An English class teacher in Dallas, Texas sparked controversy by including the defendant in an alleged double murder on an assignment about heroes, according to CBS DFW. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was listed alongside Indian independence movement leader Mahatma Gandhi, labor activist Cesar Chavez, civil rights icon Malcolm X, and George Floyd. The name of Joseph Rosenbaum, one of the men Rittenhouse is charged with killing, also appears on the list.
A controversial W. T. White High School English assignment is drawing people’s ire for asking students to write about a modern-day hero, and including accused Kenosha killer, Kyle Rittenhouse among the options. https://t.co/14Dzl1teOQ
— CBSDFW (@CBSDFW) September 16, 2020
The assignment, dated Monday, asked that students write a half-page biography on each of the six figures, and then a page on the one who they believed “demonstrates best your concept of a hero.”
Rittenhouse, an Illinois resident, faces two counts of First Degree Intentional Homicide for shooting and killing Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, amid protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the police shooting of local man Jacob Blake. Law&Crime is identifying the defendant because he is being charged as an adult. An attorney for Rittenhouse says the shootings were in self-defense.
“An unapproved assignment posted in Google Classroom yesterday has been brought to our attention,” Dallas ISD said in a statement to CBS DFW. “Understandably, this caused some concern for the impacted students, and we apologize. Campus administration immediately removed the unapproved content and students are not required to complete that assignment. Due to personnel policies, we are not able to comment further, however, the appropriate steps are being followed pending investigation.”
[Screengrab via CBS DFW]
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