this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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Literature
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Yeah, and in light of all the tribal violence around the world, we should stop covering Romeo and Juliet. We should just leave it at studying the subtext nuances of Dr. Suess. Oh wait. He has a troubling background too. We better stop teaching math as well. A lot of pushback on that subject and it makes people feel badly about themselves. Can't have an education that makes you uncomfortable. god forbid.
Right? Like we need to really start realizing that being uncomfortable can actually be a positive thing. Allows us to push past our norm and open our minds to different perspectives. We might not always like it. We might not always understand it. But we learn something, whether it be about ourselves or others.
I don't think labeling an argument you disagree with as one of the canonical logical fallacies is helpful. A lot of history is very uncomfortable. Literature of those times obviously has those same aspects which can make historical eras sometimes uncomfortable for people not accustomed to facing these facts. I do not thinking firmly placing your head in the sand when encountering disturbing or uncomfortable ideas is a healthy way to progress, and is most definitely not a way to approach an AP class. I guess we could just pretend that bad shit never existed, so that we can be sure to repeat those experiences.
It comes down to teacher preparation and skills. Way back in the day I remember covering Huckleberry Finn. The slurs were not just kind of skipped over or minimized. It brought up several great discussions about historical wrongs, about the problem with judging people outside of the world they live in, changes that have happened since, and how much we still need to learn. I have no doubt that a less skilled educator could do far worse, not addressing the elephant in the room which could make the situation uncomfortable and even hurtful to certain students. In that I agree with you. I just don't find that a legitimate reason to just ban certain books. It seems like so much bad that has happened with education has been spurred by outside forces deciding what they think education should be.
It is so similar to people who truly believe that they could successfully run a restaurant, based on the fact that they have eaten at many restaurants over the years. Pay teachers better, ensure only experienced and involved teachers teach classes where a softer, more nuanced approach is needed, etc.
I just really have a knee jerk reaction when people want to ban stuff for reasons based on feelings.