The Burnaby School District is taking immediate action after learning about an elementary social studies exam used by a classroom teacher.
One of the questions on the test for Grade 6/7 students stated that "some believe that Jewish people deserve or need a homeland (Israel) while others believe that Israel should not exist." Students were asked to make arguments.
Superintendent Karim Hachlaf:
Regardless of intention, the question is deeply concerning and could be trauma-inducing for students, and particularly Jewish children. I am grateful to the family of one of the students in the class for raising this. On behalf of the Burnaby School District, I apologize. As a District, we are taking steps to address the harm."
The District was alerted over the weekend after a parent in the classroom sent an email with the exam question.
The District is moving swiftly to address this by:
- Launching an investigation regarding the incident
- Working with the school and reaching out to the class and families to offer support
- Plans are underway to reach out to Jewish community organizations to determine any additional care and supports that might be of benefit
- Working with Kindergarten to Grade 12 administrators across the District to reinforce use of appropriate learning resources within our schools
