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[CoffeeCat]

This message was self-deleted by its author (CoffeeCat) on Thu Oct 29, 2015, 02:42 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[Luminous Animal]

1. You have an image of this?

[ohnoyoudidnt]

3. Good idea.

This could go viral.

[CoffeeCat]

11. My 9th grader has completed the homework though (eom)

Last edited Wed Oct 28, 2015, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)

[Luminous Animal]

19. Just clock out any identifiers and post it.

[Codeine]

86. Conveeeeenient. nt

[Jesus Malverde]

127. As we say cool story bro

[Codeine]

91. And exactly how did she complete it without a departure/return point,

fuel usage figures (crucial), and - apparently - without the existence of one of those cities?

[Crystalite]

172. Message deleted by DU the Administrators

[CoffeeCat]

6. I do have an image...i took several pics on my phone.

Last edited Wed Oct 28, 2015, 10:47 PM - Edit history (1)

My teenager drew my attention to the initial question that I posted about. I just noticed these as well:

4.) ISIS has been located at 37N and 44E. What city will you target?

7.) ISIS has control of three key oil fields. You need to do an airstrike on that area (please mark with a star). The locations are:

a.) 42N 43E
b.) 31N 45E
c.) 36N 45.5E

[Luminous Animal]

18. Can we see it?

[CoffeeCat]

28. I'm really struggling with putting this image out there...

I took pics on my phone, but I'm not sure if I want this out there!

This could cause a lot of attention for this school--and possibly my child.

This has given me a lot to think about.

[tblue37]

33. Someone in that class will post some of this stuff online, I'm sure. It will go viral

eventually, and probably sooner than later.

[ThingsGottaChange]

51. It SHOULD cause a lot of attention at that school!

I can hardly believe what I am reading. Soooo wrong.

[davidpdx]

74. Ask your daughter to get an extra copy from the teacher

She can just say she wants to change the coordinates and try it again.

[brush]

8. You are totally right

The question could have just used the term "visiting" instead of bombing.

I'd talk to the teacher. I mean how does a parent get her/his kid out of the class of a warmonger?

[REP]

160. Message deleted by DU the Administrators

[KamaAina]

169. Who on Earth is Vadmir Putin?! And where's Bagdad?

They got that one right on the very next one!

[Generic Other]

170. Why not medical personnel delivering humanitarian aid?

Awful to ask students to imagine themselves bombing and killing others. Americans aren't able to deal with the PTSD issues of the actual military personnel let alone help students process this kind of stuff. Does the teacher moonlight as a recruiter? I would have folded this worksheet into a paper airplane and flown it out the window while chanting, "Hey Hey USA. How many kids did you kill today?" That's just the kind of kid I was.

[AlbertCat]

180. The "teacher" spelled "Vadamir" wrong!

and "Ar Rutbah needs supplies to their people." is not very good English...

...like traveling "a 200K"


or " You have 200km with a fuel"

Of course the very 1st question should be

"Please name the hemispheres in which Syria and Iraq are."... which is still awkward.

And a missile with a 250 mile radius is a really big missile!


But I guess this wasn't an English class..... or any class at all because it's fake!

[DJ13]

2. You're right to be upset

"Desensitizing our kids to killing and bombing and destroying the Middle East?"

Thats spot on.

[bigwillq]

4. Someone's always offended by something.

Bomb, baby, bomb
--- Proud Motto of the United States of America

[bettyellen]

44. my Dad used to have horrible nightmares 5-6 a month because his friends were bombed to

pieces right in front of him during WW2. We only knew this because he talked, well actually cried and shouted in his sleep.
So yeah, even childless me is offended that they are teaching kids this is cool. Sad mostly, but also pissed off.
How dare they?

[pinboy3niner]

46. I fought in Vietnam and decades later had tea with a North Vietnamese Army Col. and his wife there

We cried together as they described the terror of cowering in tunnels with hell erupting, expecting to die during B52 bomber strikes.

[lovemydog]

50. I'm really proud of you my friend.

Living through that and continuing with your great sense of humor. You've also helped other veterans with their healing process. It's much appreciated.

[pinboy3niner]

67. Thankyou, my friend

Humor can also be used as an avoidance mechanism and I've also used it that way, subconsciously.

I'm still going through that neverending healing process myself. At times I can help others; at other times I'm a basket case and have to reach out to others for help. That's kind of par for the course for trauma survivors.

The trick is managing it, and I've had decades to learn to manage it pretty well. Though I'm constantly surprised that I'm still here.

And so I try to enjoy life, and humor is one of the things I very much enjoy.

I met the NVA couple because they lived next door to my mother-in-law in Vietnam. After Saigon fell, the new government confiscated my MIL's house and gave it to that NVA couple.

I provided most of the funds to build my MIL a new house adjoining her old house. My MIL's only stipulation was that the porch of her house extend farther than her NVA neighbors. That was symbolic of her protest and defiance and a way to gain face. And a kind of revenge for her, in a way.

And so when I visited there, it was only natural that the NVA couple, naturally curious, would invite this American Vietam vet and former enemy to tea.

I still get a kick when I think of my former MIL's porch sticking out farther than her neighbors' porch and what that meant to her.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

115. +1 n/t

[gratuitous]

5. Yeah, I'd be upset

In our society, dominated as it is by militarism, there isn't some other way for the teacher to convey distances? Why not "You have 200km worth of fuel. You are leaving from the Syria/Turkey border. You want to bring relief supplies to Mosul, Rajah, Sinjar and then return. Will you make it? Please explain your answer."

