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

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

Really? Two of those selections (not sure about the third) were assigned reading in the highly ranked (U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon designation) school my kids attended. ;)
 
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Really? Two of those selections (not sure about the third) were assigned reading in the highly ranked secondary school my kids attended.

And if reading one of those meant bumping To Kill a Mockingbird from the list, what then?

Anyway, I'm thrilled to hear that some schools still teach these books! :thumbsup2
 
And if reading one of those meant bumping To Kill a Mockingbird from the list, what then?

Anyway, I'm thrilled to hear that some schools still teach these books! :thumbsup2

The thing is that is is certainly valid to replace this with other books, it's the why that I find problematic. Now, personally, I think there are few works anywhere with the level of literary merit of TKAM, however I would accept a well reasoned argument as to why different works might be better. Complaints over a word don't warrant that in my opinion.
 
To Kill a Mockingbird is an American classic and perhaps the best novel ever written. It was always enjoyable and relatable when we read it in school (and that was more than once). This idea that it is an "older book" is astounding, as kids should be reading much older works than that as well. Yes, the book has some uncomfortable depicitons, but it's not like the author is espousing such as a positive. This should not be controversial for kids who are of an age to understand the ideas presented.

I agree so much with this, that I had to quote it. Well said, Brian
 


The thing is that is is certainly valid to replace this with other books, it's the why that I find problematic. Now, personally, I think there are few works anywhere with the level of literary merit of TKAM, however I would accept a well reasoned argument as to why different works might be better. Complaints over a word don't warrant that in my opinion.

Mine, either.

But given how many other good books there are, available for study, I'm willing to keep an open mind about switching things around. I feel like the board president pretty much created this controversy, and I kind of wonder why!

I really would also like to know what book they're replacing it with!
 
Yes, you absolutely could. And that would be an excellent lesson plan!

And yes, a good teacher can take almost any book and make it relevant.

A good teacher also knows there are many, many excellent books to choose from (including this one), and will choose the one that best matches her students' interests. And that book might be TKaM, or it might be a different book entirely.

And a mediocre teacher... :laughing: I well remember, in the late 80's, one of my teachers trying to do a unit on women's rights. She taught us about sufferage in the 1920's. Bra burning in the 60's. Then she played a scratchy recording of some marching songs, and was tearing up as the voice on the tape warbled, "Our mothers were raped and murdered...!" while we all sat there uncomfortably, feeling embarrassed for her. Our consciousnesses were not raised that day!

Yikes!
 


"A racially charged word"...right. I guess Mark Twain is next.

Where have you been? Most schools took Mark Twain's novels off the required lists a long time ago. Or at least around here.

The book is NOT banned. It is simply not on a list. That's it.
 
I'm a career librarian, and also, coincidentally, an alumnus of the school in question (I was in the district from 3rd grade until 7th, when my Dad was employed at Keesler). As a PP pointed out, the big reason the story is news is that this happened in the Deep South, but Biloxi is one of the least "Southern" southern towns in existence, in terms of who lives there. It's extremely diverse.

Biloxi is largely a military town, and has been since the 1940's. Keesler AFB is the largest local employer, with about 12,000 permanent employees, and because it is the USAF's principal technical operations training base, an add'l 28,000 students rotate in and out of the local population each year. (Keesler is the HQ of the 2nd Air Force, and USAF's principal electronic disciplines training wing, and also trains other forces in those fields. It is also the home of the NCO Academy, the management training school for senior NCOs.) Harrison county has a total population of 200,000. The other major industry is tourism, which as a whole employs about 20K people. What all this means is that the place has relatively few natives who live there life-long. When I lived there, the majority of my classmates (almost all of whom were military brats) were from Western states, we had a whole lot of kids from California, Washington and Colorado, especially. (The one thing that they did tend to have in common was religious conservatism; the USAF is well-known for being very welcoming to Evangelicals.)

Honestly, most locals have heard the n-word from old folks all their lives; they know it's no longer an acceptable word to say in public, but it doesn't shock them, especially when the story the word appears in takes place long-ago. I would bet that the objections to the book's language came from military parents who are new to the South. I'm quite sure that the objection is that their children are REQUIRED to read a book containing offensive language. I've been on the receiving end of such complaints many times, and that's almost always the key argument; that children should have an opt-out if parents object to curriculum content on moral grounds. (Note that I don't happen to agree with that POV, but it's quite common.) I'm also quite sure that "The Hate U Give" wouldn't pass muster for the same reason.

