‘Mainstream’ doesn’t begin to cover it; it’s one of the biggest across-the-board hits in the history of literature. And it became a super-popular series of movies, too. Which is exactly why it’s in books like the one Incubus is using.
I didn’t know that controversial literature wasn’t taught in high school, either. I thought I read a lot of allegedly controversial books in those years. I’m surprised that people here are suggesting that teachers shouldn’t challenge students and that students should be taught to avoid controversial material.
While it may be a teacher’s job in general to get students to question their beliefs, that doesn’t seem to apply to this particular job. Incubus has been hired to teach a group of three children once a week about study skills. That’s all he’s been hired to do. These children have other teachers that they see on the weekdays. Let them teach the students to question their beliefs. Incubus should either (depending on the tutoring company’s policies) (1) give the students enough options so that each student can choose a non-offensive project or (2) tell the students that they can do the work assigned or get out of the class.
I honestly don’t see where anyone is saying that. I think people are saying (at least, I know I am) that, when one is considering the fact that one’s students are minors, that they may have been raised with beliefs that go against what we ourselves belief, even ones that we may find “ignorant” or “uneducated” or “stupid” and that it is not our job as teachers to then single out those children and insist they give a treatise on why they believe the way they do. They may not know why- they may just fall back on “it’s what I was taught.” And- FOR MINORS- that’s a quite acceptable answer. Teachers do not have the right to go about and say “TELL ME WHY YOU BELIEVE THIS, BECAUSE I THINK YOU’RE AN IDIOT.”
The kid in the OP is 12, possibly 13 years old. He’s spending his Saturdays in a study skills class. We can certainly infer several things about him, but the most important is that he may not want to share with the class why he believes the way he does, and it’s his right to do so.
My objection is to the tone of the OP, because I find it condescending. What gives us the right to say that Harry Potter is great literature that we should be outlining essays about, and that those who object to it are crazed fundies? We’re no better in that situation than the supposed crazed fundies running around yelling about godless heathens.
A teacher provides access to materials within and without the scope of what an individual is exposed to outside of the school setting, assists in the absorption of the materials, and allows space for polite, civil discourse on the materials. They also prepare kids to function in society- teaching social skills, basic functions like math and reading, and working within guidelines of time and expectations. They are not a parent- it is not their job to decide what a kid should/shouldn’t believe.
Look, how many arguments have we had on this board about people who want to ban books? What does it always come down to- “I don’t care what they want to do with their kid, as long as mine is able to access the information.” So here we have parents who are doing just that (one may assume): they have decided for themselves what they don’t want their kid reading, and they have passed that down to the kid. They’re not picketing the tutoring center, they’re not up in front of the school board. They’ve done exactly as countless members here on the board have asked, and in return they get called all sorts of hateful names. You can’t have it both ways, folks.
In some of your and astro’s posts, I saw a surprising desire to avoid anything controversial in reading material
And where do you get that from what Incubus has said? “Ignorant” would seem to be an accurate word in this case.
Why is it his right? If he has an objection, fine, and he shouldn’t be ridiculed- but we don’t know for sure what his problem is. I don’t think the kid is entitled to opt out of assignments without saying why he won’t do them. Don’t you need some kind of a reason for not doing an assignment?
This is nonsense. The book is being used as an example in a classroom assignment. That’s not an endorsement as “great literature” or anything remotely of the kind. It’s a book, it’s out there, kids are likely to recognize it. That’s why it’s there. We do know that a minority of people have a problem with the book because they say it endorses witchcraft and encourages kids to turn to evil. An examination of the book by anybody who doesn’t already believe that will turn up scant evidence of Satanism.
Condesending? I’m not convinced it was even about fundies.
Where does the great literature bit come in? You can make an outline about pretty much anything. It could be an article from BH&G about how to pick weeds and you could make an outline out of it. My guess is that whomever put the story in the manual did so because they probably thought because it’s a kids story=kid doing the outline they’d be a little more interested in the assignment.
When is it going to be the parents job to actually start raising their kids and teaching them a little critical thinking? Why isn’t it up to the parent to explain to their kids that we believe X is bad and sometimes in the big bad world there are going to be people that don’t believe the same things we do.
Where does this stuff end? People have a right to believe what they want. What if you were teaching a history class and the kids parents were white supremicists. Do you not teach about WWII and concentration camps and not ask them to read The Diary of Ann Frank? I know that’s a little exaggerated, but I think this HP thing is a little silly.
When I was a freshman in high school about half a semsester (8-9 weeks) was spent on Greek mythology. One student didn’t participate and for all those weeks she sat outside the classroom and worked on alternative assignments. Honestly, that seemed rather silly to me at the time and I haven’t changed my mind, but public schools have to accomodate students who may have widely varying backgrounds.
I don’t know if the class in the OP is part of the public schools but if they’re expecting a lot of different kids to enter the program they should make sure they have some alternatives just in case the material is objectionable to some. Sure, I suppose people could just say “Forget it, he can do it or fail”, but if we’re trying to make sure he knows how to make an outline what good is this attitude to anybody?
I think this post is what it all boils down to. This is not a literature class, and the actual topic of the essay is completely irrelevant to what is being taught. It could have been ANY essay. Actually, I’m not sure at the 8th-grade level, it is even appropriate for teachers to take on a role of getting children to question beliefs…this seems more like HS-level education to me. I don’t think it seems appropriate to worry about what a parent chooses to let an 8th-grader read. Many, many parents restrict in one way or another what a kid that age has access to, and just because the teacher doesn’t really get what the objection is, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a valid one. If there is absolutely no way to give the child an alternative assignment, then I agree with an earlier poster who suggested that it be suggested to the kid that he find a different class.
I once taught in a private school where I wasn’t allowed to teach Romeo and Juliet. Not because they killed themselves, but because they disobeyed their parents. As one parent tartly announced after I had the 12th graders read Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (standard local public school fare), “If it was offensive to the people on 1899, it’s offensive to us.” This is, of course, the prerogative of a private school.
In a public school setting, or in a private school with different values, I think the burden is on the student/family to request moral/spiritual/political accommodation if necessary, not on the school or instructor to teach material so bland that nobody objects. It can’t be done. Someone will always object to something. I wish my undergraduates had more formal practice listening to to others and, if necessary, constructing logical, clear objections to each other’s beliefs.
My niece told me that over half the kids in her class have doctors notes to get out of gym class. Apparently kids aren’t allowed to move around any more and they aren’t allowed to think on their own. It’s like we’re raising a generation of spores instead of kids.
When I was in high school part of the required reading in our literature class was the book of ruth. Everyone in the class did it without question, even the muslim and hindu kids in the class, because it was approached as a piece of literature and not a religious way. We also read the story of gilgamesh and greek myths about the gods and other such things without complaint. If it isn’t being approached as something that is a matter of faith the kid should have to do the assignment or at least read the essay and then determine that, “yep, this goes against my beliefs and I would like an alternate assignment please.”
If he has a valid reason for not wanting to do the assignment that is fine, but to just accept him saying “Im not going to do this and I am not going to tell you why” isn’t doing him any favors. He will always have to give into superiors and follow instructions and his boss at work isn’t going to care that this memo addresses something he disagrees with, he will have to do it or be fired. His college biology professors aren’t going to care that he doesn’t agree with the theory of evolution, he will still have to study it or fail.