I'd have a polite, respectful conversation with the teacher.

[NJCher]

166. this would be my solution

CoffeeCat, if you want to do it, I'm an interpersonal communication teacher and I can send you a five-step technique for bringing this up to the instructor where they won't be offended. PM me if you want it.


Cher

[Lint Head]

7. Now that is subversive. Planting a thought while

asking a quiz question. It's pointless. The teacher should be repremanded.

[Journeyman]

9. Ambrose Bierce wrote: "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography". . .

Perhaps your daughter's teacher is trying to multitask and introducing math and geography into her history lessons.

Kudos for creativity. (Raspberries for insensitivity.)

[CoffeeCat]

17. Yes, I think it is inventive that...

...the history teacher is incorporating math and map skills into the history lesson.

Not as jazzed about these story problems.

I don't want my kids thinking that this is so normal.

Incorporating war, bombing and killing into a test question--trivializes those very serious and horrific acts.

[Journeyman]

23. He could have used an example of fuel to ferry food to various points on the map. . .

and then shown how difficult it is to distribute food around the world, and how historically some areas have had an abundance of food, some a dearth, and used that to explore the geopolitical factors behind various areas development. But that would necessitate a desire to build rather than destroy, and for those who see war as the decisive factor in historical development, growth is not recognized as the formative force it is.

[CanSocDem]

101. While all those are important...

...the objective was to teach map reading. It's on the "test".





.

[PassingFair]

110. That Devil's Dictionary just keeps on giving!

One of my favorite books to keep around.

[pacalo]

10. Absolutely not.

The problem's premise is over the line, considering today's world violence.

[RiffRandell]

12. Absolutely not.

Teaching by bombing cities?

I'm no helicopter parent, but I would complain and contact your local news channel.

Please keep us posted.

[onecaliberal]

13. Geezuz.

[arcane1]

14. If there is evidence of this, I will be upset right there with you n/t

[Solly Mack]

15. That's fucked up.

[Go Vols]

125. ^^^^

[Nevernose]

16. You're not wrong, but should handle with care

I'm both a parent (bambina is now finally in college) and a high school teacher.

I think you should ask him to call you and him to express your concerns. It might have been him acting like a psycho. It might have been a poor excuse for a joke. It might have been her watching the news while coming up with the mandated daily word problems. It might have been someone like me, who just wanted to discuss topical news (and showed a hopefully-momentary lack of judgment) with otherwise uniformed ninth graders, half of whom probably couldn't find Canada on a map, much less Syria.

Regardless, I would then call the supervisor and either compliment or complain. The supervisor will probably ignore the complaint, or at least mention it to the teacher. At least then there's a record, plus you can generally get a feel from the teacher in twenty seconds.

[CoffeeCat]

20. Can you imagine how people in the United States would react...

...if some ninth grader from Iraq or Syria had this for a homework question:

"You have 200 km worth of fuel. You are leaving the Canadian/US border. You want to bomb Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis then return. Will you make it? Please explain your answer.

I mean...seriously!

[bigwillq]

22. That was a question on the Syrian SAT

You can't make it without refueling in Peoria.

[HubertHeaver]

42. If you get to Peoria, you are lost.

Bomb secondary targets.

[Fairgo]

53. There are strategic targets around Peoria

Start with Pekin.

[ProfessorGAC]

75. Please!

Why? Because it's Pekin!

Kidding. Been to Pekin more than a few times. It's ok!

[Fairgo]

90. I'm from a nearby town...

Pekin always beat us at basketball.

Plus, it's Pekin.

[ProfessorGAC]

92. I'm From Farther North, Fairgo

Born in Chicago, grew up in Joliet.

[msongs]

24. A: you won't make it, 200 kim is only 124 miles explanation: not enough guel do I get an A?

[deutsey]

94. A random variable would be making a wrong toin at Albequerque

[drm604]

21. This is wrong even without the warmongering.

How much fuel an aircraft uses is based on more than just distance. Things like wind speed and direction can make a difference. A problem like this should use an automobile as an example, and of course should avoid warmongering.

[progree]

48. Simple - add Christian Faith: Our Heavenly Father will supply a tail wind the whole way,

no matter which directions you turn, such that your fuel will last 200 km, as long as you maintain your faith in Jesus Christ.

Unrelated: km? kilometers? How subversive. Sounds French to me. It was miles, pounds, horsepower, and so on that made our great country great!

[Bluenorthwest]

82. The question does not even give a departure point. 'The border' is more than 200 km long.

The actual point of departure is missing. The question is not only barbaric, it is incomplete in many ways.

[historylovr]

26. WTF?

I agree with you, there was no need for that at all.

[pinboy3niner]

27. Absolutely inappropriate and WRONG to have students contemplate being bombers

The principal needs to have a remedial talk with the teacher.

[jtuck004]

29. "No. You missed the oil field and blew up a Doctor's W/O Borders Hospital.

You did make it back to the base, however, and the report was hidden until the organization complained, then the PR people took over."

There are a lot of answers to that which could be correct.

[Art_from_Ark]

70. I'd give you an "A+" for that answer

[tblue37]

30. The teacher thinks he is wonderfully clever and cool. He isn't. He is also

going to get publicly reprimanded, and his foolishness is going to go viral.

