Teacher Disciplined for Asking Students to Fill Out "Privilege Form"

Parents are outraged after their children had to fill out a form -- titled "How privileged are you?" -- during a Spanish class at Monroe Middle School.

Race and sex are two common questions students fill out on forms every year. But what about gender, sexual orientation or religion? Students at Monroe Middle had to do just that.

The form was handed out in a Spanish class to seventh- and eighth-graders. At the top, the form asked, "How privileged are you?" 

Regina Stiles' daughter is in the class. When her daughter came to the "Disability" column, she had to reveal that she had ADHD.

"She has ADHD and apparently the teacher said there are some kids in this class that have ADHD, and ADHD is a mental illness, and that's why she circled that. To me ADHD is not a mental disability. It's something she has," says Stiles.

Other sections included religion and gender where kids were asked to circle "Cisgender," "Transgender" or "GenderQueer."

"She's 12. Some of these things should be taught at home," says Stiles.

After Stiles along with several other angry parents questioned the principal, he launched an investigation.

"This is not a district form, this is a teacher-generated form and it was without principal consent and at the district level we do not collect that information," says Hillsborough County School Spokesperson Tanya Arja.

The students weren't required to turn in the forms. The teacher says the goal was to teach them about diversity and inequality through literature the students had been reading.

The teacher has since been pulled from the classroom while the district looks into the issue. This is her first year in the Hillsborough County School District.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/education/teacher-disciplined-for-asking-students-to-fill-out-privilege-form/121622647