Florida, what is up with this 'baby daddy' biology test question?
Hats off to the educators out there trying to write test questions that will keep their students’ attention. But a teacher in Jacksonville, Fla., crossed the line from creative to offensive in the eyes of one high school student’s father, with a biology test-prep question about revenge sex and baby daddies.
“Ursula was devastated when her boyfriend broke up with her after having sex,” reads the question, which Omar Austin shared in a photo and video on Facebook earlier this week. “To get revenge, she had sex with his best friend the next day. Ursula had a beautiful baby girl 9 months later. Ursula has type O blood, her ex-boyfriend is type AB blood, and his best friend is type A blood. If her baby daddy is her ex-boyfriend, what could her baby’s possible blood type(s) NOT be?”
The worksheet was assigned to prepare his 11th-grade daughter for her anatomy class final, he explains.
“I understand that’s a reality of the world we live in, but it’s upsetting that this is an anatomy class —that is really not the setting for such conversations,” Austin tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I can understand the entertainment factor, but if they want to be entertained why not go to a movie. It has its place in soap operas or reality TV shows. We’re supposed to go to school to learn.”
Austin wondered whether such a question would have appeared in a suburban school district worksheet.
“Being an inner city school, these are already stigmas we have to get past,” he says.
His video, which expresses a similar sentiment, has 14,000 views and 260 shares. He sent it to ABC First Coast News to call more attention to the problem.
First Coast got to the bottom of the issue, questioning the Duval County School District about the source of the racy question. Apparently, another teacher in the district (not at his daughter’s Westside High School) wrote the question and shared it on district-wide digital platform meant for teachers to exchange resources.
“While this was not a district created item, we recognize that this falls well short of our standard of providing instructional excellence for every student, every day and we would like to apologize to the students and their families,” the district said in a statement to First Coast, adding that the question has since been removed and that the matter is under review. “As stated earlier, we appreciate the parent who brought this to our attention and welcome any parent or guardian with concerns about their child’s instructional experience to immediately contact their school.”
Even if it the question originated somewhere else, Austin is troubled by the fact that his daughter’s teacher didn’t notice how inappropriate it was.
“It seems like they just hand out information without reviewing it,” he tells Yahoo. Still, he doesn’t want to criticize his daughter’s school. “It’s a really good school with a really good principal. My daughter excels there.”
Just in case anyone is still wondering, Ursula’s baby would not have Type O blood.
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