Mom slams 'crazy' question on teen daughter's school history assignment: 'I fear for the kids'
- Mom Olivia Gray shared a photo of the World History assignment to Facebook
- The prompt was titled 'How did the world start?' and was for a 'research paper'
- READ MORE: Parents furious over 'infuriating' detail in child's English homework
A mom of a high school student was left flabbergasted by a homework assignment for her teen daughter's world history class that included the prompt: 'Is God real?'
Olivia Gray, of Oklahoma, took to Facebook to share a screengrab of the assignment, which was titled: 'How did the world start?'
The prompt also encompassed the questions: 'Who started it [the world]?'; 'When did evil start or did it always exist?'; 'Are people inherently good or evil or neither?'; 'What is morality?'; 'What is religion?'; 'What is Christianity?'; 'What does it mean to be a Christian?'; and 'Is Satan real?'
'This is one of Nettie's assignments for World History class,' the mom explained in the post.
Oklahoma mom Olivia Gray shared a screengrab of her teen daughter's assignment for high school sophomore-level World History
'This is some crazy s**t overall and also on a technical level. Literally the kid had been in school ONE WEEK,' Olivia fumed in a Facebook post
'It's being called a research paper. This is some crazy s**t overall and also on a technical level. Literally the kid had been in school ONE WEEK.'
The essay prompt also specified that students provide sources using APA style, include a 'works cited' page, and format the assignment in 12-point Tahoma font with one-inch margins.
OIivia further clarified that her daughter, Nettie, is beginning her sophomore year at Skiatook High School in the greater Tulsa metropolitan area.
'Being framed as a research paper and they're asking for opinions. And why are they asking for opinions, unless it's to single people out?' the mom told local news station 2 News KJRH.
Olivia added: '[I] fear for the kids that go to school here that belong to a different faith.'
Nettie also expressed fear she'd get a 'lower grade' if she didn't give her teacher the answers 'he wanted to hear,' she told the news station.
She added that her peers with different World History teachers hadn't received the same assignment.
Hundreds took to the comments of the Olivia's post, many lambasting the rationale of handing out such an explicitly Christianity-coded homework assignment in a World History class in the context of a secular public school.
Commenters on Olivia's post expressed alarm about the ideological implications of the assignment in the context of a public school
'So now she is being FORCED to spill her personal beliefs and will be graded on such????' one aghast commenter wrote.
'Eeeeeeek!!! Talk about indoctrination!' a second echoed.
'This assignment is wrong on more than ten levels,' a third chimed in.
'Surprised this is public school. Belongs in church,' a fourth added.
The controversy comes months after Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters issued a directive stating that the Bible must be taught insofar as it's relevant for 'historical context of this country' from grades five through 12, effective at the top of the 2024-25 school year.
After being contacted by 2 News KJRH, Skiatook Public Schools released a statement on the assignment.
'Skiatook Public Schools became aware of the World History assignment in question through a social media post. Once administration reviewed the assignment, it was determined that the presentation of the material was not conducive to our instructional plan,' the statement read.
'Administration and staff will continue to collaborate on best practices to meet the Oklahoma Academic Standards. Skiatook Public Schools encourages parents concerned about any assignment to contact the site administrator.'
