It seemed CO brought nuance in with an opposition to inhumane/victim characterization.
Book banning that suspiciously looks like what all the snowflakes are worried about
- Thread starter TheOriginalHappyGoat
- Start date
Overall IF 14 year olds are not mature enough to handle Maus, teach Holocaust to seniors. It SHOULD shock people. People should not leave a class on the Holocaust feeling happy, proud, content, etc. And if anyone thinks "damn" is obscene but not concentration camps, I just do not understand.
Maus reminds me of really good science fiction. Good sci fi takes a tough topic and resets it into a universe where it can be discussed. Maus uses mice and cats (like Animal Farm also). Yes, showing people hanging from trees is more than most want for a class book. But showing drawn mice hanging from trees? For me, it is brilliant. It really shows the reality without showing the reality.
If that’s what you think, you need a lit teacher like my stoker
I have said repeatedly that if we cannot teach the Holocaust at that age, move it to an older class. I think it was Noodle that said it should feel like a gut punch, and I think that is perfectly correct. If we strip it down to "a group of Germans misbehaved in WW2", don't bother. If the word damn offends people more than what happened than that is a problem.
You suggested making the Holocaust a gut punch to that age is only because of some other agenda. I think the agenda is simple, it should be a gut punch no matter what age. If 14 is too young, Tennessee should change it
Where is all this wrong? Is the gut punch the wrong idea?
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Shouldn’t it be left up to that community what words they want their children to learn in school and at what age?
Do you remember my post about the time I first understood the evils of slavery and discrimination? Yeah, I’d consider that a gut punch and I was 4 or 5.
My point in this thread has nothing to do with teaching the Holocaust or gut punches. It has to do with Jr High literature and what we expect kids to take away from studying lit.
And to elaborate. I think the lack of ability to read, understand, and appreciate literature has been a k-12 educational failure for a generation—among many failures. I began to notice it in the early 90’s. I didn’t know this when I was in law school or even after finishing. But I believe now that majoring in lit would be great preparation for law school.
This thread proves my point. I’ll accept Goat’s explanation the Maus is worth studying as a literary work. I think the reasons advanced for banning it are just stupid. But except for a couple of posts in this thread, the thread has devolved into a discussion of the Holocaust. That’s reason enough to not include the book in a class in junior high lit. The Holocaust would dominate the class work.
Almost any good lit is going to have some more controversial meaning. Let me ask the same question about the N word in Mockingbird and Sawyer/Finn? That word will distract from everything else but I think they should be taught, I think you do, I think Doc and Brad do. What makes them different, why shouldn't they be banned?
But I am going to change my mind. It is ok for a school board to make that decision. Let us all remember that as more schools say works like Sawyer cannot be taught.
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anon_6hv78pr714xta
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Unless it violates the constitution or a statute, yes, let them. No one said you couldn’t debate the wiseness of the decision. But don’t mischarachterize what is happening, like the original article did.
I fight as unwise CRT in my district but I wouldn’t (and haven’t) say that our board “banned” the books they replaced with the CRT curriculum.
You really think you are going to get agreement in a community about what to teach and what not to?
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anon_6hv78pr714xta
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Not teaching something in the classroom
I was never taught Tom Sawyer or To Kill A Mockingbird or Maus in school. I read the former two on my own and will now read Maus.
That’s the system we have, no?
So basically you are for totalitarian rule from your side on what to teach? Aren't school boards elected that should have some say over this?
Did you read anything in the classroom. Just about any decent literature is going to have something to irritate someone.
The US Department of Education Curriculum Committee, Literature Section, will issue a proposed regulation soon containing proper national reading lists for all grades.
All dissent is treason.
All dissent is treason.
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anon_6hv78pr714xta
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As an eighth grader, the only book I remember reading is Flowers for Algernon.
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anon_6hv78pr714xta
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I honestly can’t recall. It’s been longer than I’d like to admit. It certainly could have had the same curse words Maus does but no parents likely knew or cared too much. But not too many people care that much about education period where I’m from.
Remember, too, I’m not against cursing in books for 8th graders and I’d probably support my kids reading Maus.
My take is boards here book x has this word, or book y has that theory, and they act. I wonder how many read Maus, I really wish they had stated if they read it or not.
But they made the decision, they are the elected people, so they can tell teachers what they can or cannot teach with simply because they don't like the oxford comma and the author uses it. That is America. And it is going to get worse as some states are working to make school boards partisan.
Did you read my last sentence? It’s simple, the Jews were victims and the Nazis were inhumane. There doesn’t need to be any nuance.
There’s a little problem there. The community doesn’t want it and administrations are ignoring their wishes.
Community support means the majority of the community wants it to be taught.
Yep, so if SF requires kids to read a book that you don't like don't complain, the precedent is officially set.
Wow , things seem to only work one way for you. Liberal is as liberal does.
Why, I tried making an argument and I lost because we aren't allowed to dispute the TN school board. I am just coming around to that proper line of thinking. Stoll isn't a liberal, why is me agreeing with him a liberal thing. All Hail Tennessee School Boards!
SF can do as they please. CRT is the least of their worries.
Not really. Community elects school board members and they basically rubber stamp what is brought to them by teacher committees who study the textbooks and curriculum.
They going to take a vote every year on everything in the curriculum? That should get interesting.
Your school must have been advanced. I think we read it as Freshmen.
My reading in Jr. High consisted of the Black Beauty series.
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anon_6hv78pr714xta
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Wrong. You’ve moved the goalposts. You can complain all you want; but don’t mischaracterize what the other side is doing as “book banning.”
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anon_6hv78pr714xta
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The point is they don’t have to rubber stamp it. They have the power to say no. Do you disagree that they should have that power?