Is he a young, relatively new teacher? This sounds very much like something asmart alecky college student would do to impress his buddies.

[roody]

130. He is probably a chicken hawk.

[Renew Deal]

31. She should choose to be a suicide bomber and die in Mosul.

Maybe that will send the message.

[pinboy3niner]

38. You are a suicide bomber in Baghdad

You are surrounded by 12 Iraqi and American security officers. Should you detonate now or wait for more to arrive?

[zentrum]

32. Really inappropriate question.

May be the tip of the iceberg with this teacher. It's grotesque.

[Person 2713]

108. I agree may be tip of the iceberg . The school year is young!

[Lancero]

114. Given op's reluctance to show this happened, I'd say it's a really fake question.

That they've gone on the defensive over people calling them on this just makes it even more likely.

[zentrum]

152. Hmmm, may be a good point.

[xmas74]

177. Pic is posted later in the thread.

OP stated they needed to remove identifying information before posting, such as child's info and teacher's info.

[Liberal_in_LA]

34. What the hell?

[Jack Rabbit]

35. No, you're not wrong to be upset about that.

You should let the teacher know it.

Personally, I am opposed to all US involvement in further wars for oil. We don't need to spill more blood and destabilize the ME any further to insure that ExxonMobil and other artificial persons and the greedy real people who hide behind the logos will continue to make profits while cooking the planet and denying it. Federal dollars spent on subsidizing fossil fuels and going to war for oil can be redirected to ignite the renewable energy industry.

[Cleita]

36. Why is this in a history class? It's a math question. And as a math question another scenario

would be just as good. If you really had to do maps why not something the kid is familiar with? Let's say you have 200km worth of fuel. You are leaving the Los Angeles/Ventura counties border for a long weekend. You want to party in Santa Barbara, Carmel and San Francisco. Will you make it? I would request a meeting with the teacher and principal ASAP. You should be upset.

[waldo.c]

39. military madness...

....is killing your country; it's disturbing in the extreme to see schools promulgating this type of scenario.

[davidpdx]

79. There are so many other ways the problem could be worded

[Codeine]

87. It didn't happen.

It's a cheesy fantasy cooked up by the poster.

[Glassunion]

182. If you look at the rest of the questions on the homework, it is more of a geography question.

Image link is in the OP.

If it is for a 9th grade student, it is quite an elementary question.

[Crunchy Frog]

37. I'd be upset about it too.

I'd be having a word with the teacher if it was my kid.

[Warpy]

40. I know my answer would be

"If I drop the bombs on the first waste land I see, I'll decrease the weight of the aircraft enough to make it to X country. Whether they deny me the right to work and push me off on another country or not, they won't ask me to bomb anyone, anywhere, for any stupid reason."

Yeah, I always was a rebel.

[passiveporcupine]

41. kilometers?

Are you not in America?

Where on the border of Syria and Turkey border are they starting from...that will make a difference. And google can't find a city named Rajah in the middle east. Did this teacher make up his own maps or something?

[davidpdx]

76. If I had a $1 for every time we were told that the US was going to change to the metric system

I'd be rich. I didn't bother learning it until I moved overseas.

[subterranean]

43. Subject matter aside, there's not enough information to answer the question.

First, what is the mode of transportation? One could assume a plane would be used, but that's not clear from the question alone. Second, the Syria/Turkey border is a pretty long one, and the question does not specify which part of the border the person is leaving from. Without that piece of information, the question cannot be answered.

[Bluenorthwest]

83. Exactly.

nt

[bvar22]

162. ...nor does it mention the fuel consumption of the aircraft to be used.

There are so many MAJOR problems with this post that I've relegated it to the "Probably NOT TRUE" pile in the waste basket.

[Eric J in MN]

45. It's a style rule to only use the term "you"

...for a hypothetical when it's a neutral hypothetical.

Proper usage: "When you go to the store..."
Improper usage: "When you commit murder..."

The teacher's use of "you" is in the latter category.

That was an inappropriately worded homework question.

[McCamy Taylor]

47. Sorry, it doesn't bother me. It's just math and geography.

[restorefreedom]

138. please tell me you are joking

using a bombing example in a country we have troops in for a 9th grader perfectly ok with you?
Should the next quiz in physiology pose the question of how long can someone withstand waterboarding before they die?

you are kidding, right?

[progree]

153. Or maybe a question of where to best drop a 1 megaton H-bomb to wipe out all 3 cities

would be another non-bothersome "just math and geography" type of question that 9th graders should deal with, since some day one of them might have his/her finger on the nuclear button, and it's not a nice world out there and all that, and so on and so forth.

[font color = red]On edit[/font]: got rid of the swipe at #49, as it has a somewhat pacifist slant (see next to last paragraph of it) so will leave it be and let others decide for themselves about it.

[restorefreedom]

154. yup. i shudder to think what could be on future exams. nt

[Bad Thoughts]

49. A rebuttal (by means of anecdote)

You have every right to be concerned. However, the problem has the potential to teach a lesson of which you might approve.

A year ago my son wanted "Tide of Iron." It is a tactical level, two-player board game that takes place during WWII. He wanted it because it had lots of miniature soldiers and tanks, all fairly detailed. I wasn't keen on a wargame, but it was well regarded among board and wargamers.

