It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations - something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.
Katherine Paterson
You may have already heard about the recent book banning at an Ontario high school. Apparently, because a parent complained about a racial slur in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the principal at a Brampton high school decided to remove the book from the school's curriculum. When I read this news event a couple of weeks ago in the Globe and Mail, I was astounded. I had just finished teaching that book in a Grade 10 English course here in Alberta, and my daughter enjoyed reading it as part of her Grade 10 studies back home in Newfoundland.
If you haven't read it, this work of fiction by Harper Lee details life in the southern U.S. during the Great Depression, when racism against Negro Americans was rampant. The story is told from the viewpoint of 11-year old Scout Finch, who, along with her brother Jem and their friend Dill, enjoys (at least in the first part of the novel) many normal youthful activities in their tiny town of Maycomb, Alabama. However, the innocence of their youth makes way for the harsher realities of life when they learn that their lawyer father, Atticus Finch, has decided to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who was falsely accused of rape.
Unfortunately, the majority of the members of the jury at Tom's trial couldn't see beyond their own prejudice and eventually found Tom guilty of the charge against him. Throughout the lead up to the trial, Atticus counsels his children on many important life skills concerning human relations. In particular, he says that they should never judge people until they can "walk around in their skin". As well, Atticus, in a very magnanimous fashion, said that every person, despite any self-imposed handicaps they may have, did have at least some redeeming measure of goodness in them. Having witnessed the racial and other injustices in their town, these were important life lessons for Scout and Jem to learn.
When my daughter finished reading the book last spring, she gave me one of the highest compliments I could ever expect from her. She simply said, "Dad, you remind me of Atticus Finch."
Naomi Lakritz, a columnist with the Calgary Herald, had this to say about the principal's decision in a recent column ("To Kill a Mockingbird with a Tweet" - Aug. 19/09). "The banning of books is an abhorrent act, but it doesn't happen in a vacuum - its consequences are lifelong for those prevented from reading the books and having the maturing experience of thinking about the book's theme and being engaged by good writing and memorable characters." What an interesting perspective, don't you think?
To be honest with you, I hadn't read To Kill a Mockingbird before I started teaching it last fall. Unfortunately, it wasn't included on the reading list when I attended high school. We were instructed to read another classic piece of literature - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I thought that was a good other option at the time though.
In any event, I'm sure glad I did read Harper Lee's great book last year. It has left a lasting impression on me. And that edifying comment from my daughter - well, that was an added bonus.
Leonard Quilty is a teacher with the Centre for Learning@Home in Okotoks, Alta. He can be reached by e-mail at lquilty@redeemer.ab.ca
