Teacher Binds Black Girl’s Hands For Slavery Lesson

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by Lamar Tyler | on December 10th, 2008 | 14 comments

Eileen Bernstein, a white New York social studies teacher, is under fire after tying the hands and feet of two black girls together during a class lesson on slavery.

The mother of one of the girls is outraged and is demanding the teacher be removed from the class. Eileen apologized to the mother and a representative of the NAACP, but the child’s mother still feels the teacher should be removed because it will be uncomfortable for her child to return to that classroom.

If this were your child what would you do? Would you demand for the teacher to be fired? Sue the school system? Or would you accept the apology of the teacher?

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

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Comments (14)

ewok Wednesday - 10 / 12 / 2008 Reply

As a mother of an infant, reading these things scare me and I wonder what I would do. I have to think about my mother and her struggle and what that means to me and my child. I also know the intense feeling of love I have for my child and I have to teach this first lesson right to her. So, I would also take a stand. This is 2008. There is no excuse for this type of behavior from a college educated adult trusted with the job of educating your child. All teachers across the board nationally need to take sensitiviity training, and lessons in diversity. Simply put: Here's the junk you can and can't do, and can and can't say. Would I want her fired? Quite possibly,yes. See, had it been 1960, the white teacher wouldn't even have gotten a slap on the wrist let alone having to apologize to the child's mother and the NAACP. Now, in 2008 (Obama is the next president for Pete's sake!..LOL.) she needs to be made an example of and to let all teachers know to think before they act, and that act of hers was unacceptable. P.S. As I was typing this, my blackness would not allow me to let this woman get a pass.....did we get a pass? We don't know; she could have been getting her private jollies off or something.....could have secretly made her day....who knows? But just to be sure I can sleep at night; the chick must pay. No tying my baby up so she can be made an example of how slaves were bound. No Ma'am!
dede Wednesday - 10 / 12 / 2008 Reply

how about if their child is caged up and not fed lunch for the day when hitler is being discussed. maybe then that teacher will get a clue of what is not proper!! and yes she should be fired. if she disrespected once she will do it again. (just an apologize) it is to late in the day for this type of madness
Harriet Wednesday - 10 / 12 / 2008 Reply

I think I'm going to play the devil's advocate here: what if Eileen Bernstein (the teacher in this case) was a black woman? What if this black woman's motivation was to ensure all her students, no matter their ethnicity, would learn to appreciate their freedom? All I'm saying is that the young girl's life has been emotionally altered as a result of this lesson. A parent could capitalize on this situation to teach their child not to ever take for granted the sacrifices and struggles their progenitors made in order to give us the kinds of opportunties we have today. They could even "Obamize" the circumstance. LOL The teacher had a lapse of judgment. She more than likely could have aroused the sentiment she sought by having them watch the opening scene of Amistad or Roots; however, I don't think her intent was malicious.
MKT Thursday - 11 / 12 / 2008 Reply

There are too many unknowns to judge this piece yet. Did she ask for volunteers? Were there any white kids in the class? What a stronge lesson for those children to learn. When the US Holocaust Memorial Museum opened in Washington DC, I went to visit it. Out of the three hours I spent there, I still to this day can't get the sights and smell of the shoe room out of my head. 9/11 I can still remember the the smoke and calling all of my friends to make sure they were still alive. Passing the armes guards and tanks on the corners for weeks picking my children up from school. I met Jane Elliott the Iowa school teacher who did Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes way back when. She was a white school teacher that people not only threatened to kill her, but actually tried because of her study in the class room. Lets not be too quick to judge. Experiencing and feeling and seeing has a lasting impression. This teacher MAY have taught a life lesson that these children will carry on. How do we know if she has empowered them to work the struggle. To join parties like the NAACP? To know what their history is and to move the movement forward.
Mark Thursday - 11 / 12 / 2008 Reply

The last response is spot on. Doesn't it seem most likely that the white teacher was trying to impart how awful it must have been to have one's hands and feet bound, and, by extension, how cruel and inhuman slavery was? (We don't know for sure, but it seems more likely that than her wanting to tease or humiliate the students.) If so, then the teacher was doing a great service and should be applauded. The most you could say is that she made a minor misjudgment - but even that would require a heavily paternalistic and insulting judgment about the frail "emotional health" of the students. As for this comment above: "See, had it been 1960, the white teacher wouldn’t even have gotten a slap on the wrist let alone having to apologize to the child’s mother and the NAACP." If my speculation about what happened is correct, a white teacher in 1960 never would have had such a lesson! This comment presumes, against the odds, that the white teacher in 2008 bounds the students' hands and feet for the same reason that the white teacher in 1960 (let's assume in the South) would have. That's ridiculous.
ewok Thursday - 11 / 12 / 2008 Reply

Mark....Ridiculous? Really? True, I was not around in the '60's. But I am from and live in the South where men are still being dragged to death with nothing more than a piece of their jaw left to identify them. I am also a hop, skip, and a jump away from Vidor, Texas. Look it up if you are interested, by all means. In the '60's...you're right, the lesson would not have been taught at all, but hopefully you are not as naive to think that there was not social unrest at the time and if something DID happen and the white teacher was to blame for doing something to a black student....hardly anything (if anything at all) would have been done to discipline this teacher. The Civil Rights Movement existed so we CAN do something about injustice....not so we can overlook it and say "well maybe she had no malicious intent" Do you know this for a fact? Or would you trust your child if she tells you she would be uncomfortable if she remained in that class? True, she will have to fight these battles as an adult, but while she is a child in my care, she will always know that mama will protect her no matter how much of a nuisance she may become to people who simply want her to shut up and brush it under the rug. My mother has been a teacher for over 35 years and the things she has seen from decade to decade would break a weaker person. She loves what she does and she loves her students...black, white, purple..lol. And they love her. Always come back to see her. With that love comes a sensitivity to ones' culture, feelings, and educational needs. Many teach because they like the three months off during the summer and the holiday schedule. Not a good enough reason to teach someone's child. Not to say it's this particular teacher's motivation but you get my point hopefully. I stand by my'ridiculous' statement and choose to protect my child if something like this happened to her (God forbid) I will always protect her with dignity, grace, and with the ferocity of a lioness if need be. Instead of trying to find out who that teacher is a person and make excuses for her; I would much rather make sure my child can have a productive school year and the best education possible.
Kit (Keep It Trill) Saturday - 13 / 12 / 2008 Reply

