A school district drops ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Huckleberry Finn’ over use of the n-word

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-school-district-drops-%E2%80%98to-kill-a-mockingbird%E2%80%99-and-%E2%80%98huckleberry-finn%E2%80%99-over-use-of-the-n-word/ar-BBIPKU7

36 white and hispanic and asian students read aloud the dated historical speech aloud might be experienced occassiobally at least as hate unkind loud mean rude scarry frightening anxiety provoking threatening

And when the one hears the many voices read the dated historic speech pattern aloud during pair share partner read alouds, 18 pairs reading aloud hearing others of ethnicity read in a murmuring sound like a swarm of bees , ethnic slurs taunts tumble tremble in the air tremendously amplified by 36 voices differ ethnics slur the one among the many

And those voices are in the air doing small group read alouds , pop corn reading turns the sounds cannot be avoided of all lifes bullying slurs hurled aloud, sometimes softky sometimes shouted, in one states EL classroom strategies which activate engafement of on task verbal communication skills.

Do you want me to tell you about whole class circles double rows ir lines of students circling taking new partners each time citing page and line read aloud reference racial slurs and all as tgey share answers to every question.

Please dont remind me, soon found myself questioning my hair my nose opening a compact to look at my own face


My teachers aide was a senior and said "I hated that book," she said, "I was the only black person in the room, and I felt like e everyone was skways staring at me. I wanted to get my mom to call me in sick and just stay home Mrs ____ I think it lowered my self esteem."

I tried to get the grade level team to drop it out of the curriculum at my first comprehensive high sch after the continuation. Walk through group observation requiring out loud English Learner stratgies increased pressure not to minimize book phrases and sounds out loud. Pressured at risk students exclaimed each profanity or racial slur the author typed with joy loudly smiling sometimes feet stomping. Despite efforts and insertion of civil rights march articling, bus ride, desgrigation articles, forcing equal time breaking into the book curricula the units painfully dated historic slurs triggered posture from slump head bowed sniffs to seated males in tiny plastic seated laminate top desks with pumping fists sweat dripping down temples tightly fists

The book forced unearthly self control, forced gang fight ethnic incidentsts in formerly orderly class groups because it reeks disrespect in the here and now.

The blondest teacher with fairest skin I dont think she bkeached her hair, grinned and said, "thats my favorite book."it was shockingly devisive. One year I skipped it the next year they mandated same book at same time until fortunately they ran short of novel class sets. Thank god. I ASKED FOR another assignment after that. I COULDNT BELIEVE that teams staff enjoyed conflict and discomfort in their classroom or enjoyed evidence of suffering as indicated in their night death camp diorama assignment. I think some folks instigate anguish and enjoy others suffering or discomfort, its how theyre wired.

While this book may have been a ground breaking book of social new awareness decades and decades ago, its now so dated that from my view in california it serves as an instrument of torture on ethnic outlyers by forcing them back to re enact racist bigoted speech as victims in the a-f required for graduation non elective class.

2018. Good riddance. Get it off the curriclum it is damaging triggering vulnerability adding voikitikity needlessly. It is unnecessary there are many ways to learn vocabulary spelling grammar rhetoric speech skills and writing. Students should have opportunities to learn, not be raciallyy dissed by resegregated antics of a writer that in effect brings back the old south in a california classroom.

Just my opinion. It was hell! It brought hell on earth in a mixed race group , legally responsible to disallow bullying g-d damn it, legally responsible to use out loud EL methods in any section with EL students enrolled. GET that book out of here
Oh and btw teachers should be able to nix books and stories and select off an approved chart or grade level list , never be foisted curse addled racisl slur riddled dialoged text as a demanded curricula, as it triggers volitile groups. The point was that they read like for reading comprehension. Why does it have to be that content? Who said? Why? When? Where were they?

I looked at that book, heard those students, and I thought, does god hate me? Why does god want this? I know god has a plan, what is going on? How could this be gods will?
Game changer after that I thought god does not plan each moment theres no way s/ he wanted that book in that setting if these are all his/her children. Some cheap someone somewhere was still using brown faded torn twenty year old sets of novels because they could not because it was good for anyone.

So maybe they should read Finnegan's Wake?

Having strong liberal credentials, I do tend to agree that maybe it is time to let go of the literature of another era. Yes, there is certainly racism alive and well in America nowadays, but it is different. Back then most Americans were approved of it. Now most Americans oppose it. So maybe it is time to move on and make those poor middle school students grind through a more relevant set of books.

