CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- A role-playing exercise at a Clarksville elementary school is raising some eyebrows.

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The exercise separates students into two groups -- slaves and masters.

The whole thing is supposed to be a learning experience, but one teacher at the school is concerned about what kind of lesson is being taught.

The teacher speaking out about the lesson said there are other ways to teach history.

“I love the school system, but that’s a mistake in my opinion,” said Lettie Kendrall.

She said it takes a lot for a student to shock her but that one student did.

“She told me she was a master and I said, ‘Master of what?’ She went on to tell me that the blacks were slaves and the whites were masters,” she said.

“The social studies teachers at this school thought it would be a really positive experience for students to really grasp and comprehend what it would feel like to be a slave in that time period,” said school spokeswoman Elise Shelton.

Students in the class have participated in the exercise for the last four years. The groups switch roles after one day.

Kendrall said she never knew about the exercise until this year and said she thinks it promotes racism.

Some parents said they can see how the method can be an educational tool.

“I guess it’s just a part of history. It wouldn’t bother me none,” said parent Naoj Javer.

“There’s nothing wrong with them learning what happened in the past, as long as things haven’t been taken out of (context). As long as it’s a learning experience, I really have no problem with it,” said parent A. Sims.

The school district ended the masters and slaves lesson after Kendrall complained.

“We certainly want to be respectful and responsive to her and her concerns. It’s something that we stopped immediately,” Shelton said.

The student who confronted Kendrall also apologized, but Kendrall said she doesn’t blame the child.

“I didn’t think the child should have been apologizing for something that she was taught to do,” she said.

A representative said that the lesson was intended to show the child what it was like to be slave and to lose their voice and ability to have opinions.

After the exercise, children wrote papers describing their experiences. The exercise has now been stopped.

The school district said that in the four years the exercise has been done, they have received no complaints from parents.