Saturday, September 27, 2008



A bit of sanity about Huck Finn in Connecticut at last

Talking about it is much better than banning it. Though the compulsory propaganda given out at the time will surely be painful. No doubt the kids will be told that blacks are poor suffering people who keep doing violent crime and failing exams because of racism against them.... yadda yadda yadda
"Instead of dropping "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from its reading list, the Manchester school system has decided to hold seminars for teachers on how to deal with issues of race before bringing the book back to classrooms.

The goal of the seminars is to put the book into perspective and create a dialogue on race, white privilege, satire and stereotyping, which were also issues when Twain published it in 1885.

"It does provide a very good platform to talk about racial issues and to actually without me going into detail as to where Twain was in Chapter 4 or Chapter 12," said Assistant Superintendent Anne Richardson. "It really provides a good opportunity to have a conversation about race."

The book will be back in classes next month after teachers complete a series of seminars, which will put the novel into the context of the time in which it was written.

Source


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The issue really is not about the book itself (it's not a book about how blacks are poor and suffering NOW, but how they were poor and suffered in the PAST) but about a bunch of coddling, pansy-ass parents and students who are unwilling and scared to confront and understand what truly happened in American History.

To deny history is frankly insulting to those who lived it, regardless of the circumstance.

Anonymous said...

If Huck Finn is to be banned because it has the “N” word in it, then “Roots” by Alex Hailey should be banned for the same reason.

Mobius

Anonymous said...

It's sad people define themselves by the past especially as victims, but more likely it serves as an excuse for not recognizing or dealing with present failings.

Anonymous said...

"It really provides a good opportunity to have a conversation about race."

Can you say "sensitivity training"?
Can you say "brain-washing"?
Can you say, "having some socilaist teachers opinions forced-fed to your kids"?

America is dead!

Anonymous said...

If Huck Finn is to be banned because it has the “N” word in it, then “Roots” by Alex Hailey should be banned for the same reason.

Mobius, there's a huge difference between Mark Twain's use of the "n" word and Alex Hailey's use.

Mark Twain was a privileged, racist, white guy (all white guys are racist, you know), while Alex Hailey was a downtrodden man of color.

Surely you can see that!

That being said, I find it interesting that supposedly "well educated" teachers require training in the social issues of Mark Twain's day. I guess they spent too much time in "raising self-esteem" classes and not enough in actual "literature" classes.

Anonymous said...

At last some common sense someone has finaly told the racialy sinsitive screwballs from the NAACP to GET A LIFE i mean didnt TOM and HUCK help that black slave guy JIM escape to the north? I,LL BET MARK TEAIN IS GLAD OF THIS

Anonymous said...

@stan b: "I guess they spent too much time in "raising self-esteem" classes and not enough in actual "literature" classes."

Amen! Education has evolved from exercises in learning to exploration into feeling good. It's high time that schools get back to actually educating instead of telling students how to feel.

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