Metro Dad Furious Over Content Of Son's Homework Assignment

An Oklahoma City father is upset over homework his 8th grade son was assigned in the Western Heights School District.

Wednesday, November 26th 2014, 6:38 pm

By: News 9


An Oklahoma City father is upset over homework his 8th grade son was assigned in the Western Heights School District.

Larry Nethercutt said the subject matter is completely inappropriate. The worksheet details a real-life murder in which a student is accused of killing his teacher.

Nethercutt's 13-year-old son, Wyatt, stopped after question number 2 on his homework.

“Once I got to it, I went to my mom immediately and said, ‘Mom, this just took a really dark turn,'” Wyatt told News 9.

Wyatt is an 8th grader at Western Heights Middle School. He was supposed to be circling verbs, but his thoughts started swirling when he read question 3 which stated: "He followed his teacher to the bathroom, beat her, and slit her throat."

“It kept going through my head, like the images of it,” Wyatt explained. “I stopped reading it and I couldn't read it anymore or else I'd get the images in my head still.”

Larry Nethercutt said he got angrier the further he read.

“I was shocked,” Nethercutt said. “When I got to the phrase, ‘slit her throat,' that's where I stopped and that's when I picked up the phone.”

The next question read, "He, then, dumped her body in the woods behind the school."

The fifth question said, “Police were notified when a pool of blood was found in the women's bathroom.”

Another question read, “No one knows what caused him to kill his teacher.”

The assignment is referencing the October 2013 murder of a Massachusetts teacher at school. The suspect accused in the crime is a 15-year-old student.

“I don't expect my son to be subjected to violence and they're handing it out,” said Nethercutt. “He's not looking for it, it's given to him.”

Nethercutt said he met with the school teacher and principal and they told him his son could be exempt from uncomfortable assignments in the future. He wonders if other parents know the subject matter of their kids' homework.

“I feel like I speak for the rest of the parents that this is not, this material shouldn't even be in this school building. This should not even be an option,” Nethercutt told News 9.

Western Heights Superintendent Joe Kitchens said he was unaware of the assignment and promises to look into it. Kitchens said he is concerned about the content of the assignment and does not think it is appropriate.

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