said.

“Our teachers back in the day told us that, but they don’t bring cotton and make you pick cotton seeds out of cotton. And you got the audacity to put the instructions on the board for them.”

The Rochester Teachers Association President, Adam Urbanski, acknowledged that the incident involved a member of the union but revealed the organization wouldn’t jump to conclusions amid the ongoing investigation.

“While we believe very strongly in due process and the right to an existing lawful protocol, we do not defend the indefensible,” Urbanski said.

“If someone departs from what they should be doing, they should suffer the consequences, but due process has to be allowed first.”

This isn’t the first time the teacher has used controversial methods. For a different lesson on slavery, the instructor reportedly brought in handcuffs and shackles.

Tross claimed the teacher then threatened to have her daughter reprimanded by the school counselor or the principal if she didn’t put them on.

Kelly Nicastro, principal at the School of the Arts, sent out a letter to parents in which she stated that school leaders “take these allegations very seriously.” School officials have not identified the teacher.

Parents are now calling for the teacher to be fired and for his education license to be revoked.