When it came, we set up the first mission: a skirmish between Germans and Americans in the middle of forests and farms. I played the Americans, holed up in several houses. We made some attacks across empty spaces, but to little avail. Eager to get the game moving, I decided that the thing to do was charge--do the type of heroic action that wins the day in the movies.

I moved my squad out towards one of his positions. I hope to get in close for an assault. Then my son yelled, "OP fire," at which point he was planning to stop my attack by shooting at me. He rolled his five dice, all hits. I looked up how many dice I would get to roll: zero. Four of my guys died instantly.

We paused in shock. The notion of heroism evaporated in an instant; the cliches about war were false. A few days later, I mentioned this to a friend who had taught at West Point. He said it was realistic--one guy with a machine gun can kill a group of soldiers very effectively.

That's why I think that the lesson intended by your daughter's homework is less audacious than you think. It proposes bold objectives with limited abilities. Those who think that the US can solve problems around the world through military intervention neglect basic problems with the material and personnel limits of the US military. Military objectives need to be more modest than what Neocons (and some Democrats) want. Indeed, the problem suggests that there is an over-extension of resources in the mission that the question proposes.

Please, question the teacher. But also listen to the response

[joshcryer]

57. You're a good person for playing devils advocate.

It's an interesting approach but I personally am really against the homework example in the OP and I can't reconcile that.

But you made a good post and I just wanted to say thanks for sharing.

(And yes in retrospect talking to the teacher may be the best option here... this would go viral quick if the photo was posted online though...)

[joshcryer]

52. You should post it to media ASAP

This is completely insane. I mean legit insane. The teacher that made that problem needs to be fired.

[MADem]

54. I will need to see an image of the test.

Who measures 'fuel' in "kilometers?" Answer--NO ONE. Everyone knows in that region that your fuel usage varies enormously based on the temperature on the ground. It's much harder to take off in an aircraft if the weather is very hot, for example.

"You are leaving from the Syria Turkey border?" Really? Where? Which point on the border?

The border isn't a point on the map. It's LONG. It runs from the Med to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Sorry--I am not buying this one bit.

[Tipperary]

80. Another poster couldn't find a city

called Rajah either. Something odd here.

[MADem]

121. There exists a town in Babil region called

Shahab-ar-rajah, but I'm just not feeling this question. It's not "history," and it's lousy geography, and it is sketchy math.

[Unknown Beatle]

55. It sounds like your daughter has a tea bagger teacher.

[Warren DeMontague]

56. That's a pretty messed up way to do a math story problem.

Short answer, no, I don't think you're wrong. That's a fucked up thing to put on a high school student's homework.

[whathehell]

102. Agree completely..

These sorts of scenarios "and you want to bomb" should not be used. Messed up.

[Ilsa]

58. I think you are right to be aggravated.

You are correct in that the question trivializes war and violence, and the same question could have written in a way to promote peace and goodness.

[nsd]

59. I don't believe you.

Others have politely and gingerly suggested more or less the same thing ("please post an image&quot , but I'm going to be impolite and blunt.

This post sounds made up.

The red flags:

1. Why is fuel measured in kilometers?

2. Americans don't measure distance in kilometers anyway.

3. Syria and Turkey have a long border. Where is this hypothetical plane taking off?

4. Mosul is in Iraq. I consider myself relatively well informed for an American, but I couldn't locate Mosul any better than that. There is no way American 9th graders could tell you where Mosul is. In fact, I suspect most of them would guess that Mosul is the name of a breakfast food, high in fiber but not tasty, that people in "Europe" eat.

5. I have never heard of cities called Rajah and Sinjar. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that, assuming these cities even exist, only a small fraction of 1% of American teenagers have heard of them.

If I am wrong, I apologize. But this just sounds like bullshit.

ETA: The problem is akin to the traveling salesman problem, which is a famously difficult and deep math problem. If 9th graders are really being asked questions like this, I have to say that I am very, very impressed with the state of American math education.

[cwydro]

109. I'm beginning to think this is bs as well.

But as far as 9th graders knowing where Mosul is, I think it's possible.

I was in elementary and middle school during the Vietnam war years. I watched the news every night, and I certainly knew where Saigon and Hanoi was. I even knew other place and city names. Khe Sanh comes to mind. Hue, the Mekong Delta...I think an informed 9th grader (and I do hope there are some) would know the place names of our current experiments in killing other people.

[a la izquierda]

139. Half of my college students couldn't find Mexico City on a map...nt

[Tipperary]

144. That is very sad, but I believe you.

[a la izquierda]

158. I have to explain each semester...

The difference between Mexico, South America, Latin America, and Central America, as in each refers to specific places.
So I doubt most kids have a clue where Mosul is.

[Tipperary]

159. We are raising a generation of dunderheads.

I find it heart-breaking.

[hollowdweller]

122. I call BS too.

[passiveporcupine]

164. Sinjar is east of Mosul

But Rajah does not exist. Nevermind...after looking at a picture of the test, it is Rawah, not Rajah. Rawah is a ways SE of Mosul.

[byronius]

60. Fuel can be measured in kilometers.

And the distance used to calculate the additive sides of a triangle, which I presume is what the image on the page would represent. Probably calculating the hypotenuse of a triangular map.

Plus, a lot of modern textbooks interchange units. Kids are smart enough for that.

