Teacher on leave after students allegedly were asked to re-enact Holocaust
WASHINGTON D.C. (WUSA) — An elementary school teacher was placed on leave and is under investigation following a controversial lesson plan regarding the Holocaust.
Students at Watkins Elementary School in Washington DC were asked by a teacher to “portray different perspectives of the Holocaust,” the school principal said in a letter to families.
According to reporting by the Washington Post, third-grade students were asked to simulate historical moments in the Holocaust, including digging mass graves and simulating shooting victims.
“Students should never be tasked with acting out any atrocity, especially genocide and war,” Principal MScott Berkowitz said in a letter to parents.
Berkowitz added that the staff member allegedly used hate speech in the lesson, calling it “unacceptable and not tolerated.”
The incident was reported to the D.C. Public Schools’ Comprehensive Alternative Resolution and Equity Team. A DCPS spokesperson added that the incident was not part of an approved lesson plan.
