Rethinking Race In the Classroom

When schools make decisions about books that do have merit, but contain very sensitive content, they should carefully look at such questions as, "How young is too early to expect children to understand the distinctions about content & merit that adults are capable of making?", "What kind of teacher-led classroom discussion guidelines might be helpful where certain books are concerned?", and, "Even in high school, should some books, instead of being part of the curriculum, instead be made available in the school library, so that literature teachers could be free recommend & comment on them, without making all of them mandatory reading."

Interesting to me how a book like The Diary of Anne Frank never comes up in a discssion like this. Everyone sees it as a useful tool to explore the horrible attrocities committed on the Jewish people, BY SOMEONE ELSE, not ourselves. It may be uncomfortable to explore our own past, but it would be a huge mistake not to.

Such books as Huck Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird are two classics that are taught in my high school; however, they are not taught in isolation. Teachers and students discuss the historical background before and during the reading of these books. It might be a bit discomfiting at first, but students are really interested in these books and come to understand the lessons and to appreciate the characters of Atticus Finch and his children and the irony that Twain intended in Huck Finn. As to Black History Month, our school system has put an emphasis on integrating the people and events of the history of all Americans into the regular curriculum. Some schools also observe Black History Month, but it is an addition to the history curriculum and not the core of what is taught about Blacks, women, Hispanics and other groups.

I have discussed this banned book with my class, and the whole concept of black History Month. As a black person, I would not mind if Black History were abolished, but there would be a couple of conditions. First, I would like to see a more comprehensive History book and curriculum available to all schools. Black history did not begin with slavery. Blacks have visited this country for centuries, we just didn't appreciate the last visit. Also, there needs to be an acknowledgement of all the contributions that blacks gave to the US. I believe that even those contributions could possibly reopen arguments about reparations, and why blacks should receive them. I digress. Also, if we abolish black history month, we had better abolish Women's history month, Native American History Month, etc. If one group cannot have a specialized month then the others should not have that privilege either.

Too many UNAMERICANS ON THIS BOARD. KEEP Black History. It shows how evil and and left behind the idiot KKK morons really are. I say, set the sheets on fire. What real man weas a damn sheet to burn a church as if they are going anywhere after death. And what left behind fool says "Kudos" to KKK. It is amazing that Mr. Left Behind retard knows how to spell KKK. Its more like KuntKuntKunt! Death to the KKKs! Yucko loser group. You make America look so trashy. You are an embarrassment to your people. Why don't YOU go back to where YOU came from. You stole this country from the indians anyway AND were sore losers enough to murder them because you weren't men enough to do business in the Educated way. That's why the Brits kicked your asses so often.

I say keep Black History month and the hell with the a-holes who want to banish it. I am so sick of Racist America--If any thing American is becomeing UNAMERICAN for even discussing the manner. Whoever wants to change this IS UNAMERICAN!!!

Both the author of this article and many of the parents she portrays as objecting to the teaching of "Huck Finn" and "Mockingbird" seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that the books themselves are racist, that they promote the images of African-Americans that they portray, or that their authors are promoting those images.

They are not. In portraying blacks of a certain character and what they were subjected to, both Twain and Lee are implicitly criticizing their time periods' dominant views of blacks, not supporting them. The use of the N-word is an historical fact, and still carries grave import in our culture; I think it's essential that kids keep learning what the full context was of its development, and its history's importance to how it's used now. That doesn't mean promoting its use.

I'm as hopeful as anyone that Obama's presidency marks the beginning of a new enlightenment on the meaning of race and true equality, but that doesn't mean that the heritage and consequences of racism and slavery have been eradicated. Again, teaching kids to understand the past, and the continued effects of views of people of the time, doesn't mean reinforcing those views.

And somehow, I came away from Huck Finn with a much different view of Jim than the author did--I was never in any doubt of his self-respect.

It's just unnecessary to "defend" these works--they aren't racist! They were written in racist times--it's inevitable that some of what they portray is offensive to us. And they're attacking aspects of that racism. Twain and Lee might not have been as enlightened as we consider ourselves now on the subject, but they were powerfully progressive voices in our evolution as a fair society. While that evolution continues, how can we deny their importance to our literature and cultural heritage? To me, being educated means, in part, being able to face the uglier aspects of our own history, understand them for what they were and their consequences, and commit to doing better in the future. We're far from done with that work. We should allow these books to help us in our quest, not banish them and the knowledge and empathy they have to teach.

Kudos to KKK!!

All government schools should be shut down immediately. In a free country, education would be the responsibility of the parents. Anyone who disagrees supports theft and murder.

BLACK AMERICA AND THE N-WORD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP2U0jmZjec