That being said, it's not easy for a non-techie to take a picture and edit out the relevant information. Plus, the general handwriting might be used to identify the kid and punish them. Perhaps Coffee Cat didn't think about that before posting, but has now.

I could see a tone-deaf teacher doing something like this. Or even an angry lefty trying to prove a point, wake up the kids to the concept that they might end up as cannon fodder.

On edit: I meant to reply to the post just above mine.

[pinboy3niner]

61. You can re-post to the reply above and delete it here. nt

[MADem]

63. Not without TEMPERATURE, and the capabilities of the motor vehicle/aircraft transporting you.

There's no mechanism in the question to make a conversion.

And even if we assume that this shittily worded question simply gave the responder a set number of kilometers, you still haven't explained how the Turkish and Syrian border morphs from a long, long line to a point. Where is the "start point" on the border? The Med? A lat/long in Kurdistan? Somewhere in-between?

I'm not buying this one bit. I will need to see a document, and if this is true, the educational authorities in the school district in the state where this supposedly happened need to be notified. For a LOT of reasons.

I don't know WHAT this is, but I do know that it's not a valid math or geography question. I am, to be polite, skeptical.

[nsd]

64. Where are you getting a triangle?

We have four points: air base, Mosul, Sinjar, and Rajah. So the route is presumably a quadralateral.

A recent course of study at the University of Google informs me that Mosul and Sinjar are separated by 128 km (straight line). For this supposed math problem to make any sense, the other sections must sum to <72 km. Otherwise, there's clearly no way the flight plan works.

Now, Google has also taught me that there is a large US air base at Incirlik, Turkey, from which US strikes into Syria have been conducted. But the base is 500 km from Mosul -- much too far to be plausible.

So, for this to be a good math problem, we have to make up a US air base in southeastern Turkey very close to Mosul/Sinjar, a city called Rajah which is also very close to Mosul/Sinjar, and (the big problem) American interest in what's happening in this part of the world. (Really, all that Americans know about ISIS is that they kill people in weirdly macabre ways.)

Maybe all of that works out, or maybe the OP is not being straight with us. I know which option I'd bet on.

ETA: Looking at Google maps again, I see that Mosul and Sinjar are each more than 100 km from the Turkish border. So there's no way this "math" problem comes even close to being plausible.

[pinboy3niner]

71. Isn't it obvious?

[Rex]

62. World geography is great, however the teacher seems to being using current events

to make the students do word problems. I am not sure why they are using bombing runs, is the current event ISIS and terrorism in the Middle East? What is your child learning about in class right now? Do you even know?

If this is some kind of wake up call, it seems then you don't.

Wake up.

[Hekate]

65. Sorr, it reads like a basic Spam narrative. nt

[frizzled]

66. It's definitely propaganda. But American kids say the Pledge every day.

Isn't the entire school system propaganda?

[Codeine]

93. So far as I know my kids say the Pledge about once a year.

And none of them pay the slightest attention to it.

[frizzled]

95. Why do they say it at all?

Ritually chanting your allegiance to a Christian God and to a nation state is certainly a form of brainwashing.

[Codeine]

96. It just a stupid tradition at this point.

At least here in California it's just a pro-forma thing done because it's always been done I suppose. I don't worry about it mostly because my kids already know it's nonsense. Maybe if I lived in a state where it was performed daily and held in some reverence I'd feel differently.

[get the red out]

68. That is programming!

It assumes that the bombing of a city is as natural as going to that city! It would have been so easy to ask if you will have enough fuel to get there.

[frizzled]

69. "Will you have enough fuel to bomb New York and Washington, DC?"

Be interesting to see the reaction if those cities were American.

[Codeine]

85. No, it's a fantasy. It did not happen.

The question lacks the basic info needed to answer it.

[Shankapotomus]

72. Post the pic anonymously on imgur

Send one of us the link in a PM and we'll post it in a different thread.

[hedgehog]

73. I thought it was an anti-war question.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

77. replacing 'bomb' with 'visit' would fix that question easily. nt

[Scuba]

78. No, you're not wrong. Please find a way to post a pic of this. It needs to go viral.

[Blue_Adept]

81. All the outrage, no proof

Scam, hoax, lies, whatever, that's what this seems like.

Get folks riled up, lots of posts, no proof to back it up. Don't believe a lick of it.

[Codeine]

84. I don't believe you.

This question doesn't even include the information needed to answer it. I think you, or whoever you got this from, is making things up.

[cwydro]

104. Yeah, I'm suspicous too.

Ever since posters began questioning the OP more closely, there's been no response.

[Orrex]

88. The answer is:

"The US can always find a way to bomb brown people. If we decide we need to bomb Mosul, Rajah and Sinjar, we'll cut funding for Social Security and Medicare to pay for whever fuel is required. And what the hell is this 'KM' crap?"

[liberal N proud]

89. If this was a military school...

Then maybe it would be a possible, but not ethical question.

Why would a teacher or test writer even think that way?

[Gman]

97. Absolutely ridiculously stupid question.

The teacher is obviously a right wing nut.

[Ace Rothstein]

98. Pic or it didn't happen.

[HereSince1628]

99. A pic wouldn't necessarily prove it did happen, though.

If it was a pic taken off a valid media site it might, but even that would be questioned.

[onyourleft]

100. You are...

...definitely not wrong.

