Murray (Utah): A fourth-grader is now setting a trend in studies after finding a rude question in her homework. She not only refused to answer the question but also explained to her parents and to her teacher the reason for her actions. Seeing the child’s bold stance, the teacher accepted her concern and the curators of the study materials have decided to revise their material and remove the offensive question.
Rhythm Pacheco, a fourth-grader in Grant Elementary school, Murray, Utah, was quite surprised to find a math question in her homework asking her to compare the bodyweight of three girl students and tell the difference in weight between that heaviest and lightest girls.
Circling the Question, she wrote “What!!!”, and below the question, she apologized to her teacher for not answering the question saying, “This is offensive. Sorry I won’t right [write] this it’s rood [rude].” She also penned a separate note to her teacher saying that it is ‘not nice’ to judge people’s weight and that she has not answered the question for the same reason.
“Dear Mrs. Shaw, I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t think that math problem was very nice because that’s judging people’s weight. Also, the reason I did not do the sentence is cause I just don’t think that’s nice. -Love Rhythm,” the child wrote.
Her parents were extremely proud of her for “listening to her gut instincts and standing up for what is right” and her teacher, Shaw was responsive and handled the situation with care. Shaw explained that she understood and that Rhythm didn’t have to write the answer.
After her parents shared the question and Rhythm’s response on social media, netizens appreciated her stand taken by Rhythm and also hit out at the publishers who had set the questions. Rhythm’s mother, Naomi said that she found it an “irresponsible way to teach children how to do math”.
Eureka Math, the curator of the educational materials supplied to the schools in the district, responded to the incident in a statement.
“User feedback is a vital part of our culture; we are grateful to receive constructive feedback from students, teachers, and parents alike,” their statement read. “We apologize for any discomfort or offense caused by the question. Please know that we will replace this question in all future reprints, and suggest that teachers supply students with an appropriate replacement question in the interim,” it added.
The teachers in the district have been asked to use a substitute question in its place until revised reprints are received.