Moby Dick is a great book. My dad owned a turkey ranch, so Moby Dick and teaching preschoolers to sing Old mcDonalds had a farm seems normalized to me. Is it that some English majors only want to teach a book they took a 3 unit class on? And their old professors taught this one? Some folks insist on politicized reads, whatever they believe they limit access or steer stories. This creates huge fights, some church folks start their own schools to make religious constructs curricula with supporting moralist stories. Yet thousands and thousands of books with great voices were written ...great books to choose from! Thousands of books written every year for hundreds of years. What a ____ storm done sometimes the organizers or fighters dont have any books to suggest they just want "that" (ie books) which restates /reflects whatever they believe. Thought someone was going to kill me at a staff meeting when they found out my students were reciting Pablo Neruda. Great times NOT I think the fairest elders in the room went into a frenzy spittle flying when the spoke so quietly, the worst was e when the oldest man looked at me sadly drooping his neck and shoulders like a tall collapsing elven fairy almost face contorting, just because of Pablo Nerudo. Students might read in English and Spanish, and what is it about? Are you doing Night or Mockingbird? Now thats goid stuff, great, stuff there. Hm. Lol


Why not read in latin illiad ? Why not chaucer instead? What mid century set of ideas is taught within traditionalists' books? Then why not include great contemporary authors? Is it a fight actually about which stories will be included in our childrens minds, about what sagas will be allowed in the groups collective narrative?

Seriously. They're taking Shakespeare out of college core curriculum, even taking his portrait off the wall. These Jacobins want to construct a Brave New Culture.

Seriously, whenever I had need to relax I read Shakespeare. 21 units Shakespeare here and I loved Chaucer. I was in grief that my cal state campus had no one to teach latin. Tears. Oh if I could I give my college self web access.

What happened in physics majors when they learn new things? Is that why there are 5 year majors? Some phds are specialists, like a Harvard prof on Don Quijote. Hes made you tube lectures, its a whole study courses and courses on one book.

At college, I think there has to be room for special emphasis for instance my spouse did western ie fur trappers and lore of cattle sheep mountain mining west. Its hard collecting what groups all want to read isnt it?

The mob is toppling the monuments, and I'm talking about more than Confederate generals.

White privilege speaks yet again.

One of the pre-reqs was a course on all the popular genres that were satirized in Don Q. And we had taken a course on the derivation of Spanish from Latin, so we could understand the more or less Shakespearean contemporary level of the Spanish in DQ. It was quite an adventure.

Paintingnotloggedin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why not read in latin illiad ?

It is my understanding that the Illiad was written in Ancient Greek. (My step-grandfather had to learn Ancient Greek when he was in school, growing up---he lived in the Midwest back then---and, when I was growing up, I used to TRY to study from one of his remaining textbooks, when I was visiting at his and my grandmother's house.)


> Why not Chaucer instead?

Chaucer is good, and Middle English (which is the language Chaucer wrote in) is excellent prep for Shakespeare.


> What mid century set of ideas is taught
> within traditionalists' books?

This describes much of the past mid-century's cultural foundations---that's why their shorthand nickname was "The Greats." As I understand, and particularly in British universities, it used to be possible for a college student to major in "The Greats" for all of the regular university degrees.


> Then why not include great contemporary authors?

"Great" contemporary authors are (most generally) not accepted as "great" until enough time has passed after their deaths---often because they deal with subject and theme material which is in the midst of being considered socially and culturally "acceptable" or not. In the last hundred years, for example, this would include sex, homosexuality, abortion and birth control, racial prejudice and segregation, slavery, Native American issues in American history, women's issues such as being legally and social subordinate in the greater culture, children's rights, human rights, multi-culturalism, the seminal issues in science fiction, etc. It takes awhile (decades, at least) before what is generally considered "central" or "the best" in any particular era is identified and then, at some point, becomes accepted as "great."


> Is it a fight
> actually about which stories will be included in
> our childrens minds, about what sagas will be
> allowed in the groups collective narrative?

Absolutely. This is what "it" is all about (and, in Western culture, has been for at least the past three thousand or so years).



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2018 01:04AM by Tevai.

I've still got that beach front property for sale on the Great Salt Lake right next to the duck hunting club.

SLC
Proud to have taught Huckleberry Finn as a student teacher...