[vlyons]

103. I would not be pleased about it

Entirely inappropriate. I would ask to meet with the teacher and set him/her straight about your ethical values with the warning that if my kid ever came home with such crap again, then my next meeting would be with the principal or maybe even the school board. I would give him/her a chance to c lean up his act and be sensitive to the fact that some of us a) don't hate Moslems, and b) do hate war-all wars.

[vlyons]

105. Tell your daughter to write this answer ...

I cannot make it because I decided to never make the journey to bomb, murder, and maim other human beings. I refuse to be a war-monger. War is immoral and beneath my sense of basic human decency and self-respect. Do no harm!

[Person 2713]

106. Out of a curriculum or is this from 1 freak teacher? Either way bizarre

Could reply >no I will not make it because I will set the fuel on fire in the name of jihad
but that could get a lesson and look at jail I suppose.
Keep your eye on this teacher and also ask your child what the teacher is talking about every week is my suggestion

[mnhtnbb]

107. Hmmm...maybe this is the teacher's way of finding out who has a helicopter parent?

Maybe it's a function of having daughters vs sons, but when my boys were 15 it
was a very rare occasion for either of them to show me any of their homework assignments.
And my youngest is now 25--so that was only 10 years ago.

I'm curious how you found out about the assignment.

My boys would talk about papers they had to write, or tests coming up, but I really don't remember
them routinely showing me homework assignments when they were in high school.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

111. I think that is an inappropriate topic for a homework question

You're right, they could have come up with another reason for traveling between those cities. It is very insensitive.

[CoffeeCat]

112. Ok look...

Last edited Wed Oct 28, 2015, 10:48 PM - Edit history (1)

We are all in agreement that this homework and the questions on the homework are outrageous.

I'm the one who has to make the decision about what to do.

I appreciate that some people don't believe me. That's fine, but if posting a pic is the only way to make people believe me, then I guess I'll just have to be seen as a liar for now (by some), because I'm not quite sure what to do.

It's very easy to tell someone what to do in a situation like this, but it's not that easy.

[Codeine]

113. I'm curious how your daughter "completed"

the assigned work given the parameters of the question made it inherently impossible to answer. Also curious about the location of "Rajah."

[CoffeeCat]

117. There is a map on the back side of the homework...

Last edited Wed Oct 28, 2015, 10:50 PM - Edit history (1)

I believe those cities were identified, but I didn't look closely at the map.

Last night, I put taped white strips of paper over the answers and name--and I took pictures.

I noticed though, at the top of the page--the teacher's name is on the homework. This is a female teacher who authored this homework. However, my daughter's social-studies teacher is male. I asked my daughter about this at breakfast and she said that this female teacher is one of the other social studies teachers at her school.

So apparently, her male teacher used a homework sheet authored by this other female social studies teacher.

Hard to wrap my brain around the fact that a female teacher would do this.

I brought my husband into this discussion, and he's now attempting to block her name from the pic I took. I don't know how to do that. He thinks it's fine if the pic is posted as long as the teacher isn't identified.

[Tipperary]

118. I would love to know that too.

It seems impossible to answer the question with the info given.

[topological]

123. Also impossible to answer because this didn't happen.

This story is made up.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

116. Agree completely.

And I don't know why some are so quick to accuse others of dishonesty. Why would anyone make up such a story?

Anyway, you are right to be concerned and best of luck.

[Blue_Adept]

119. Have you been on the internet?

How many of these viral stories turn out to be false a day or two later, but little known by the masses who just go on about the outrage that doesn't actually exist. The whole aunt suing nephew story is one such recent one.

The lack of anything to back it up here is what's casting a shadow upon it. And maybe it's just my school where my kids go to in the district, but teachers don't "author" homework. They're working out of curriculum assignments done up by the school system as a whole across the district and there's no teacher created homework sheets.

Just a lot of red flags to those not wanting to go railing on something without proof. You know, the liberal way.

[CoffeeCat]

124. Wow!

I feel like the more I talk about this, the more I am attacked and accused of lying!

Every comment I make is being picked apart, analyzed and used against me.

So now, I'm lying because teachers don't normally author homework sheets? My credibility is also being questioned because of how the homework is worded?

Geez. I was originally looking for support because I was very upset that a teacher would be so cavalier about war and bombing in the Middle East. I had no idea that people would demand proof, call me a liar and pick apart the homework and blame me for deficiencies or weaknesses in the homework.

[topological]

126. It's simple to cross out all names and take a picture

I don't see why you won't.

[Blue_Adept]

129. The burden of proof is on you

I learned thirty years ago of being online to not blindly trust what someone tells me.

I simply brought in my own context as to why it throws up red flags for me. That's not an accusation. It's why I'm simply taking the cautious approach to what's being said and not getting outraged and taking it as True Fact right now.

[demmiblue]

135. You should put some of these posters on ignore.

There are people here who relish in this sort of thing. A few to the point where it is pathological.

Good luck to you!

[Admiral Loinpresser]

155. +1 n/t

[Admiral Loinpresser]

156. Once or twice.

But I prefer going on the Googles.

This person is a long time poster on DU (2004) and has 20,000 plus posts.

She seems credible to me and is not asking for money or anything untoward, so I i'm not losing any sleep considering her sincerity, or worried about her proof.

This thread has become really weird. I don't want to take the skeptical bait. I wish the OP author well and peace to you.

