By Laura Ly, Special to CNN (CNN) - A math homework assignment
that asked fourth grade students to tally the number of slaves
on a ship has sparked outrage among parents and administrators
in Manhattan. The assignment was devised by another group of
students, after they apparently expressed interest in the
transatlantic slave trade. It required fourth graders to
calculate the remainder of those not killed by a mutiny aboard
the vessel, and to determine the number of times slaves were
beaten in one month. “This is really inappropriate,” student
teacher Aziza Harding told CNN affiliate NY1 on Friday. “It
should not be a homework assignment, and I did not want to make
copies of this.” Harding was asked to photocopy the assignment
by another teacher, but refused because the questions made her
uncomfortable and she thought it desensitized students to the
horrors of slavery. The first question read: "In a slave ship,
there are 3,799 slaves. One day, the slaves took over the ship.
1,897 slaves are dead. How many sla