Patricia Lorenzen, an English teacher at Kingsview Middle School in Germantown, Maryland, assigned the students in her four classes to write a story describing how they would kill her, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The story had to include at least three gerunds, three infinitives and three participles.
Lorenzen sent an apology letter to her students’ parents on Nov. 10. She said she “was trying to create an assignment that would be an engaging way to review grammar concepts, but it was not appropriate and should not have happened.”
Strauss wrote that no student was penalized for failing to complete the assignment.
In an email to Strauss, Kingsview Middle School principal James D’Andrea said, “The teacher stated in the letter to parents that she was trying to engage students in reviewing some grammar concepts. However, she has acknowledged that she used poor judgment with this assignment, and it absolutely should not have occurred. She has apologized to parents and there have been no further issues regarding her assignments. Since this is a personnel matter, I can’t say more at this time. When this occurred more than two months ago, I personally apologized on behalf of the school to the parents who contacted me. The matter has settled down since that time.”