To Kill a Mockingbird
question
5 reasons to teach it;
Rick
(last edited
Dec 04, 2014 07:49AM
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Dec 04, 2014 07:46AM
We decided to drop it because we had had a few students refuse to read the novel because of the “n” word and because we weren’t sure that it was the right novel for grade 9, which is where it is most commonly, taught. Twelve years later we decided to reintroduce it on a trial basis in grade 10 because we were about the only school in the board that was not teaching it. Having taught it now, off and on, for over 30 years to different generations of students, here are my thoughts:
1. It is about discrimination, racism, cruelty and growing up-all topics that teenagers connect with.
2. It is well-written and has a pleasing, somewhat circular plot. I suspect Harper Lee had read a fair amount of Dickens and Alexander Dumas.
3. The characters are archetypal. We love the wise father, the pitiable monster, the villain etc.
4. The narrator, Scout, is a delight. She has an ironic view of life but at the same time, is innocent. She is also a strong female role model.
5. Written at the time of the civil rights movement but set in an earlier time period, it reflects an important part of American history and exposes practices that young people may not be familiar with.
Note; It’s always been my differential psychology based on the recognition or nonrecognition of something absolute, serving as the measure of visible phenomena to observe the opinions from bought sides of the peripheral dividing fence’s...
Thanks for your input.
1. It is about discrimination, racism, cruelty and growing up-all topics that teenagers connect with.
2. It is well-written and has a pleasing, somewhat circular plot. I suspect Harper Lee had read a fair amount of Dickens and Alexander Dumas.
3. The characters are archetypal. We love the wise father, the pitiable monster, the villain etc.
4. The narrator, Scout, is a delight. She has an ironic view of life but at the same time, is innocent. She is also a strong female role model.
5. Written at the time of the civil rights movement but set in an earlier time period, it reflects an important part of American history and exposes practices that young people may not be familiar with.
Note; It’s always been my differential psychology based on the recognition or nonrecognition of something absolute, serving as the measure of visible phenomena to observe the opinions from bought sides of the peripheral dividing fence’s...
Thanks for your input.
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Much like William Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird talks about the human condition and that is why is still resonates with us today. If this contry stomps out racism so it is nothing more than a historical fact, it will still resonate for the lessons it teaches. It is truly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century and belongs in schools.
Rick wrote: "Note; It’s always been my differential psychology based on the recognition or nonrecognition of something absolute, serving as the measure of visible phenomena to observe the opinions from bought sides of the peripheral dividing fence’s..."
You almost had me convinced ... right up to that point. Utter gobbledegook. Copied from the internet? Assembled with little thought from a thesaurus?
Not to mention "bought sides" and "fence's".
I'm starting to suspect that you are not really a teacher.
You almost had me convinced ... right up to that point. Utter gobbledegook. Copied from the internet? Assembled with little thought from a thesaurus?
Not to mention "bought sides" and "fence's".
I'm starting to suspect that you are not really a teacher.
Most arguments not to teach the book are pretty weak... but even if that weren't the case, given current events, the book is all the more relevant.
Maybe someday it won't be, but I don't see that happening in the foreseeable.
Maybe someday it won't be, but I don't see that happening in the foreseeable.
I've written stuff about this both elsewhere so I wont repeat it but...another problem I have with the book is it is too black and white. Atticus and Scout are they real people. There is no ambiguity or grey areas. Wouldn't the book have been more challenging if say Atticus was a decent man who (nevertheless) on occasion would lapse into thinking (or even saying) that "the trouble with black people is...". I don't like it when writers make it obvious whose side they are on and tell you to be on that side too.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an exceptional book because it so eloquently exposes the lie of american fairness and justice, not only at the institutional level, but also at the community level. And it exemplifies the beauty and human potential destroyed (all the way around) by the perpetuation of this lie.
I've taught this novel more times than I can count. Beside the obvious theme about racism, its message of walking in another person's shoes before mentally judging or actually acting is one sorely needed in our present world. I live in NY and the antagonism between police and African-Americans is severely heightened. Judging from the rest of the news, we could all use an example of learned respect pervading this "timeless" story. Happy New Year!
I think it's important to teach "To Kill a Mockingbird," because during the Civil Rights Movement, it held a mirror up to nature. That said, it's interesting how racism is presently addressed in the United States. Because of books like this, everyone knows racism is wrong. The sad commentary is that the racists who restrict voting rights and cheer when young blacks are murdered are busy accusing the victims of racism. Perhaps this is simply the swinging of the pendulum, but it's a fact that racism is alive and well in a country that claims to be Christian.
Rick wrote: "We decided to drop it because we had had a few students refuse to read the novel because of the “n” word "
I think that`s both scary and symptomatic...
I think that`s both scary and symptomatic...
High schools have a lot of books to choose from, and can't pick them all to teach. My school (in Atlanta) taught Huckleberry Finn, but not TKAM. My daughters' school didn't teach either one, but both have watched the film and enjoyed it, even if it IS B&W. Both took AP Lit, and I suppose the choices are different for non-AP classes.
I loved the sub plot of the elderly morphine addict who was helped by scout's reading out loud to get free of her addiction. The metaphor of dying free may relate to the legacy of slavery?
Being Australian, the specifics of the historic events don't resonate so much, but still a remarkable story, that says so much about so many different important topics.
It is on my short list of 6 books to re-read.
Being Australian, the specifics of the historic events don't resonate so much, but still a remarkable story, that says so much about so many different important topics.
It is on my short list of 6 books to re-read.
I had a pretty rigorous high school honors curriculum, yet this somehow wasn't on it. However, I don't think it shouldn't be taught to high schoolers.
Honestly, there are few books I would put on my "must have" books for the high school curriculum. (There are also very few books that I think are inappropriate for high school. Not a big fan of banning books.) The books are often less important than the teacher and lessons that go along with them.
This can spring of a classic book like TKAM. It can also spring from a less regarded work as well, given a motivated teacher.
Honestly, there are few books I would put on my "must have" books for the high school curriculum. (There are also very few books that I think are inappropriate for high school. Not a big fan of banning books.) The books are often less important than the teacher and lessons that go along with them.
This can spring of a classic book like TKAM. It can also spring from a less regarded work as well, given a motivated teacher.
Rick, I agree with you .I taught this novel for over eight years and I never tired of it and all of those students voted it the work they had enjoyed the most every year ! I put it down to the characterization and the fact it s an ageless story.
Gregory wrote:"Not only is this book good, it is also correct."
Yeah - Wouldn't want to "Teach" a book that wasn't "Correct"... Might "decondition" the Alphas into thinking they're Betas, or something...
Yeah - Wouldn't want to "Teach" a book that wasn't "Correct"... Might "decondition" the Alphas into thinking they're Betas, or something...
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