A Northwest Side mother says her third-grader came home from Portage Park Elementary last week terrified after what he described as a slavery reenactment during a Black History Month lesson. According to his account, students had their hands taped together to represent chains, some were told they would be “shipped off in a cage,” and he was tapped to play a “dictator.”
As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, Alexis Williams says her son is the only Black student in his third-grade class and that parents were not warned ahead of time about the exercise. Williams told reporters the teacher later apologized by text for not giving families a heads-up and that the class watched an educational video after the role-play. She says her son has been having nightmares since the lesson, and the family is considering counseling. The incident has sharpened scrutiny on how schools handle difficult history in mostly white classrooms.
Experts Warn Role-Play Can Do More Harm Than Good
Scholars and curriculum experts have long cautioned that lessons on traumatic history need clear learning goals and careful guardrails. Reporting from Education Week describes research finding that slavery is often taught in fragmented ways and that simulations or role-playing can leave emotional scars instead of building understanding. Many experts urge teachers to use primary sources, age-appropriate reading and trauma-informed supports, rather than asking children to act out the roles of enslaved people or oppressors.
What CPS Says Its Curriculum Is Supposed To Do
Chicago Public Schools has rolled out a districtwide K–12 Skyline curriculum that it describes as culturally responsive and woven into instruction throughout the year, not just in February. In recent messaging around Black History Month, CPS has highlighted resources, professional development and trauma-informed supports tied to Skyline and the training that comes with it. The district’s approach is meant to give teachers vetted materials and guidance while still leaving room for local classroom judgment.
Parents, Advocates Say Lesson Crossed The Line
Parents and civil-rights advocates told reporters this particular classroom exercise went too far and called for firmer boundaries around how sensitive topics are handled. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, local advocates labeled reenactments “completely inappropriate” for third-graders and urged teachers to stick to district-vetted, trauma-informed lesson plans. The Sun-Times also reports that CPS is reviewing what happened and says student well-being is the immediate priority…