WOODLAWN — Parents at Fiske Elementary School are “pissed” after 6th grade students were quizzed on who shot Chief Keef.
According to parents, students were asked by a substitute teacher to memorize details of the rapper’s arrest record and violent past for a music class quiz at Fiske, 6020 S. Langley Ave.
“Now I’m pissed, heads are coming off,” said Katrina Sanders about the lesson her son, Daniel, brought home. “My son has a music teacher that has decided to teach the students about this clown that speaks of death, gangs.”
The Chicago Sun-Times' Mary Mitchell first reported the questionable quizzes.
From materials provided by Sanders, the lesson asked students to compare the biographies of different musicians, but the quiz questions on Chief Keef, also known as Keith Cozart, focus on the rapper being shot and placed under house arrest.
“Who shot Chief Keef when he was 16?” reads one question. The “police” is scored as a correct answer. Actually, Keef was not shot in his run-in with officers, but they did shoot at him after he allegedly pointed a gun at them. (Scroll down to take the quiz yourself. Or take the DNAinfo Expert Chief Keef Quiz.)
“What happened to studying notes, playing instruments?” Sanders said. “My son had to go on the computer to see who this clown is because we are not exposed to this in the home or church.”
It’s unclear where the lesson plan came from and whether students or the substitute teacher selected Keef. Sanders said her son told her the teacher assigned the biographies.
Other lessons included biographies on Chris Brown, the singer who was found guilty in 2009 of assaulting his then girlfriend, the singer Rhianna. Other musicians on the assignment list include the rapper Fetty Wap and Nicki Minaj.
Sanders said Daniel came home with questions about the Illuminati and was nervous and scared about the material, which she said included handouts with profanity.
"He said, 'Mama, the girls are squeezing their cheeks together and twerking in class,'" Sanders said.
The substitute teacher was removed from Fiske on Tuesday according to Chicago Public Schools, but it appears the curriculum went on for several months before catching the eye of administrators.
The assignment list provided by Sanders shows the rapper-related assignments started on Oct. 15 with a Chris Brown quiz and ended Nov. 9 with the Chief Keef quiz of student generated questions.
“This inappropriate project was immediately suspended by the principal as soon as she learned about it,” said Emily Bittner, a spokeswoman for CPS. “While teachers have flexibility in making assignments, CPS requires them to provide age-appropriate material in the classroom.”
Fiske Principal Cynthia Miller was not immediately available to comment.
CPS declined to identify the substitute teacher.
The principal is reaching out to parents concerned about the lesson, according to CPS.
QUIZ: Can you pass a sixth grade Chief Keef quiz?
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