A Texas school is under pressure after organizing a “Cavalry Rules Day” and encouraging students to “obey” any “reasonable” demands made by male classmates.
According to a copy from the attribution rules posted by a Dallas Morning News reporter, the unorthodox lesson was meant to imitate medieval notions of chivalry to demonstrate how “courteous love is transported to the modern day”.
The students were encouraged to “address all men with their heads down and bow” and encouraged to “not complain or complain” during the task.
To earn points during the exercise at Shallowater High School in Lubbock, the students were told not to “show intellectual superiority if it offended the men around them,” according to the tweet.
Male students also received advice – including referring to girls as “milady” and showing “courteous courtesy in helping ladies who may have dropped an article by collecting it for them,” according to a subsequent tweet.
The boys were also instructed not to use vulgarity or to complain and get up when women entered or left a room.
Reactions on Twitter varied – with some speculation that the assignments should demonstrate regressive gender roles in the period.
But the majority of respondents considered the material unacceptable, no matter what the intention.
The school ended up canceling the concept at once.
“This assignment has been revised and, despite its historical context, does not reflect our district and community values,” wrote Dr. Anita Herbert, superintendent of the local district, according to Fox News. “The matter was resolved with the teacher and the task was removed.”