The Houston Independent School District is under scrutiny as an inappropriate lesson plan meant for middle school students circulated on social media. The controversial curriculum included a paragraph from Maya Angelou’s memoir, describing an intimate encounter between a man and a woman, with students then instructed to summarize the content.
“I didn’t want him to think of me as a d**k teaser. A cheat. But my body wouldn’t obey. He bent and took both hands and pulled me upright,” the passage read.
Parents took to social media to express their frustration and concerns about the incident. They criticized the district for its handling of the situation, highlighting various issues.
One parent, La’Cole Bush, voiced her concerns about the quality of education in HISD.
“After listening to the feedback from the teachers in HISD I’m so sorry. Thank you to the teachers for hanging in there. Parents get y’all babies out of that district. I know it’s easier said then done. Curriculum writers have no education experience,” said Bush. “7th graders reading at a 2nd grade level ( you cannot expect the teacher to fix that, this is a parent issue). Administration interrupts classes, teachers have no creativity right. This is horrible.”
Noreen Shannon questioned the planning and oversight of lessons within HISD.
“Just curious, what do HISD teachers use to plan, guide their lesson planning? After reading about the latest near catastrophe and the superintendent’s big money eating plan to supervise lesson plans through paid teacher experts per grade level and subject content, I can readily see why HISD schools have struggled for years,” said Shannon. “Has there been no guidance, no oversight for teachers?… How could such a huge school district be in such a shambles? Those poor students and unsupported teachers.”
Jiannika Guiy, another HISD parent, raised concerns about her child falling behind in class due to the curriculum’s rapid pace.
“I’m very upset with how this new superintendent for HISD is operating these schools. My daughter is having a hard time keeping up and falling behind… So I asked her teacher what was going on. I found out that they do a new lesson everyday and school hasn’t been in a month and they are on their 14th lesson. Some are on 18. That is absolutely crazy… But it is how the new curriculum is set up… This will affect our children and if anybody knows what the best steps to take to get this man out of here let me know.”
Superintendent Mike Miles assured parents that curriculum materials would be age-appropriate and meet high educational standards. He acknowledged the issue with the 8th-grade curriculum, stating that it had been corrected. Miles emphasized that all campuses had been directed to ensure the right lessons were shared with children.
Miles also announced that he had directed the Chief Academic Officer to thoroughly review the systems and processes related to curriculum creation. The goal was to ensure that inappropriate content never reached classrooms. Additionally, steps had already been taken to strengthen the curriculum development and review processes.
HISD will involve teacher-experts from each grade level and content area to review curriculum materials, ultimately aiming to improve the quality of lessons and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
