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'Pro-Derek Chauvin' assignment in Pennsylvania high school triggers outrage: 'Teacher manipulating students'

Students were asked how to differentiate between a police officer who is 'basically a jerk' and one who is racist

An assignment in a Pennsylvania high school that required students to answer to questions about former police officer Derek Chauvin's trial has prompted accusations of bias against George Floyd.

Students in a criminal justice class at Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, were asked to answer ten questions about Chauvin's trial, in which a jury found him guilty on all charges in the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis. Chauvin was accused of kneeling on Floyd's throat for over nine and a half minutes, which took the man's life. A jury found Chauvin guilty of all charges last week.

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'Why is Chauvin considered breaking the law?'

Tim, a parent, who did not want to divulge his last name to preserve his family's privacy, said he got a text about the assignment, according to ABC affiliate WPVI in Philadelphia. The news outlet revealed the first two of the questions on the assignment were as follows:

1. "It is said that the death of George Floyd was due to the amount of drugs in his system that then affected his heart. The cop Derek Chauvin aggravated the issue by putting a knee on Floyd's neck. Should Chauvin have been charged with murder if he did not directly kill him? Why or Why not. Must explain in at least 5 sentences."

2. "Chauvin did not follow protocol and had a knee on Floyd's neck for way longer than necessary. Floyd was resisting arrest, so why is Chauvin still considered breaking the law through negligence? Explain. If you don't know what negligence is then look up the word."

Racist vs 'basically a jerk'

Among other questions, pupils were allegedly asked how they would tell the difference between a police officer who is "basically a jerk" and one who is racist. "Think about it practically," the question added. A number of students were upset by the assignment, and parents expressed their displeasure with the questions, which they felt were skewed in favour of Chauvin, reported ABC News.

"You can't discuss something that's so fresh. And then you don't have facts in there, you just want people to answer your opinion," Tim told WPVI. "It was just questions about the teacher's opinions," the student's stepmother said. "This teacher has placed her political views in the classroom and she is manipulating her students with it," said Kimberly Jones, one of the student's relatives.

The student sent a response to the test to his teacher. Her family read an excerpt from the letter to Action news. "I feel as if the questions asked are highly insensitive. I am uncomfortable reading let alone answering the questions provided," the message read.

'Sorry you feel that way. Guess you'll take a zero'

The teacher, in response to the message, said: "I'm sorry you feel this way. It was just an assignment to have you critically think from all perspectives. I understand if you do not wish to complete the assignment and would rather take the 0."

"The teacher came back with a response, 'I'm sorry you feel that way. I guess you'll take a zero.' That's when I stepped in," said Tim.

The student's family, on the other hand, stated that failing the assignment was not an option. They demanded that the task be removed or at the very least reworded. But after several calls to the school went unanswered, the family decided to post the assignment on social media. They said they couldn't get into the class on PowerSchool, which allows parents and students to look at assignments and grades, WPVI reported. After the post started grabbing eyeballs, the principal called the family and talked about rectifying the situation, and asked them to take it down, which the family declined to do.

Apology statement 'is false'

"Some of the prompts are clearly written from a pro-Derek Chauvin perspective, others are not," said University of Pennsylvania political science professor Dr Rogers Smith to Action News. 

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which oversseas teh school, in a statement said a handful of families got in touch with the school to voice concerns about the assignment, Fox News reported. "School administration immediately communicated with those families after reviewing the assignment in question to apologize and discuss a plan of action moving forward to address the concerns," the statement read. "Those families with whom school administration was in contact expressed that they were pleased with the planned resolution," it stated.

But Tim said he has not received an apology. "They never reworded anything (in the assignment)," Tim said to WPVI. "I haven't seen anything that was reworded. They haven't talked to me about anything else since then. So that statement is completely false."

The school is set to close permanently effective at the end of the 2020-21 school year, reported Fox News, as part of a restructuring by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.