Education

Alabama Teacher Suspended After Ferguson Re-Enactment

By Stephen Sawchuk — August 22, 2014 1 min read
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The recent shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. by a white police officer offers a “teachable moment” about race relations, civil rights, and equality in the United States. But an Alabama teacher who permitted students to re-enact the encounter may have gone too far.

The Selma Times Journal reports that the unnamed middle school teacher, as part of a current-events unit, asked students to research and re-enact two current events. They chose the Brown shooting and the 2013 shooting of Florida teenager Travyon Martin, and the teacher apparently did not intervene.

Brown’s killing has given way to protests and investigations of police activity in Ferguson. The acquittal of second-degree murder charges of Martin’s assailant, George Zimmerman, polarized the nation last year.

A Selma parent complained about the unit on Facebook, prompting an investigation.

The Alabama teacher was put on an unpaid suspension but could be back in the classroom soon, the newspaper reported.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Teacher Beat blog.