Seems to me that lesson went beyond the boundaries of education and into the realm of therapy, as though the teacher were trying to teach empathy for what slaves experienced. The intent may have been good, but the social dynamics of a white person subjugating a black child to this in this racist society underscores the power whites still have over blacks. Further, the teacher had no knowledge of the child's history. What if that kid had been abused in the past by a family member, daycare provider or neighbor? The lesson would have triggered memories of the trauma and re-traumatized the child - or a parent with a history of being abused and has bent over backwards to avoid her child being abused. I suspect the parents have a good lawsuit, which would probably be settled out of court. Kit (Keep It Trill)s last blog post..Hard Rocks Love 8: Madness Runs In Families And It Runs Both Ways
Harriet Saturday - 13 / 12 / 2008 Reply

I have one more question that may seem a little terse and open a can of worms, but I gotta ask: This woman called the NAACP. Just how relevant is that organization today with regard to addressing the ills we face as African Americans? Is it just the name that evokes fear in the minds of this particular school administration? The ACLU does the same thing, except they are clearly anti anything that disagrees with their radically left stance...I wonder if they would jump to defend someone like me...African American, but Christian and against homosexual behavior, abortion, and a lot of the other causes they seek to stand against.
Anna Saturday - 13 / 12 / 2008 Reply

I am wondering how different the comments would be if it were your child.
Harriet Saturday - 13 / 12 / 2008 Reply

@ Anna, I would have to have all the facts before making a decision. Was my child singled out BECAUSE she was black, or did the teacher ask for a volunteer? Did the teacher give a disclaimer about the potential unpleasantness of the lesson, or did she just start binding and arresting the child? What other material did the teacher have at her disposal to teach the lesson? When my child wanted to get out, did the teacher make her stay in there? As a parent, I would definitely ask all those types of questions to get all the facts prior to dragging the NAACP or any other kind of legal or civil organizations into the fray.
Samantha Sunday - 14 / 12 / 2008 Reply

I think this is utterly ridiculous. When I was in school our teachers did this type of thing, though not that extreme... They did use students to demonstrate how things happened. You VOLUNTEERED to do these things. BUT what I would like to know is what happened in the process of this child being tied up? Did she not feel embarrassed when she put her hands together so the teacher could tie them? Even before her knees hit the floor? She didn't refuse then? I doubt the child was FORCED to be tied up. Had there been any complaints about the teacher prior to this? This was just a teaching lesson/activity gone wrong. Teachers are told to be hands on, and that's just what she was doing. I feel the activity was a creative one, it's just unfortunate that the student doing this became uncomfortable. I'm sure now the students will have to do ONLY book work. No more hands on activities.
C.N.EDAW Sunday - 14 / 12 / 2008 Reply

I agree with the folks who say I would have to have ALL the facts before getting my noise all out of joint. When I was school in Texas we dressed up as Pioneers and ate food cooked from around a campfire and our teacher asked people to volunteer to simulate certain chores the Pioneers did. During a chapter on the Civil War we all went to a cotton field and learned how hard picking cotton was to illustrate what slaves had to go through. Not one black parent complained and my parents were GLAD I got a taste of what our ancestors went through. We did the same types of things when learning about Native Americans or Mexican Americans and something every day during Black History month. We know so much more now about the conditions of slaves than we did when I was in school just more than a decade ago so I can imagine textbooks have come up with more interactive activities for students. Handled right in a diverse classroom, I don't have a problem with this in theory. This is only a story IF this child was singled out by the teacher because they were black--which could be likely if the teacher is completely racially insensitive and the child is the only black child in the class. Then the parents probably have reason to be angry, additionally so if the child suffered any physical harm. However, in NY I find that scenario highly unlikely. I grew up in mostly white communities and recall being humiliated, perhaps unintentionally, when the topic turned to race because I was the ONLY child of color in some classes and well meaning but clueless white teachers would use me to demonstrate a point at times. This child may have felt THAT sort of humiliation compounded by the actual demonstration. I am not in favor of knee jerk lawsuits and calling the NAACP. First of all you have to PROVE the teacher intended harm--difficult to do. Lawsuits are expensive for the people filing them--the school has insurance and unless you can prove this teacher has a pattern of racist behavior which she let manifest itself in the classroom you are just wasting time and money. Racial discrimination suits are difficult to win and prove. Just call the EEOC or a civil rights attorney and see what they tell you your chances are of winning or recovering any signifigant money in a case like this, especially if there were other black children in the class who did the same thing and those parents were not offended. If the white kids did it too, you don't have a leg to stand on. If the teacher was truly remorseful and apoligized I think that's sufficient IF the child was not singled out. And if the child volunteered and then later realized they were putting themselves in the position of possible ridicule--that's a teaching opportunity for the parents and they should talk to the teacher about how a young black child might be or feel ostracized in such a situation afterwards.
C.N.EDAW Sunday - 14 / 12 / 2008 Reply

I should say in my post in a few places "children", as I see from the article it was TWO black girls.
ewok Monday - 15 / 12 / 2008 Reply

Thanks Anna. I am wondering the same thing.