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Connections

Discussing culturally-sensitive curricula following the slavery lesson at School of the Arts

Precious Tross holds pieces of cotton her daughter brought home from social studies class on Tuesday.
Precious Tross
Precious Tross holds pieces of cotton her daughter brought home from social studies class on Tuesday

A teacher at School of the Arts (SOTA) is under investigation after his social studies lesson went viral. Students and parents say Patrick Rausch had students pick cotton seeds as part of a lesson about slavery. Rausch is white and most of his students are children of color.

WXXI's Noelle Evans reported on the incident. The story comes at a time of heightened national debate about how U.S. racial history should be taught in schools. What does culturally-sensitive curricula look like? Our guests discuss it:

*A representative of the Rochester City School District told WXXI News that the district cannot comment on this story due to an open investigation of the incident.
**Vialma Ramos'O'Neal, Jahmiere O'Neal, and Precious Tross, who were originally scheduled to be on the program, declined to participate the afternoon of the discussion.

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.