PS: From the update on the school board meeting, it appears I got the military family guess right, but the family is not new to the South. Apparently, this family objects to the language specifically because the kids were getting the giggles over a forbidden word being said in the classroom in the course of studying the book, and the family's daughter found it disturbing that other kids were laughing at a word she found really awful. Oddly, the report states that the family also objects to a history lesson involving the type of ammunition used during the Civil War, which IMO, is REALLY stretching political correctness. It's a military town: kids are raised around discussions of tactics and materiel, and often they are very interested in such detail about how historic wars were fought -- it directly reflects on the dangers their parents face in the course of serving the country.
 
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Where have you been? Most schools took Mark Twain's novels off the required lists a long time ago. Or at least around here.

Suffice to say I am glad we raised our children in an area where schools have not engaged in the censorship of classic literature. And feel sorry for those who have been subjected to that type of totalitarian style erasure of history. :sad2:
 
Suffice to say I am glad we raised our children in an area where schools have not engaged in the censorship of classic literature. And feel sorry for those who have been subjected to that type of totalitarian style erasure of history. :sad2:

Oh dear me. :headache: No one is censoring anything. The books are available. DD has read pieces from them in school, they just don't read the whole book or at least they are not required to. No one is erasing history.

I would have to say that I am glad we raised our children in an area where they have more freedom of choice of what literature to read and are not forced to read only what some deem to be worthwhile.
 
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).

Do not even get me started on The Scarlet Letter! I could not comprehend that book at all. It became a running joke between me and my mom about how much I hated it.

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

I would LOVE to see a school make Harry Potter required reading. Then I would sit back and watch all the conservative parents scream about how "The school is teaching witchcraft!" :rotfl2::stir:

But how realistic is it really to get those kids to check the book out of the library and read it if it isn't required, especially when their parents are against it? I think, at least in my case, that the problem I have here is with people demanding the book be taken off the curriculum because of one word, despite it being an absolute masterpiece of a novel that teaches important and positive lessons. What I deplore is this knee-jerk reaction without considering the context. I understand that the superintendent is in a tough spot with the parents here.

This is how I feel. When I was a teen in the '90s it was like pulling teeth trying to get the students to read what was required. There was no way they were going to read something like TKAM if it isn't required. A prime example is when my class was assigned to read Moby Dick in high school. It was the tail end of the school year (mid-late May). I remember our teacher screaming at us and throwing a fit because about 95% of the class didn't do the required reading at all. For the record, I tired to read it, but MD is another book that went over my head. (I do not get symbolism at all.) She ended up scrapping the assignment because the students were refusing to do anymore homework. :rolleyes2

I did read TKAM my freshman year of high school. I really enjoyed it. But I also remember my classmates ranting about how much they hated it and how "stupid" it was.

sailorstitch
 
This is how I feel. When I was a teen in the '90s it was like pulling teeth trying to get the students to read what was required. There was no way they were going to read something like TKAM if it isn't required. A prime example is when my class was assigned to read Moby Dick in high school. It was the tail end of the school year (mid-late May). I remember our teacher screaming at us and throwing a fit because about 95% of the class didn't do the required reading at all. For the record, I tired to read it, but MD is another book that went over my head. (I do not get symbolism at all.) She ended up scrapping the assignment because the students were refusing to do anymore homework. :rolleyes2

I did read TKAM my freshman year of high school. I really enjoyed it. But I also remember my classmates ranting about how much they hated it and how "stupid" it was.

I think that is more my experience with most high school kids. I don't think teenagers going to the to get books that they just want to read is very common in this country. Sure, in households that most of us here at the DIS may have been in, or have now, reading was probably encouraged (face it, we're nerds ;)). I just don't think most teenagers are like that. Most barely do the reading that is assigned, and even then try to get by watching the movie or using the cliff notes (or I suppose the Internet today). They just don't care about classic (or possibly any) literature at that age.
 
I think that is more my experience with most high school kids. I don't think teenagers going to the to get books that they just want to read is very common in this country. Sure, in households that most of us here at the DIS may have been in, or have now, reading was probably encouraged (face it, we're nerds ;)). I just don't think most teenagers are like that. Most barely do the reading that is assigned, and even then try to get by watching the movie or using the cliff notes (or I suppose the Internet today). They just don't care about classic (or possibly any) literature at that age.

Meh, you never know. DD17 & DD12 have both read more books since January than my wife & I have read combined in 22 years.
 
I would bet that the objections to the book's language came from military parents who are new to the South. I'm quite sure that the objection is that their children are REQUIRED to read a book containing offensive language.

