This Is The Most Inappropriate School Prize Ever

When 9-year-old Jacob got off the school bus last week, his mom was shocked to see him proudly sporting a gray Confederate army hat. Natasha Lea, the Reidsville, NC mom, was not happy about this. She told Carter Coyle from WGHP Fox 8, “I said, ‘Jacob, come here, son [...] Let me see that.’” When the boy explained that he had won the offending item at an auction in his classroom, Lea was outraged.

“I did not want to believe that. That the school actually let him walk around as an African-American child with a Confederate cap on. This stands for a dark time in our history.”

What was that Confederate army hat doing at school?

The hat does not have the Confederate flag or any other emblems on it, but it still clearly looks like what the report calls a “costume piece” for topping off a Confederate army uniform. You’d think that in this day and age, the teacher would have noticed something amiss before giving it to a student. Then again, we’re talking about North Carolina here.

With an aghast look on her face, Lee asked an obvious question.

“What is this hat doing in that school, period? For any child?”

The school told WGHP that the confederate army hat was donated by a school parent for a classroom “auction” held before the winter holidays (Lea’s son left the cap at school after winning it, and later picked it up from the Lost and Found). Which should make all of us sorry that this kid has to go to a school with kids who are raised by clueless parents who think a Confederate army hat makes for a nice classroom prize.

County spokesperson Karen Hyler further explained:

 “At South End Elementary a classroom teacher rewards students with ‘big bucks’ for positive behavior. Before winter break in December, the class had an auction where students could bid on different items using their big bucks. Many of the items are donated by families. One of the items for bid was a grey cap with a black bill. The cap did not feature any additional decorations.”

Of course, Hyler didn’t call it a “grey Confederate army hat with a black bill.” That would make the school look culturally insensitive.

The teacher had ‘no malicious intent.’ And that’s part of the problem.

Despite Lea’s shock and anger over this incident, all she asks is that the school be more “considerate” in the future.

“Ultimately, the teacher had no malicious intent offering this cap as a reward. The school has reflected on this issue and will be sure to thoroughly screen items donated to err on the side of caution that they could not be seen as potentially offensive.”

In a way, the teacher’s lack of ‘malicious intent’ makes things even worse. Could it be that Confederate symbols are still so widely embraced in the south that it never even occurred to the teacher that the hat might deeply offend someone?

Here’s the video with WGHP Fox 8‘s report on the Confederate army hat story.