[sarisataka]

120. I could accept

The initial question if a map was included. The 200km fuel is just simplified for the purpose of the question. (The answer is no if you are supposed to get home)

The other two questions are more doubtful

4.) ISIS has been located at 37N and 44E. What city will you target?

7.) ISIS has control of three key oil fields. You need to do an airstrike on that area (please mark with a star). The locations are:

a.) 42N 43E
b.) 31N 45E
c.) 36N 45.5E

37N 44E is in the Qandil mountains. There is no city nearby.

When you strike ISIS at 42N 43E you will start a war as you have hit a site deep in Georgia- country, not state.

[Blue_Adept]

132. Indeed

A quickie map look reveals:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2%B000'00.0%22N+43%C2%B000'00.0%22E/@41.9099969,42.9229557,290424m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

It does look like a nice area to visit though for the views.

[roody]

128. This is outrageous.

[CrispyQ]

131. I would be incensed.

Seriously, that is fucked up. I would make this an issue with the school.

[backscatter712]

133. Holy fuck!

Yeah, I'd be complaining if I was you. This is not cool.

[CoffeeCat]

134. My husband just added a pic of the homework to my original post (eom).

[ronnie624]

136. Couching school lessons in the language of violence and war is harmful to our society.

It's one of the ways the CIA fomented violent jihad and political extremism among young people, years ago in Afghanistan, that inflames that area of the world today. Anyone who opposes this sort of thing has a good head on their shoulders.

[sarisataka]

142. You should be upset

with the grammar of the instructions. "you must be very precocious in your latitude and longitude&quot ?WTF, precise?) An off target could mean civilian casualties. (A complete sentence could mean clear instructions)

The only way several of the questions are answerable is if the reference map is very inaccurate
4) there is no city at/near the given coordinates
5) the given coordinates are farm land. The nearest city is Aziz at 36N 39E
6) Ar Rutbah is not on a river

if they are going to give a ridiculous test, at least make it accurate

[muriel_volestrangler]

165. I agree about 4) - there doesn't seem to be anything you could call a 'city' nearby

For 5), if Google Maps has got it right, Aziz is closer to 36N 40.0E than 36N 39.0 E

A close-up of Ar Rutbah looks like it has a dry meandering river bed flowing through it, that would join the Wadi Hawran - seasonal, perhaps? (From its Wikipedia page - " Considered a "wet spot", it receives 114.3 mm (4.5 inches) of rain annually&quot

[Rex]

137. "You have 200km with of fuel"

With? Really?

[CoffeeCat]

140. The homework is a grammar nightmare...

there are several punctuation errors, and grammatical errors as well.

The word "precocious" is used in the introductory paragraph and does not seem to fit. I think the teacher meant to use the word 'precise', but who knows. The entire sheet is a mess.

She's got dangling prepositions, inappropriate punctuation and awkward wording.

Setting aside the way she trivializes war, bombings and killing--she also has a terrible command of the English language

[Rex]

143. I think you might need to have a teacher/parent conference or a conversation with the admin.

As a former World Geo/World History teacher...I suggest finding out more about this teacher. Something is very wrong here.

[CoffeeCat]

148. I appreciate your viewpoint...

You are a teacher and I value your insight.

I found the warmongering very offensive. However, I am also very progressive and very anti-war. This is why I initially phrased my OP as a question. I wondered if my reaction was colored by my emotions and my political views and I was looking for a reality check.

Setting aside the politics for a minute--Do you think that this was appropriate behavior for a teacher from a professional standpoint? In your opinion, could the teacher be reprimanded for doing this?

I'm trying to understand the possible ramifications if I did speak with the principal. I not entirely clear on how much leeway teachers have with the materials they teach or disseminate.

[roody]

174. This teacher needs guidance.

If in California, he can probably get it.

[cwydro]

150. I agree that the grammar is awful.

Completely wrong usage of "precocious".

This teacher has more problems than just using the wars to teach.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

141. that is grotesque. if they wanted to keep things relevant, why not talk about delivering

food/water to these regions, rather than bombs. ugh. so gross.

you have every right to be upset, but i would personally let it go. going to the teacher/media etc. sounds unnecessarily drastic

[Gormy Cuss]

145. I'd go to the teacher.

I think it's worth a conversation to express disappointment at the choice of bombing for an exercise about distance and ask the teacher why it was chosen. If parents don't push back, teachers like this will continue such nonsense.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

147. i know you're right, but i also know i would likely not do it

partly because most of the world is far more conservative than i am, and i'd always be confronting people if i couldn't let a few things go. i think if i had a kid, i would expect that moral development of that child is primarily my responsibility, so we'd have a discussion of why this question is all kinds of gross, i doubt i'd escalate it though. again, that is probably not the right thing to do, i just know that chances are, i would choose that path

[Codeine]

146. I'm a dick and I owe CoffeeCat an apology.

The internet has made me a bit too cynical. Assuming this page is real you need to go to media with it. It's sick.

Again, you have my heartfelt apology for doubting you and being an asshole about it.

[CoffeeCat]

149. I do understand...

I appreciate your apology. You are right though. There is a lot of bunk on the Internet and anyone can make any claim.

I was just a bit gobsmacked because I didn't expect people to care that much about my OP.

I just wanted a gut check from a few people--because I had a very strong reaction to the homework. I wondered if my progressive views were making me a bit emotional about the homework. I am very anti-war and I am sick and tired of people in the Middle East being objectified and turned into the equivalent of objects--so that Americans can feel more cozy about the bombings. It's revolting. And when I saw that this teacher seemed to be softening up *my own daughter* to that evil--I had a visceral reaction.

