According to a story by Fox News, Kara Sands, a mother of a fifth grade student enrolled in Flour Bluff ISD in Corpus Christi, Texas, was outraged by a politically charged question on a test concerning the 9/11 attacks that took place in 2001.
Correct answer blamed American actions on 9/11
Sands was outraged, according to Fox News, at a question given her child's class in a test taken after watching a video on government and terrorism. The question, according to KRIS TV in Corpus Christi, was "Why might the United States be the Target of Terrorism?" The possible answers were (A) Other people just don't like Americans, (B) Decisions we made in the United States have had negative effects on people elsewhere, (C) Terrorists hate everyone, and (D) None of the above. The "correct" answer was (B), which in effect blamed the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Safari Montage provides video content to schools K through 12
The purveyor of the video upon which the test was based is a company called Safari Montage, which provides downloadable educational video content on a variety of subjects. According to Fox News, which the company stands by its video on government and terrorism it has agreed to change the wording of the accompanying test. The company claims that its intent was not to blame the United States for the terrorist attacks on 9/11 but to "convey a patriotic message, explaining the events of 911 [sic] and the way we memorialize it."
Sands and other parents express concern
Sands had posted the test on her Facebook page, according to KRIS TV, whereupon it got 1,662 likes as of the publication of the story. Flour Bluff ISD officials claimed that she was the only parent who offered a complaint, however. A letter posted by the school district indicated that the parent's concerns were heard and addressed. It also denied that the video and the accompanying quiz was part of the CSCOPE curriculum, considered controversial for alleged politically charged content. The letter stated that the concerns were met before Sands posted the content of the test on her Facebook page. Sands and a number of other parents intend to take the matter up at the next meeting of the Flour Bluff School Board on March 28. School board members Shirley Thornton and Wade Chapman have also requested that the matter be brought up at the meeting.
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
