Mill Middle School: RACIST assignment that called Mexicans ugly was also given 3 years ago!
A middle school from Upstate New York has come under fire after they gave sixth-graders a racist homework assignment, where the students were instructed to translate the phrase "You are Mexican and ugly" into Spanish. The shocking assignment was given at Mill Middle School in Buffalo, NY, a part of the Williamsville Central School District. The sixth-grade assignment asked students to translate a few sentences from English to Spanish, some of which raised alarm for being unabashedly racist.
"You (friendly) are Mexican and ugly," read one of the sentences, while another read, "You (politely) are pretty and American." Parents of the students were shocked to come across the worksheet and took to social media to criticize the school. Later, administrators at the Williamsville Central School issued an apology to the students and their parents for this alarming oversight.
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Allison Wainick, the parent of a Williamsville student shared a photo of the worksheet on Twitter, writing, "Shocked at this Spanish homework assignment in Williamsville Central School District loaded with such blatant racism. Can we even begin to unpack all that is wrong here? Who is developing this curriculum & where is the oversight?"
Another Twitter user slammed, "There’s no question this is racist AF. Mill Middle School is apologizing because this was exposed. An apology isn’t enough & the Spanish teacher has no business teaching." Another mother wrote, "As a Latina whose children attend Mill and Williamsville I am in complete shock."
"Sixth graders at Mill Middle School received an assignment for their Spanish class in which they had to translate sentences from English into Spanish. One of the sentences read: "You (friendly) are Mexican and ugly," As a Mexican myself, this is hurtful!," one user said.
Shocked at this Spanish homework assignment in @WCSD_K12 loaded with such blatant racism. Can we even begin to unpack all that is wrong here? Who is developing this curriculum & where is the oversight? @Latinos4Ed pic.twitter.com/iULWaG8aaP
— Allison Wainick (@AJ_WFlo) January 11, 2022
There’s no question this is racist AF. Mill Middle School is apologizing because this was exposed. An apology isn’t enough & the Spanish teacher has no business teaching.
— Christopher 🇺🇸 Proud Dem (@cwebbonline) January 17, 2022
*NY school district has apologized for a middle school Spanish assignment that parents are calling racist. pic.twitter.com/1vRwkqTxkb
Sixth graders at Mill Middle School received an assignment for their Spanish class in which they had to translate sentences from English into Spanish. One of the sentences read: "You (friendly) are Mexican and ugly," As a Mexican myself, this is hurtful!https://t.co/527t50BRew
— Rondell Treviño (@Rondell_Trevino) January 16, 2022
Meanwhile, Williamsville school administrators released an apology statement after the backlash on social media, where they said, "We are addressing the situation to ensure this does not happen again. The District does not condone any instructional material that denigrates our students, families, culture, or beliefs. This assignment fails to meet our standard and will be dealt with appropriately." However, parents are still outraged as there is yet no clarity over the identity of the Spanish teacher and what action has been taken against them.
More shockingly, a few social media users noted that the same racist homework was handed out to other students in the past, as long as three years ago. They added that despite the backlash and criticism at that time also, no action was taken. And now, the same offensive assignment is being recirculated. Authorities from Mill Middle School itself are unreachable for comments.