Over the weekend, a news story described the banning of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird from one Virginia school district. As you may already have guessed, yes, it is over the use of the "n-word" in those famous novels. The complaint was brought by a parent, who stated, "So what are we teaching our children? We're validating that these words are acceptable, and they are not acceptable by any means."
I'm the first one to blame public schools for their poor instruction of today's youth, but when parents are at fault, we must call them out too. This mother clearly has never read these books, yet she wants to deprive an entire community from learning. If she wants to forbid these books in her own home or for her own children, that is perfectly fine--parents have the ultimate authority on what their kids take in. But removing literature so that it is now inaccessible for those who may actually want to read and learn is not only fascistic from a position of liberty, but it is harmful for anyone seeking a real exposure to a humanities education and the discovery of the self.
If this parent, and those like her, would take the time to truly read and wrestle with these classic novels, she would see that the children in the stories learn that the "n-word" is NOT appropriate. Huck and Scout both realize that preconceptions about others and degrading words are wrong. Isn't that a great teaching opportunity? Reading these works allows us to put ourselves in the characters' shoes and simulate life in those historical contexts. When we raft down the river with Jim or stand in the balcony for Mr. Robinson's trial, we get to see the integrity of another human, one who may not have the same skin color but deserves respect as a fellow person. These are valuable lessons the children in the novels learn, and they are what we would hope children in our schools today would learn.
It is no wonder that "post-truth" has been declared word of the year. When we go through life refusing to be exposed to real and valuable ideas by banning books (or shouting down speakers or hiding in safe spaces), we ignore not only literary realities, such as those of the South after the Civil War and during the Great Depression, but we remain ignorant in our current time. Let's hope the school district puts these books back in the curriculum--and invites these parents to come to class and join in the learning.
I'm the first one to blame public schools for their poor instruction of today's youth, but when parents are at fault, we must call them out too. This mother clearly has never read these books, yet she wants to deprive an entire community from learning. If she wants to forbid these books in her own home or for her own children, that is perfectly fine--parents have the ultimate authority on what their kids take in. But removing literature so that it is now inaccessible for those who may actually want to read and learn is not only fascistic from a position of liberty, but it is harmful for anyone seeking a real exposure to a humanities education and the discovery of the self.
If this parent, and those like her, would take the time to truly read and wrestle with these classic novels, she would see that the children in the stories learn that the "n-word" is NOT appropriate. Huck and Scout both realize that preconceptions about others and degrading words are wrong. Isn't that a great teaching opportunity? Reading these works allows us to put ourselves in the characters' shoes and simulate life in those historical contexts. When we raft down the river with Jim or stand in the balcony for Mr. Robinson's trial, we get to see the integrity of another human, one who may not have the same skin color but deserves respect as a fellow person. These are valuable lessons the children in the novels learn, and they are what we would hope children in our schools today would learn.
It is no wonder that "post-truth" has been declared word of the year. When we go through life refusing to be exposed to real and valuable ideas by banning books (or shouting down speakers or hiding in safe spaces), we ignore not only literary realities, such as those of the South after the Civil War and during the Great Depression, but we remain ignorant in our current time. Let's hope the school district puts these books back in the curriculum--and invites these parents to come to class and join in the learning.