Parents Outraged After Teacher Allegedly Has Students Pick Cotton in History Lesson
A North Carolina mother demands accountability after claiming her child’s middle school teacher instructed students to pick cotton during a history lesson. The activity, which took place at Westwood Academy, was allegedly meant to demonstrate the invention of the cotton gin. Still, for some families, it felt more like a reenactment of slavery than a history class.
The incident has sparked community backlash, with critics arguing the assignment was culturally insensitive and failed to consider the painful historical context of forced cotton picking in America. While the school says the lesson focused on the Industrial Revolution, concerned parents and local leaders are calling for increased oversight and cultural competency training for educators to prevent future missteps in the classroom.
“I was very scared because I didn’t know how my child was feeling on the inside and how this would affect my child long-term,” the mother said, according to ABC-13. “There were so many other examples and things that you could have used than to actually bring a physical plant and have a child reenact picking cotton.”
The seventh-grade teacher reportedly aimed to teach social studies students at Porter Ridge Middle School about the cotton gin. This tool had a massive economic impact during the Industrial Revolution.
A Union County Public Schools spokesperson explained that the school is aware of the incident and largely defended the teachers’ actions.
“Union County Public Schools is aware of the seventh-grade social studies assignment that took place at Porter Ridge Middle,” a statement read. “There were no references to race or slavery during this assignment. The focus was on inventions and how the cotton gin helped with productivity during this time in history.”
The student’s mother said she should have been informed of the lesson before it was taught.
“Think before you do, because this could have really negatively affected a child and unfortunately the parents weren’t made aware to try and stop that from happening," she said.
