This school asked students if they’d rather live next to a black person, a teenage parent or a gay man
A school has come under fire for a controversial worksheet, which asked its students to rank whether who they’d like most as a neighbour: a black person, a teenage parent, or a gay man.
Bristol Free School received complaints from parents after their children told them about the exercise.
Parent Naomi Davis told the BBC her 11-year-old daughter Chayse had shown her a photo of the sheet.
Chayse had said she wanted “to show you something and I don’t think it’s going to make you happy.”
The worksheet showed a list of people and asked students to rank who they’d rather live next-door to.
As well as a black person, a teenage parent or a gay man, it included a vegetarian, someone with a learning difficulty, a hoody [sic] wearer and a guitarist in a band.
The school said the worksheet was part of citizenship lesson, “aimed at heightening students’ understanding of the advantages of living in a diverse and inclusive society.”
Davis said that although the intention of the activity had been positive, it had had the “reverse effect.”
However, she praised the school’s speedy and apologetic reaction.
They said they would “review the materials as a result of her concerns.”
They also told Davis that they would be working with black, Asian and other ethnic minority parents to improve their in-class activities.
On the opposite side, a mother in Atlanta, US, pulled her 12-year-old child out of school because it taught her LGBT terms.
A boarding school in Surrey was also criticised for expanding its trans-inclusivity policy.
However, California earlier this month became the first state to approve LGBT-inclusive history books for primary schools.
