Now, my brother is only eleven, but at the same time, he’s eleven! He’s not five, but he’s not yet a young man, so part of me expected it, and the other part was surprised he didn’t even really know what racism is. This got me thinking about the way race, and racism is taught, especially in junior highs. When I look back, I don’t actually remember ever talking about race in my junior high classes. That upsets me.
We are spending so much time talking about the banning of books for things like racial slurs. I think banning of any type of book is bad, not only because I think it’s the parents job to both monitor and push their children when it comes to reading and learning, but I don’t see what good comes from banning a book!
Honestly, banning Huckleberry Finn from high schools is not going to make racism go away, and it’s not going to make slurs go away either! In my mind, it’s actually going to promote ignorance! Kids, even young kids, need to embrace racial differences, because it’s our differences that make us human beings! (May sound kind of idealistic but hey) So what I think needs to be done, is just that. We need to stop banning books because they make us uncomfortable, use good judgment on the maturity levels of the students reading said book, and most importantly, acknowledge that we are all different! Yes we are equal, and YES we are all human, all deserving basic rights, but race, at least the social construction, is immensely important for self identity and much more.
And maybe if you want the idea of race to go away, better education on race and science will help show our younger generations that, though are skin colors are different, we all come from the same thing, the same core. We are all people.
3 comments:
I agree with your opinion. I don't think Huck Finn should be banned. Yeah, they do use racial slurs, but that was history; that was how they talked back then. To prevent kids in high school, who should be mature enough to read a book like that, is wrong. And that goes for other books with too "mature" or "inappropraite" content for high schoolers.
I also completly agree with your opinion on not banning Huck Finn. I believe that this book has given me a better look at race and history(although I am way more confused on the definition of race now). But some of my friends that I've talked to don't have the same opinion, and I think that that is because of the way that the analyzed and were taught the book. One friend told me about how her teacher yelled at a girl for syaing the word "nigger" when she was asked to read a passage from the book. She was just reading what the book said and she got in trouble. Twain clearly thought hard about his word choice. I think that this book, along with every book, should never be banned because of the knowledge we can gain from it.
Great connections, Jackie. As I read your post, I was thinking the same thing: how is race taught in our schools?
I think your brother's reaction is a product of society's rules of politeness -- no one (including many teachers) likes to bring up issues that might make others uncomfortable.
So, as a result, the discussion of race is marginalized, not unlike how certain characters on TV shows are pushed to the side!
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