In a baffling episode of poor judgment, a math teacher in Cleveland, Ohio, found himself in hot water after presenting his students with a decidedly inappropriate math problem. Daniel Rapp, a teacher at Middleburg Heights Junior High School, received a written reprimand for including a question that involved “nudes.” Yes, you read that right.
The incident came to light when the father of two 14-year-old students shared the story with local news outlets after his kids showed him the math problem displayed on the overhead projector. The question posed was: “Tony can send 5 texts and 3 nudes in 19 minutes. He could also send 3 texts and 1 nude in 9 minutes. How long would it take him to send one text and one nude?”
First off, who can even solve that? It’s enough to make anyone feel inadequate! And seriously, Tony—four nude photos in 28 minutes? Is he overthinking this? If these are all meant for the same recipient, he might want to rethink his strategy; there’s only so many unsolicited images anyone can endure. If he’s sending them to different people, then yikes—three out of four recipients probably just grimaced and shared the “artwork” with their friends.
The real question is how an adult thought this would be appropriate for a junior high algebra class. Michael Sheppard, the school district superintendent, expressed his discomfort during discussions with Rapp, stating there was a lot of “clarifying” about the school’s expectations. “The district addressed the teacher and clarified what happened, providing what we felt was the appropriate response, which was to reinforce that this was inappropriate,” he noted.
Rapp, who Sheppard described as a competent educator who “just used an inappropriate word,” has returned to teaching. While a written reprimand might seem fitting for a misstep, it’s worth mentioning that there’s a record of a previous incident involving similar issues. “There might have been something where he used an inappropriate word in class, but I don’t know the specifics,” Sheppard added.
Comments on Fox6 News‘ Facebook page reflected the community’s reaction, highlighting the bizarre priorities of students today when it comes to math class.
This amusing incident serves as a reminder of the importance of context in education. And speaking of context, if you’re interested in learning more about pregnancy and home insemination, check out this excellent resource from the CDC.
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In summary, while this math problem was a major faux pas for Rapp, it certainly made for a memorable lesson in what NOT to include in a classroom setting.