Teacher comes under fire for controversial Trump-related homework assignment

A Pennsylvania teacher apologized to parents last Wednesday after handing out a homework assignment that asked students to pretend they were refugees as President Trump tried to "take control of the United States," WJAC reports.

The unnamed teacher at Penn Cambria, a middle school in Cambria County, instructed students to act as if they were being forced to leave their homes and work with their parents, who were, in turn, asked to time their children as they chose items to put in their bags.

"President Trump is trying to take control of the United States!" the assignment reads, according to a snapshot obtained by the station. "There are fights in the streets! You have to pretend that you are a refugee being forced to leave your home, never to return. Please have a parent to them for 10 minutes while they packed a bag. When the time was up they were to take a picture of the contents of their backpack and then email it to me. If no picture, then draw it. You will have to present to us why you chose these items. This is due on Thursday."

When WJAC asked the school district for comment last week, District Superintendent William Marshall said that parents and teachers alike were notified about the incident immediately.

Marshall added that the teacher realized the mistake that was made and called each parent individually to apologize. The teacher also purportedly admitted that the classroom should not be used as a political forum.

In September, a Florida teacher similarly stirred controversy for handing out an assignment that identified the president as an "idiot."

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