Should To Kill A Mockingbird Be Taught In Schools

Once upon a time, in a world not far from here, there are students who are forced to miss their annual train ride to Hogwarts, lock the wardrobe to the magical land of Narnia, and walk through the English countryside themselves instead of upon the back of Black Beauty. Why are these students deprived of those occurrences? They live in America, the land of the free- except when it comes to the books they can read. In fact, many schools across America exercise the practice of banning books. Since 1982, libraries, parents, and schools have attempted to ban 11,300 novels, according to the American Library Association. The essentially innoxious books are challenged for an assortment of reasons, including use of malapropos language, graphic or explicit

According to the American Library Association, the most common group of people, challenging a book being read in schools, was the parents of the students. Parents have a right to be in charge of what is put into the minds of their students, however just because one parent objects does not mean that the whole school should ban the book from the list. A solution for this book would be to enforce parental consent for books to be read in the classroom. If a parent does not want a book to be read in the classroom, then there should be other options for the student to read. The school and teacher should not trespass on a parent’s rights of raising their child. I believe that if a parent has a concern, they should go and discuss the problem with the teacher so that the teacher will be able to defend their reasoning for choosing the book to be read in the classroom.

In this essay I will be describing and telling you whether or not To Kill A Mockingbird should or shouldn't be taught in the 9th grade. To Kill A Mockingbird is a very good and intellectual book to read. It is a winner of the pulitzer prize and a wonderful book it talks about this family(Atticus, Scout, and Jem) back in the day when black people didn't have many right and privileges. They live in a little town called birmingham Alabama, the kids father is a lawyer and is defending a black guy(Tom Robinson) that got accused of Rape. The reason for the father (Atticus)defending this man is because he knows that Tom Robinson didn’t rape this girl. Overall this book shows how you should act toward someone if you know they are not guilty even if they are black(Everyone Is Equal). So in my opinion this book should be taught in the 9th grade because it shows how white people acted toward blacks back in the day.

school and college students. For instance, in the article “The Ironic, Enduring Legacy of Banning ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ for Racist Language” Avi Selk mentions the schools and the school boards who recently attempted to ban “To Kill A Mockingbird” and most of them are middle and elementary schools. The book was perceived as offensive because of the language within it’s pages. The schools and parents failed to receive “To Kill A Mockingbird”’s message and instead focused on only part of what was said instead of why. Selk said “It was not images of race, but of sex, that caused the first big uproar. The school board of Hanover County, Va., banned the book as “immoral literature” in 1966 because the plot centered on rape.” If that’s the case, why allow middle schoolers and elementary kids read the book? This is why “Mockingbird” should be reserved for high school and college students. The book is centered on a loaded plot and does indeed use some explicit language but that doesn’t mean that that qualifies the book to be banned. There’s quotes directly from the book that demonstrate just why Harper Lee used the language she did and it reads like this, “What exactly is a n—– lover?” Scout asks her father. “It’s hard to explain.” “Ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves,” he tells Scout. “It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody.” (To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee) The text directly from the book is a perfect example to show that the use of the “N-word” wasn’t used to promote the word but to shame it and the use of it back in 1960, in Alabama, in which the book was set upon. Allow the students who can fully understand and not take offense to “To Kill A

Atticus says "She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her: she

Then they can fully understand the true meaning of the book. “In reality, being required to confront difficult, embarrassing, and controversial matters and to learn how to deal with them does not constitute a hostile learning environment. It constitutes education” stated Joan DelFattore. High school students have heard the N word in songs, in movies and on television. They’ll hear it in college, in real life and it will make some of them uncomfortable. Generally speaking, high school students are capable of separating the N word that they know to the N word that was used in that time period.

