Mississippi School District Pulls "To Kill a Mockingbird" from Shelves

[ELKA]

Mmm... I'm on the fence here.

The book is still literally "on the shelves" in school libraries, despite what the headline would have you believe.

The book has simply been removed from the eighth grade curriculum. It's not being banned.

This is definitely NOT the only book that shows racism in a way that teens can relate to. It's a good book, but it is an older book. While it's very interesting from a historical perspective, the lives of the characters are not especially relevant to teens today. Even when I was a kid, it felt like a peek into an alien world. Remember their housekeeper, Calpurnia?

If they are pulling Mockingbird with an eye toward replacing it with something like "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas, I'd be okay with that. Let's talk about contemporary racism and the impact it has on people's lives!

I love books and I tutor children in reading. I'm always on board to protest book banning. But, I don't think this is necessarily a case of that sort of thing. Without more information, I don't think there's enough to get outraged about here.

Quote: “There are many resources and materials that are available to teach state academic standards to our students,” he said in a statement. “These resources may change periodically.”

Your post gives me a lot to think about. I think that To Kill a Mockingbird is relevant to see the racism and the hypocrisy of people in the timeline of the book and when it was written. When the book was written the civil rights movement was going on and the book resonated with what the African American communities were dealing with. What would really be an interesting comparison is a discourse on To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. The character of Atticus Finch certainly is different in both books, but one is truer than the other.

 

[Hikergirl]

If you have never read it, why are you quick to imply it should be hidden away? Erasing history is a failed agenda.

Hmm, maybe you were absent in English class when they went over reading comprehension.

Try reading my post again, maybe you'll get it next time.

 

[Magpie]

@Magpie, I kinda get where you're coming from, but shouldn't we teaching the Iliad and the Canterbury tales? What's been written in the last 20-30 years that we should make way for? The goldfinch? I mean that was pretty bad booty, as was the silo series, but tell me what we've produced as a people to displace those pieces? I'm legit open. I mean, I think Camus or Becket should be taught and that it's a travesty the best of the last 100 years is glossed over because it's hard and complicated.

Again, I adore your well considered responses on the dis, so I figure you'll have some good thoughts.

I'd LOVE it if we could teach those.

But, here's the thing, what are we going to give up in order to teach these books? What won't we teach? And what do we do about the kids who simply don't have the vocabulary, language skills, or reading ability to keep up? Do we shuffle them off into a class of their own and hand them something easier? Most schools are moving away from streaming, these days.

As for modern definitely-ought-to-be-classics (if they're not already)...

A bit of modern history - Persepolis, a graphic novel tackling the author's experiences growing up during the Iranian revolution.

Ready Player One! AWESOME book. Completely kid-appropriate, with lots of interesting themes.

Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey. A strange, hilarious book about a society where people are socially stratified based on what colours they can see.

The Ancillary Trilogy - all about identity and what makes us human, set in a sprawling culturally rich galactic empire. I would LOVE to teach this one to high schoolers!

And that's just off the top of my head. But, just ask any librarian or book seller and they can tell you that there are some brilliant books being written today.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'd LOVE it if we could teach those.

But, here's the thing, what are we going to give up in order to teach these books? What won't we teach? And what do we do about the kids who simply don't have the vocabulary, language skills, or reading ability to keep up? Do we shuffle them off into a class of their own and hand them something easier? Most schools are moving away from streaming, these days.

As for modern definitely-ought-to-be-classics (if they're not already)...

A bit of modern history - Persepolis, a graphic novel tackling the author's experiences growing up during the Iranian revolution.

Ready Player One! AWESOME book. Completely kid-appropriate, with lots of interesting themes.

Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey. A strange, hilarious book about a society where people are socially stratified based on what colours they can see.

The Ancillary Trilogy - all about identity and what makes us human, set in a sprawling culturally rich galactic empire. I would LOVE to teach this one to high schoolers!

And that's just off the top of my head. But, just ask any librarian or book seller and they can tell you that there are some brilliant books being written today.

