Students given homework assignment to create mascot for Nazi party

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Parents are concerned after they say middle school students were asked to create a mascot for the Nazi party as part of a homework assignment.

The assignment was given to sixth grade students at Shiloh Middle School in Snellville.

Students were asked to create a mascot to represent the Nazi party at its political rallies, create a colorful illustration, give the mascot a name and write an explanation on why it was chosen.

Toyka Waller said she was shocked when she found out about her daughter’s assignment.

“When she came home and told me about it, I thought she was playing,” she said.

Waller said she never saw the actual assignment because her daughter had already turned it in.

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Mindy Lopes said her son is in the same class and he showed her the assignment. She said she wants to son to learn about history, but she doesn’t see the point of coming up with a mascot for the Nazi party.

“My kids are very mature, so there are some things they can learn, but it depends on how they’re being taught about history and stuff,” she said.

The president of the NAACP Atlanta chapter said he couldn't make sense of the assignment.

"When you think about a mascot for something, you think it's a good thing -- mascot for your college, mascot for your high school. This is nothing to celebrate," he said.

Gwinnett County Schools said learning about Nazism, the use of propaganda and the events that resulted in the Holocaust is part of the sixth grade social studies curriculum.

However, a school district spokesperson said in a statement, “This assignment is not a part of the approved materials provided by our Social Studies department and is not appropriate and the school is addressing the use of this assignment with the teacher."

Cox Media Group