I'm a very non-confrontational person as well. I like to think things through, so I didn't post the homework immediately.

But I do get people questioning it. It's hard to believe that a teacher would do this.

No worries.

[passiveporcupine]

167. I tend to be a very skeptical person

So I did have questions about the legitimacy of this rather strange story. However, after discovering the answer to one of my questions (Rawah, not Rajah), and not being able to find a single story on-line about this homework assignment, other than here, I am siding with believing this. Besides, as a long-term member here, I don't think you have a history of hysterics and fabrication.

Just wanted to let you know, I'm not looking for ways to disbelieve...I just had some reservations because it seems so bizarre and the quiz was just so strange and inaccurate in so many ways (that word precocious has me pretty freaked out too). But we are living in a bizarre world today. And there are all kinds of teachers out there. I know we had a few strange ones when I was in high school.

So, I would also want to discuss this with the teacher who handed it out and the principal...dropping bombs on people (even enemies) in a quiz or homework assignment is not my idea of appropriate.

[bettyellen]

151. You are awesome. Haven't always agreed with you over the years, but....

have serious respect.

[demmiblue]

157. Good on you.

[Rex]

178. At least you fess up, 99% of the people here will not do that.

I admit I had my doubts too, I think most people in this thread did. Part of that I believe is due to the fact the teacher cannot create a coherent worksheet.

Good on ya.

[WestCoastLib]

161. Without knowing more, I would say yes, you are wrong to be upset.

There is often an effort in many schools to try and coordinate various subjects into an expanded learning that looks at single subject matter from all of the various scholastic subjects.

They start this early on so, for example, my first grader had a week on Spiders.

Reading: They read books with spiders as characters or books about spiders
Math: They did math based on the number 8, for spider legs
Science: They learned about what spiders ate, where and how they lived.
Art: They created spider webs and spiders
Writing: They wrote about spiders

The idea is to dive deep into a single area and use it to explore how the various subjects relate.

Without knowing more about what your child is learning, I can't say if this is inappropriate. All of the questions on that page are about war in the middle east. Is that what they are also learning about in other subjects?

[truebrit71]

163. If that is legit, that is beyond fucked up.

...

[Squinch]

168. Part of the problem with treating teachers like crap for 20 years is that after a while fewer smart

people want to be teachers, and you get more and more imbeciles like this one.

You are absolutely right to be bothered. I know others are advising you to tread lightly with this teacher, but I would bring it to the principal and voice my disapproval.

[ProfessorGAC]

179. The Rules Too, Squinch

I'd like to teach high school for a few years as i near retirement. 3 advanced degrees and would need to go back to undergrad for 48 hours (yes, 48) to get a teaching certificate for high school.

What chemistry or math couldn't i teach, and be able to use practicum because i actually used this stuff in the real world.

And, after the years on stage, i sure don't have a public speaking problem.

So, this is one smart and highly educated person who is willing to do it and can't.

[MH1]

171. I would be upset too.

They could have taught the geography without using a scenario of violence. I think someone suggested it upthread before me, but why not "deliver humanitarian supplies" instead of "you want to bomb ..."?

I think it is wrong and you should discuss it with the teacher and the school. Better yet, if you know other parents who might feel the same, try to get together with them. Do you have PTA meetings? Would that be a place to bring up the issue of using violence in school examples?

(unless of course, your kid is at a place called something like "Valley Forge Military Academy". I'm guessing that's not the case here.)

[niyad]

173. have to get them brainwashed early. damned right I would be upset, and you are absolutely correct.

[cui bono]

175. It actually says... "You have 200km WITH of fuel"

That map teacher needs to take a high school English class.

[progree]

176. Sigh. Picky Picky :-) Well, here's a few more

[font color = blue]"2. Please write a relative location for Turkey"[/font] (this comes after "Please name the hemispheres Syria and Iraq are in." So maybe the teacher is looking for "north" of Syria and Iraq as an answer. But was confusing the first time I read it... I would have worded it more clearly. At first read, I thought it was asking how would my relative describe the location of Turkey? I shudder to think, like "way over thar in haji land&quot

[font color = blue]"3. ... Their missiles have 250-mile radius."[/font] (not sure of "furthest distance" either in "Please draw an arc showing the furthest distance they can travel", I would have said farthest distance. But a quick Google search indicates "furthest" is often used. But so is "ain't" and "them thar" as in "them thar librahs" )

[font color = blue]"5. Vadmir Putin"[/font]

[font color = blue]"10. You are currently at Baghdad?"[/font] (why the "?" Is it an accusation or something? Like you are consorting with the Hajiis?)

[font color = blue]"11. You want to bomb Mosul, Rawah, Sinjar and then return?"[/font] (why the "?". I mean hell yes, I want to wipe out all 3 "Haji" cities, and yes, I want to return for some well deserved R&R and adulation. Who the fuck wouldn't, for Chrissake???)

Haji of course is a pilgrim to Mecca. But U.S. troops adopted the term "Haji" as a disparaging term for Iraqis and Afghanis and Muslims in general.

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#CEF6FE;"] The homework assignment is posted at: http://imgur.com/31Yzpbi

[lonestarnot]

181. Have to start early on that endless war propaganda.