A parent in Virginia has concerns about schools assigning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird. As a result, both books are now temporarily banned from use in the classroom until some kind of hearing can take place. The rationale behind her concerns is that the N-word is used quite a bit in both, which leaves students focusing on its repeated use rather than on the book. I couldn’t disagree more.
I, like just about all of you, have read both books. And though I absolutely have a problem with the language and offer no justification during any time period for its use, I can’t help but scratch my head. Why? I actually found a quote from the parent in which she backs her argument about how divided the country is. To me, it sounds like her concerns about the language are just a front for her political motivation.
I’m curious as to whether she thinks books written in the 19th and 20th centuries and taught to teens in school actually contribute to that division she speaks of. I’m curious as to whether she believes highly educated teachers are incapable of teaching books such as these two because of the language within each of them. I’m curious as to whether she would rather kids be taught books written in the 21st century with absolutely no historical element. And I’m curious as to whether she utilized her ability to opt out of the assignment of particular books in school. Because I know schools and teachers always make it 100% clear BEFORE an assigned book is started that parents can choose to have their son or daughter read something else if they have a problem with a title.
But doing this and causing these two books to be banned from classroom use does nothing positive for anyone. I’m sitting here thinking about what my reaction to some of the events in To Kill a Mockingbird would have been had I read the book in class.
A question I’d have wanted to discuss is what I thought would have happened at the jail had Scout and Jem not showed up alongside Atticus. Because we all know what that mob group intended to do. And we all know why they intended to do it. That discussion taking place amongst friends and a highly educated teacher who has likely read and studied the book several times is where I want it to take place. Because parents don’t always know what to say about certain things.
As you can see, I have strong feelings about any book being banned for any reason. But this parent’s argument simply doesn’t hold up under the weight of its own words.
Johnny Reads 
To Kill a Mockingbird is exactly the kind of book that SHOULD be read when a country is divided. We need to be reminded of what happens when we blame a group for all the ills rather than accepting the complexities behind issues. To Kill a Mockingbird argues against simple answers, easy blame. We need that kind of thought process to be ignited.
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You are 100% right. Otherwise what are we even doing? Books are such a great way to reach and to learn, and these students are being deprived of learning from two great works.
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I have to be honest, I was never much for Huck Finn. LOL. But not because it’s objectionable or because it has ideas that should be thought about, I just found it boring. LOL
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I honestly don’t remember much of it. Except that they were going down the Mississippi. I think?
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Yeah something like that. LOL
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Mark Twain was a product of his time, he questioned things through his story telling and gave grounds for not blindly following the status quo. By reading and discussing these books students learn the mistakes of the past. Let’s discuss books and writing to find out about the times that bore them.
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Exactly right.
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[…] via Banning Books Will Never Work — Johnny Reads […]
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I never understood why parents deem a lot of books “inappropriate” or what have you. Yes, your kids don’t need to be reading 50 Shades of Grey and the like, but come on, controversy books are the ones that spark discussion and talk. If we all read Step by Step books, there’s little to no room for discussion and growth in our future children. Sheltering them also does no good, they need exposure to things and to be able to think and process and come up with their own point of view on things. They can’t all be told A=1 and A is the only ‘correct’ way / answer.
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Any time we are told or encouraged to think the same way is when we create more problems for ourselves. If kids aren’t encouraged to have an open mind and to think for themselves (whether through books or otherwise) to form their own opinions, we’re setting them up for failure. I know parents typically want what they think is best for their kids, but taking away books because they were written in different eras and contain bad language does absolutely nothing for the kid. Only restricts their ability to learn and make their own decisions on what’s right and wrong.
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Exactly. Great books create discussion. For people to gain understanding and opinions.
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Which is important when you have people who refuse to be open minded or to learn about the life experiences of others. Kids can’t be raised that way.
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