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St. Johns County mother upset over politically-charged question on son's test

A St. Augustine Beach mother-of-three is concerned with a question her son, a junior at St. Augustine High School, received on an exam.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - A St. Augustine Beach mother-of-three is concerned with a question her son, a junior at St. Augustine High School, received on an exam.

The question, which appeared on an exam in an advanced English class Monday, read:

“Right when it appeared the nation was becoming increasingly tolerant of alternative lifestyles, immigration, and minorities, the vocal and angry right-wing forced the nation to make a complete ______ embracing bigotry, xenophobia, and sexism.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” Reanna Parham said. “I had to read it twice.”

Parham’s son sent her a photo of the test Monday. She said the question put her son, who recently started a Young Republicans club at the school, in a difficult situation.

“If he were to answer the question the way the teacher wanted him to answer it, it would essentially be having to admit that his viewpoints were evil,” Parham said. “And I don’t think that’s fair.”

A St. Johns County School District representative told First Coast News the district was not aware of the content of the test before it was given. Additionally, the representative said the school addressed the situation with the teacher internally Monday.

Teachers can create their own test questions, according to the school district representative.

Now, Parham is focused on her son, who she said has received threats since sharing the contents of the exam.

“I think it’s very dangerous to use the term ‘right,’ or ‘right wing’ or ‘right-leaning’ and slump it into the same category as ‘bigot,’ or ‘sexist,’ things like that,” she said.

The school district representative encouraged parents who have concerns about content in their child’s school to contact the school or the district to address them.

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