I think if you want to instill a love of reading, the last thing you want to do is make reading a "chore". I was a good student with a proper vocabulary and good reading comprehension. But, being forced to wade through these "classics" that couldn't hold my interest was just brutal. Sure, you have to squeeze these in now & then, but by far the hardest part of HS English for me was dealing with reading assignments that bored me to tears (The Scarlet Letter, ugh).

 

[ELKA]

I'd LOVE it if we could teach those.

But, here's the thing, what are we going to give up in order to teach these books? What won't we teach? And what do we do about the kids who simply don't have the vocabulary, language skills, or reading ability to keep up? Do we shuffle them off into a class of their own and hand them something easier? Most schools are moving away from streaming, these days.

As for modern definitely-ought-to-be-classics (if they're not already)...

A bit of modern history - Persepolis, a graphic novel tackling the author's experiences growing up during the Iranian revolution.

Ready Player One! AWESOME book. Completely kid-appropriate, with lots of interesting themes.

Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey. A strange, hilarious book about a society where people are socially stratified based on what colours they can see.

The Ancillary Trilogy - all about identity and what makes us human, set in a sprawling culturally rich galactic empire. I would LOVE to teach this one to high schoolers!

And that's just off the top of my head. But, just ask any librarian or book seller and they can tell you that there are some brilliant books being written today.

I would add Harry Potter, I think it teaches about prejudice in quite a few ways, courage and independence.

 

[ELKA]

I think if you want to instill a love of reading, the last thing you want to do is make reading a "chore". I was a good student with a proper vocabulary and good reading comprehension. But, being forced to wade through these "classics" that couldn't hold my interest was just brutal. Sure, you have to squeeze these in now & then, but by far the hardest part of HS English for me was dealing with reading assignments that bored me to tears (The Scarlet Letter, ugh).

I agree, I am an avid reader and when my teacher wanted us to read All My Sons, I was reading Home of the Brave. Both were in the same book so I read the other play.

 

[Magpie]

I would add Harry Potter, I think it teaches about prejudice in quite a few ways, courage and independence.

Awww! I thought about adding that one, but, to be fair, it's not incredibly well written. Have you ever noticed how nearly everything green is "emerald green"? And my goodness, the later books get unwieldy, with regards to plotting, pacing and flow.

But the world Rowling created was wonderfully rich and immersive, and it's grown so very far past the books themselves. The characters are compelling and iconic. I think Harry Potter well deserves to be considered a classic. But, do we teach it in school? I'm not sure.

 

[luvsJack]

Does it really make national news every time a book is removed from a school's curriculum?

Seems like an attempt to stir the pot by the media.

I have already seen FB debates concerning the race of the parents who complained. Which may be why the superintendent avoided any questions about who complained.

 

[wgeo]

Magpie has made some great points.

The problem in my opinion is that there simply isn't enough time in a kid's school life to get through all the books that "should" be read. Between everything that has to get done in a language arts class in any given year, they don't end up having time to read a huge amount of books. Not to tangent too much, but I wish we could spend more time instilling a LOVE of reading in kids so that they go off on their own and read some of these books, and spend less time getting them ready for tests.

Now I gotta go look up The Ancillary Trilogy - haven't heard of that one.

 

[Magpie]

I think if you want to instill a love of reading, the last thing you want to do is make reading a "chore". I was a good student with a proper vocabulary and good reading comprehension. But, being forced to wade through these "classics" that couldn't hold my interest was just brutal. Sure, you have to squeeze these in now & then, but by far the hardest part of HS English for me was dealing with reading assignments that bored me to tears (The Scarlet Letter, ugh).

My 10th grade English teacher tried to get us to read Henry Fielding's Tom Jones. Almost the entire class rebelled, complaining that it was boring and insisting we weren't going to read it. She tried showing us the 1963 movie. We told her we thought it was dumb. She finally gave in and found another book for us to read instead, the poor woman!

Hilariously, the one student who did actually like the book was my best friend. She was extremely upset with everyone when we succeeded in getting the book pulled from the curriculum.

