Homework assignments often challenge students to think critically but one high school task in Oklahoma, US, has sparked a lively debate on social media. Just into the new school year, a student named Nettie Gray in Skiatook Public Schools was handed over a world history assignment that raised eyebrows for its unusual content. Her mother, Olivia Gray, shared the assignment on Facebook earlier this month. Titled “How did the world start?", the assignment included questions that went beyond typical historical topics.
It included peculiar and controversial questions such as “When did evil start or did it always exist?", “Is God real?", “Is Satan real?" and “What does it mean to be a Christian?". The students were instructed to provide a source using the APA (American Psychological Association) style of writing to support their answers.
“EDIT: This is a real assignment for a high school class in Oklahoma. This is one of Nettie’s assignments for World History class. It’s being called a research paper. This is some crazy shit overall and also on a technical level. Literally the kid had been in school ONE WEEK.," Gray wrote in the caption.
According to a report in 2News Oklahoma, Nettie brought her confusing assignment to her parents’ attention on July 15. She expressed concern about the possibility of receiving low grades if her teacher didn’t agree to the answers. The report further stated that Nettie’s friends in other World History classes with different teachers didn’t receive the same 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. 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," Skiatook Public Schools said in a statement received by 2News Oklahoma.
Since being shared online on August 16, the assignment has stirred quite a buzz. The questions left many wondering whether such topics were appropriate for a high school assignment.
One user expressed, “I would love to see the teacher’s grading rubric… that’s an assignment I would struggle with as a college level student. What are the “right" answers? I don’t think I even wanna know."
Another shared, “This assignment is wrong on more than ten levels."
“I could understand questions on world religions in World History class that may include Christianity as well as other religions but this is just plain weird and wrong. How would this even be graded fairly?" someone questioned.
“This is so insane. Is this at the high school?" another person asked in disbelief.
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