Teachers being adventurous and occasionally adding new things to the curriculum often leads to more well-rounded students. But there’s a line you just don’t cross. And a language arts teacher for a group of 8th graders at Burns Middle School left that line miles behind with a recent quiz she handed out.

The 10-question quiz included questions about prostitutes, narcotics and gang violence and has caused quite a frenzy among students, parents and school officials. According to Huffington Post, the teacher has now been placed on administrative leave.

Some of the questions were as follows:

  • Leroy has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an 8 ball to Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what is the street value of the rest of his hold?
  • Dwayne pimps 3 ho’s. If the price is $85 per trick, how many tricks per day must each ho turn to support Dwayne’s $500 per day crack habit?
  • Marvin steals Juan’s skate board. As Marvin skates away at 15mph, Juan loads his 357 magnum. If it takes Juan 20 seconds to load his piece, how far away will Marvin be when he gets whacked.

If your jaw just dropped, you’re not alone. When one of the students saw the quiz, he took a picture of it and sent it to his mother, Erica Hall, according to FOX10.

“They took it as a joke, and she told them that it wasn’t it a joke, and they had to complete it, and turn it in,” Hall said.

“She’s been there for a while,” she continued. “My son says this is actually her last year. She’s retiring.”

Teachers are human just like the rest of us. When you’re halfway out the door, you’re more willing to try some things because you no longer fear the consequences. But giving out a quiz about parts of the street life that a group of 8th graders [hopefully] don’t know much about isn’t the right move. Not only that, it suggests that these young kids of color can’t relate to math and science questions that aren’t about gang and street life.

The quiz has reportedly been around since as early as the 1980’s and has circulated around since then. But, as we’ve learned in many cases, things being around for a long time doesn’t necessarily make them okay. [Were looking at you, Confederate flag sympathizers.]

“A parent came and talked to the principal today over some concerns that the exercise was given out in class,” MCPSS spokeswoman Rena Philips told The Lagniappe. “The principal checked it out, and then we investigated it further.”

Photo Credit: WALA-TV Screenshot