'Offensive' wording of Wayne school quiz question gets pushback from parents, advocates
WAYNE — The school district is investigating how a certain question ended up on a seventh-grade quiz after some parents complained that it advances anti-Muslim stereotypes.
The multiple-choice question, which appeared on a makeup assessment on the second-to-last day of the school year at Schuyler-Colfax Middle School, asked quiz takers to identify the correct “terrorist organization.”
Students in the social studies class had to choose between Al-Qaeda; Palestinian Liberation Organization; Shining Path; and the correct answer, Islamic State.
Superintendent of schools Mark Toback apologized for the quiz question in an email response to upset parents last week. It was “offensive and contrary to our values of respect, inclusivity and cultural sensitivity,” he wrote.
“Such incidents are unacceptable and do not reflect the standards we uphold for our educational community,” he added. “We understand the deep concern and disappointment this has caused among students, parents and the broader community.”
The incident evoked a response on social media from Teaching While Muslim, a group of educators who spread lesson plans that seek to counter Islamophobia in New Jersey classrooms.
The group posted a statement Monday to its Instagram account, asserting that the quiz question was “flawed” and that it revealed an explicit bias in the way current affairs of the Middle East are taught in U.S. schools.
“This type of framing causes the perpetuation of hate toward the Muslim community and Muslim students — both by their peers AND their teachers,” the group said.
The Muslim educators explained that the quiz question poses multiple problems.
Islamic State is designated by the federal government as a foreign “terrorist organization,” but the group said referring to it in such a manner, rather than by its acronym of ISIL or ISIS, legitimizes its claim that it represents all Muslims.
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“It further indoctrinates students to link ISIS with Islam, and to link terrorism with Islam,” the group said.
The Muslim educators also took issue with Palestinian Liberation Organization — a legitimate governing agency — being listed as a possible answer to the quiz question.
Toback said the quiz question was derived, in part, from software employed as a class resource. As part of the ongoing investigation, he said, the K-12 district is reviewing its use of that program.
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Toback said by phone Monday that he could not discuss the status of the teacher who administered the quiz.
Schuyler-Colfax on Hamburg Turnpike is one of three middle schools in the district. It enrolls 633 students, according to the most recent available state data.
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne NJ middle school quiz question upsets Muslim parents
