At a time when the world is fighting slavery and racism, a school in Wisconsin, US, has sparked controversy after asking fourth graders to list "good reasons for slavery".

The school in question is Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Milwaukee city of Wisconsin where an English teacher asked students of fourth grade to list "three good reasons for slavery" as an assignment. The group task, given on Monday, 8 January, also asked the pupils to list three bad reasons for slavery, Click2Houston reported.

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The assignment left parents of the children shocked, who were not able to understand why the English teacher gave something like this as a task.

"It's highly offensive and insensitive," one parent said.
Trameka Brown-Berry, whose son studies in the same class, said: "Not only was my son in an awful position, but the students who weren't black, because it's that sort of mentality of not being able to see from another's perspective and only seeing your lens-- that's what dangerous. That's what keeps racism going."

The mother of nine-year-old also asked people to speak up and added that the assignment should be a lesson to all. "Speak up, tell your story and voice your opinion because that is how you go about change. And that is what I was trying to model for my son," Brown-Berry said.

Local media reports stated the school's Principal Jim Van Dellen will soon meet parents to discuss the matter, but he has refused to address questions from media.

Dellen has also reportedly sent a letter to the parents and the students, saying: "The purpose of the assignment was not, in any way, to have students argue that any slavery is acceptable."

The principal added that the motive behind the task was to spark a debate among students, but it has now been removed from the curriculum. He also ensured that these kind of situations would not occur again.

Meanwhile, the identity of the teacher has not been disclosed and it's unclear whether the teacher was disciplined.