 

[ELKA]

Awww! I thought about adding that one, but, to be fair, it's not incredibly well written. Have you ever noticed how nearly everything green is "emerald green"? And my goodness, the later books get unwieldy, with regards to plotting, pacing and flow.

But the world Rowling created was wonderfully rich and immersive, and it's grown so very far past the books themselves. The characters are compelling and iconic. I think Harry Potter well deserves to be considered a classic. But, do we teach it in school? I'm not sure.

Totally get it, but I like that she doesn’t dumb down the books and that a lot of characters are flawed and some are not all good or bad.

I can see the same thing with Persepolis, problem with it is that there will be a lot of people that would call it racist even though it is a personal biography.

 

[Magpie]

Now I gotta go look up The Ancillary Trilogy - haven't heard of that one.

Here you go!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BAXFDLM/ref=series_dp_rw_ca_1

 

[Magpie]

Totally get it, but I like that she doesn’t dumb down the books and that a lot of characters are flawed and some are not all good or bad.

I can see the same thing with Persepolis, problem with it is that there will be a lot of people that would call it racist even though it is a personal biography.

Oh my gosh, yes! I very much like her characterization of Snape, and how Dumbledore turns out to be quite flawed. Also book-Ron is really clever, funny and a nicely balanced personality. His flaws are the kind you would expect to see in a teenage boy. (Movie-Ron was a bit more of a comic sidekick character, unfortunately.)

Not sure I really see the racism complaint with Persepolis...? It'd certainly be refreshing to have a non-white POV character for a change.

 

[ELKA]

Oh my gosh, yes! I very much like her characterization of Snape, and how Dumbledore turns out to be quite flawed. Also book-Ron is really clever, funny and a nicely balanced personality. His flaws are the kind you would expect to see in a teenage boy. (Movie-Ron was a bit more of a comic sidekick character, unfortunately.)

Not sure I really see the racism complaint with Persepolis...? It'd certainly be refreshing to have a non-white POV character for a change.

Well the title character rebels against the Sharia laws that the revolution imposed. Are Iranians non white? I know that they are considered Persian. I’m going to have to ask some friends of mine who came from Iran.

 

[L&Lfan]

I always thought Iranians were white. I mean Caucasian as opposed to black or Asian. I believe Caucasian includes more than being "from Europe".

 

[dish rag]

Well the title character rebels against the Sharia laws that the revolution imposed. Are Iranians non white? I know that they are considered Persian. I’m going to have to ask some friends of mine who came from Iran.

I wouldn't ask them that.

 

[ELKA]

I wouldn't ask them that.

Why not, I have been friends with these people since I was a child. They left Iran way before the revolution and there were others that I went to school with.

 

[LSUmiss]

We don't make kids read the Iliad any more, either. Or Pilgrim's Progress. Or the Canterbury Tales.

There's only so many books any school can teach in a year. It's not "erasing history" to choose one over the other.

Don't get me wrong, I think there's real value in reading "classics" - older books with older styles of language, giving a peek into exotic times and places. But, if you want to tackle a modern topic, such as racism, there are a lot of very good, new, relevant books to choose from. The potential problem with using To Kill a Mockingbird, or even Huckleberry Finn, as your sole vehicle for tackling racism, is that you run a very real risk of teaching the kids that racism is historical. That it was an unfortunate part of our history, and we're all over it now.

I guess the real question is... out of all the hundreds of classic books available to us, why are we having the kids read To Kill a Mockingbird? What lessons are we trying to teach them? And is this the best book for it? If the answer is yes, great! If the answer is no, then we shouldn't be afraid to read a different book instead.

Kids here still read The Caterbury Tales in British lit which I think here is 10th grade.

 

[Magpie]

Well the title character rebels against the Sharia laws that the revolution imposed. Are Iranians non white? I know that they are considered Persian. I’m going to have to ask some friends of mine who came from Iran.

So, I just googled, "Are Iranians white?"

And got this as my top result...

https://ajammc.com/2013/12/03/are-iranians-people-of-color/

The article basically sums up to, "It's complicated."

 

[Magpie]

I wouldn't ask them that.

I would think if you're good friends with someone, you should be able to discuss race with them without causing offence.