Huck Finn is a historical fiction novel that uses offensive language in a satirical way to portray slavery in the nineteenth century. The novel is questioned for its historical inaccuracies and use in junior high and high school classrooms. Some believe that the “reading aloud of Huckleberry Finn in our classrooms is humiliating and insulting to black students” (Wallace, 17). Yet, others believe that “one gathers a deeper understanding of the meaning of living in a slave society such as the one Huck and his peers lived in” (Barksdale, 49). Because of the novel’s vulgar language and repeated use of the “n-word”: “the appellation commonly used for slaves in slavery time, appears more than 200 times”, the novel can become a source of discussion within the classroom environment (Barksdale, 52). Although students would have to be prepared for the “far-flung historical and psychological causes and consequences”, after reading the novel, its negativity and racial discrimination can be discussed rather than its status as a literary classic (Barksdale, 53). This novel can create a safe way to discuss the use of racial profanities as well as racism during the 19th and 20th centuries compared to the racism experienced in the 21st century. If teachers and students are able to discuss The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a constructive manner rather than

Others argue that the book produces a “non inclusive” environment in school(Lee). The ideas that Mark Twain cultivates and develops for many form an environment that some would coin uncomfortable for “mixed classrooms”. White student have grown with the concept that it is not appropriate to use the “n-word” and colored students feel a sense of uneasiness hearing the word over and over again. Many argue that the word diminishes the progress that has been obtained in the last decades and it is just a reminder of what was. For many this reminder is not a sense of pride in their progression but one of embarrassment and belittlement once again. The discomfort targets more than just students. For many teachers the portrayal of Jim as a childlike black man who has no sense of self-respect demonstrated causes some white teachers to squirm with discomfort or embarrassment (Samuels). To some teachers the discomfort goes more than just what occurs in the novel. Being associated with the race that belittled others makes them feel uncomfortable especially is taught within a mixed classroom.

Lately, other schools have banned “To Kill A Mockingbird” because of aggressive wording. There is aggressive wording just about everywhere in this world now and it’s never going to be any better. We need to be more mature about this. “There is some language in the book that makes people uncomfortable”(school board Vice President Holloway). It should be okay to take students out of their comfort zones. These schools are acting like these children haven’t

Ever since the publication of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book has caused controversy in schools. The language used is found as offensive to some, while others find it humorous. Schools nationwide want to remove the book due to the use of the “N” word. The American Literature Association to rank Huck Finn as number 14 on the most challenged books of 2000-2009. However, Huck Finn needs to stay in school curriculums for the fact that it contains morals; American law states freedom of spech, and it is an insight on relations between races during the 1800s.

The main reason for the removal of these books from schools was the foul language used in the books. Kurt Vonnegut, the author of the classic novel “Slaughterhouse-Five”, claims that his use of language in the book was

Over the past few years, with the increasing inflammation of America’s political climate, many books have been banned all across American schools simply for the inclusion of material that was deemed “offensive” by teachers and other staff alike, with the children tending not to be significantly affected by the contents of the books. Several books subject to this censorship include Slaughterhouse-5, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I wholeheartedly believe they were unjustly banned, as their pro-freedom messages were interpreted as being against freedom, and that they deserve to be given a second chance in many schools.

So, a a book written by such person should teach things that make a person better human being for the society. The mississippi school district pulled its plug on To Kill A Mockingbird ,not once but many time. Everytime it was propose to be banned, the ban was rejected. The proposal stated that the book was misleading students.

Others think that books in school curriculums should be banned from students. Many believe that in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there is much use of the N-word. Parents have argued that the novel uses the word “nigger” 215 times (Walsh 1). Not only do people think the word is overused but that it is also offending African-American students that attend the schools. Although others may think that the novel should be banned there are more rational reasons for why it should not be.The use of the N-word is not only found in novels but has also been seen in song, shows, and even in history books found in many schools. Therefore banning books due the use of the N-word is not going to permanently get rid of the word in the daily lives of the

I personally would not make Mockingbird a choice for independent reading in my elementary classroom. After reading the book I felt that it would be most appropriate for middle school, fifth grade at the earliest. However, if I was teaching either third, fourth, or fifth grade I would make it available for students I felt could benefit from reading the book and was at the students reading and comprehension level. I would not keep Mockingbird in my library because of the themes in the book, some of those themes being loss of a loved one, social and emotional development, developing empathy, and finding closure. Students at elementary age are not able to fully comprehend certain themes because they haven’t had the experience to make the connections.