3 ms·

I think banning the books is obviously "Bad", but what it sounds like from reading this article is that this school is incapable of teaching children about thes

I think banning the books is obviously "Bad", but what it sounds like from reading this article is that this school is incapable of teaching children about these books in a productive way. If your teachers are so incapable of introducing the material in these books that students end up being subject to racist incidents then maybe we really are better off not having the school teach about the books at all. Obviously the ideal scenario is to teach the books but talk about their context, the issues that are raised and present some material that shows some other sides to the view of race in those books. But in reality, the people who are arguing against the ban are arguing against it on the basis of how they think the book should be taught, not apparently how they are taught.

ppf 6y ago
Those are some incredibly tortuous mental gymnastics you are performing. I suppose these same schools are also too incompetent to use books written from other perspectives about the same topic, so should just not mention the entire subject at all. If a school cannot handle this subject, then you have much bigger issues than exactly which books are permitted to be read or discussed.
jjk166 6y ago
If you can't get kids to take away "racism is bad" from To Kill A Mockingbird, you have no business being a teacher. Banning books so we can keep the people who can't teach those books competently in place is insane.
- Traster 6y ago
  "Let's improve schools so that this material is taught in the way it should be" is a great answer, but unfortunately, demonstrably unacheivable.
  - jjk166 6y ago
    Well given that the vast majority of schools can and do teach it effectively, the idea that it can't be done seems excessively fatalist. But if we do accept that it's just too high of a bar to ask schools to contextualize To Kill A Mockingbird in such a way that the literal lynch mob killing a man are not presented as role models to be emulated, then shut the school down. The kids are better off at home staring at a blank wall 8 hours a day than being exposed to that level of incompetence. Banning books to deal with teachers who can't teach is like sticking a "0 Trans Fat" sticker on an improperly stored barrel of radioactive waste - it is worse than not even addressing the problem.

ppf 6y ago

Those are some incredibly tortuous mental gymnastics you are performing. I suppose these same schools are also too incompetent to use books written from other perspectives about the same topic, so should just not mention the entire subject at all. If a school cannot handle this subject, then you have much bigger issues than exactly which books are permitted to be read or discussed.

jjk166 6y ago

If you can't get kids to take away "racism is bad" from To Kill A Mockingbird, you have no business being a teacher. Banning books so we can keep the people who can't teach those books competently in place is insane.

Traster 6y ago
"Let's improve schools so that this material is taught in the way it should be" is a great answer, but unfortunately, demonstrably unacheivable.
- jjk166 6y ago
  Well given that the vast majority of schools can and do teach it effectively, the idea that it can't be done seems excessively fatalist. But if we do accept that it's just too high of a bar to ask schools to contextualize To Kill A Mockingbird in such a way that the literal lynch mob killing a man are not presented as role models to be emulated, then shut the school down. The kids are better off at home staring at a blank wall 8 hours a day than being exposed to that level of incompetence. Banning books to deal with teachers who can't teach is like sticking a "0 Trans Fat" sticker on an improperly stored barrel of radioactive waste - it is worse than not even addressing the problem.