Rochester School of the Arts teacher Patrick Rausch has been placed on leave, according to a statement from the Rochester City School District Board of Education. He allegedly made his seventh-grade students pick seeds out of cotton during a school lesson one parent said was about slavery.
Parents alleged that Rausch gave pieces of cotton to all of his students in the seventh grade last week and instructed them to pick the seeds out of the cotton as part of an assignment. Precious Morris, a mother of a 13-year-old student at Rochester School of the Arts, told CNN on Sunday, May 1, that Rausch allowed the White students in his class to throw their cotton away and forgo the assignment. They were instructed to work instead on their Chromebooks.
Morris said that her daughter, Ja'Nasia Brown, attempted to throw her cotton away, but Rausch allegedly did not allow her to do so. Rausch said that if Brown, who is Black, threw her cotton away, she would receive a poor grade on the assignment. According to Morris, Rausch's actions were not only rude but also disrespectful.
Patrick Rausch made a mockery of slavery in his class
Morris did not mince any words when talking about Rausch's actions, telling the New York Post that "he is making a mockery out of slavery." Morris added that she would never have thought a teacher would do such things. Morris said that when you send your kid to school, you are sending them to school in the hands of those teachers.
Morris was emotional when talking about Rausch's inappropriate lesson, saying her daughter was looking on the floor and should not have experienced something like that. Morris added that it is disrespectful, and Rausch should not have put their kids in any situation like that, given their history. According to Morris, that hurts her to the core.
Another mother made the same allegation against Rausch, with Vialma Ramos-O'Neal saying that her 13-year-old son Jahmiere O'Neal was taught the same lesson in a separate social studies class. According to Ramos-O'Neal, Jahmiere is half Black and half Puerto Rican.
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Rausch refuses to comment about the allegations and school investigation
Both parents are calling for the teacher's license of Rausch to be revoked following his controversial teaching methods. Rausch, who is White, told WXXI News he had no comment about the allegations or the ongoing school investigation.
Jahmiere said that part of the lesson that day was about slavery and how cotton was processed. He noted that Rausch gave the whole class cotton, and they were made to pick out the cotton seeds. According to Jahmiere, Rausch told him to "better clean it right, boy." Jahmiere said that most of his classmates are Black and brown, and they were all shocked by what Rausch was making them do in his class.
