They are at it again. A parent in Brentwood put letters in the mailboxes of the parents of one particular Middle School asking that they sign a petition to remove To Kill A Mockingbird from the library and the classrooms of that particular school. The parent did not sign his name on the request--coward.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a genuine classic--it will be read for the next fifty years and more. The unnamed parent objected to the book on the basis of profanity, obscenity and racism==Yes, racism==makes you wonder if he read the book?
Admittedly, I have always pictured TKAM as a high school book, not middle school. But I believe with a good teacher and a reading circle in which the book is discussed, 9th graders can gain a lot from the book. Unfortunately, that is not how many current teachers do classroom reading. Mostly they assign a chapter, give a test(probably an Accelerated Reader test on computer) and then move on. This is a book that begs discussion and examination. And while at it, why not watch the excellent movie with Gregory Peck?
I don't know what the procedure is here for the removal of a book, but I hope the newspaper will follow the trail and report. It would be a travesty for the unnamed parent to get away with this.
No comments:
Post a Comment