A “morality test” distributed to students at an Ohio high school — featuring questions on topics like incest and puppy-killing — has outraged parents and resulted in the teacher’s suspension.
Sarah Gillam, a 35-year-old Language Arts instructor at Hilliard Bradley High School, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
“Last night, we were made aware of a classroom activity that should never have taken place,” school district officials said in a statement obtained by the paper. “We absolutely share the outrage of our parents and community.”
“Last night, we were made aware of a classroom activity that should never have taken place. We absolutely share the outrage of our parents and community.”
The 36-question online test was taken from the website IDRlabs.com, run by MBTI Trust Inc., run by Myers & Briggs, a familiar name in research. It asked students to make moral judgments on a series of situations, responding with one of seven choices — ranging from “Not OK” in red on the left to “OK” in green on the right, the paper reported.
Bizarre morality test gets Hilliard teacher suspended https://t.co/CLMhARldmx
— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) September 6, 2018
Parents sent some of the disturbing test questions to FOX28 Columbus. One read: “Using both a condom and a pill, a brother and a sister decide that they want to sleep with each other — just once, to see what it would be like.”
Another question read: “Sarah’s dog has four puppies. She can only find a home for two of them, so she kills the other two with a stone to the head.”
Teacher at Hilliard Bradley High School placed on leave after disturbing quiz questions https://t.co/YcdTTWdBBV pic.twitter.com/b24EFUXbCH
— WTTE FOX 28 (@fox28columbus) September 7, 2018
According to the Dispatch, some of the questions were more routine: A boy slams the door in his father’s face because he won’t let him attend a late-night party.
However, the questions on sexual and violent topics angered many parents and community members.
“What does the teacher need to know that information for?” Todd Sandberg, father of a tenth-grader, told the paper. “The questions are so out of line for high school language arts.”
“What does the teacher need to know that information for? The questions are so out of line for high school language arts.”
The district, which says it never approved the test, issued an apology to parents and students, the paper reported.