Thank you for the of the detailed and positive post. On your point above, let me share a story.

I grew up in the Northeast and my first job out of college was in Boston. My great manager there was originally from Arkansas. One day over lunch, he shared with me the fact there were dozens of firms in the area that specialized in helping people who were originally from the South "lose" their accents, one of which he had patronized. I was stuck by that and asked why there was there was such a demand for that. He replied (and I quote directly) "the problem is if you come here and have the Southern drawl, people automatically assume you are stupid."

I was floored by that, given in all my travels -- which included many visits to the deep south -- I has never gotten the sense the locals were offended by my flat, somewhat nasal Yankee accent. Which made made me realize what an absolutely horrific double standard existed.

Which may explain your "new to the South" point above. And leave the words "father, forgive them, they know not what they do" ringing in my ears.

And to anyone who may be bothered by the use of the prior quote, mea culpa! :o
 
I think that is more my experience with most high school kids. I don't think teenagers going to the to get books that they just want to read is very common in this country. Sure, in households that most of us here at the DIS may have been in, or have now, reading was probably encouraged (face it, we're nerds ;)). I just don't think most teenagers are like that. Most barely do the reading that is assigned, and even then try to get by watching the movie or using the cliff notes (or I suppose the Internet today). They just don't care about classic (or possibly any) literature at that age.

Here is the thing though, they can be required to read without requiring certain books. There has to be some guidance but they can actually learn to enjoy reading rather than have it force fed to them.

If the only exposure a kid has to reading is to be forced to read something they hate, then chances are they are going to only associate reading with books they hate or can't understand.
 
Do not even get me started on The Scarlet Letter! I could not comprehend that book at all. It became a running joke between me and my mom about how much I hated it.

sailorstitch

I must be one of the few who actually ENJOYED The Scarlet Letter. I found it fascinating, but concede it was tedious to read in many chapters.

I wrote a paper in HS comparing Hester Prynne and Roderick Usher from Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, then turned in the same paper with some minor modifications in a college literature course. Got an A both times. :D
 
To Kill a Mockingbird is an American classic and perhaps the best novel ever written. It was always enjoyable and relatable when we read it in school (and that was more than once). This idea that it is an "older book" is astounding, as kids should be reading much older works than that as well. Yes, the book has some uncomfortable depicitons, but it's not like the author is espousing such as a positive. This should not be controversial for kids who are of an age to understand the ideas presented.

I have to agree with this as well.

I can think of few books that should be on ones reading list over it.(IMO)

Oh and I am another one who hated the Scarlet Letter. Maybe it deserves to be in there with To Kill a Moking bird, Cather in the Rye, OF Mice and Men, Shakesphere,Twain but only one that I really hated it.
 
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Oh dear me. :headache: No one is censoring anything. The books are available. DD has read pieces from them in school, they just don't read the whole book or at least they are not required to. No one is erasing history.

I would have to say that I am glad we raised our children in an area where they have more freedom of choice of what literature to read and are not forced to read only what some deem to be worthwhile.

Freedom is not limited just due to the existence of classwork requirements. My children were also free to read whatever literature they wanted while in secondary school. The fact they were also given mandatory reading assignments instilled in them the discipline and rigor they subsequently employed to perform well in college and graduate school. Those are places where this "one bureaucrat/parent is unhappy" nonsense of wanting certain texts censored for an entire class is non existent, reading assignments are NOT optional, and one is graded not just completing them but engaging in intelligent discussion (including critiques) of them.
 
Freedom is not limited just due to the existence of classwork requirements. My children were also free to read whatever literature they wanted while in secondary school. The fact they were also given mandatory reading assignments instilled in them the discipline and rigor they subsequently employed to perform well in college and graduate school. Those are places where this "one bureaucrat/parent is unhappy" nonsense of wanting certain texts censored for an entire class is non existent, reading assignments are NOT optional, and one is graded not just completing them but engaging in intelligent discussion (including critiques) of them.

Lol. Many students have had a choice of reading material and have done well in college and graduate school. There is more than one way to do things.

Reading was not optional, I never said that. And intelligent discussion can still be had. In high school, dd's favorite subject was English and she truly enjoyed the discussions that went on, especially when the history teacher worked with the English teacher and the discussions spilled over. And yes there were a lot of what could have been uncomfortable discussions about racism as well as other things throughout history. But they were given the freedom to choose books that interested them. They weren't force fed. And through that she developed a love for books.


I am sure these 8th graders will be just fine in high school and will go on the do well in college and will do great things in life all without reading TKAM. Believe it or not it is entirely possible.
 

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