![]() ![]() They said the district should consider additional training for teachers to navigate sensitive texts. “It’s hurtful and it’s harmful.”Ĭhandler said several teachers did come to the book’s defense in front of the instructional materials committee, saying the themes in To Kill a Mockingbird still have relevance today and and the book can help students develop critical thinking. “They have to sit in that classroom and read derogatory terms,” Nguyen said. Thien Nguyen, a Mariner High School senior who represents students on the school board, said the district should also consult students on the matter. Instead, students should be taught in environments that respect them, he said. “It’s not about banning or censoring books,” Doug Baer, another Kamiak teacher, told the school board at the same meeting, adding that the novel will still be available in libraries throughout the district.īaer said kids should not have to “endure embarrassing and offensive language” during class discussions of the book. The criteria include grade appropriateness, how the material fits other textbooks and whether the textbook is free of ethnic, racial, gender or religious bias. That committee, made up of teachers and community members, approves all curricula in Mukilteo schools, assessing every textbook, including language arts, math, science and social studies. The district’s instructional materials committee agreed with the teachers about removing To Kill a Mockingbird from the ninth grade required reading list, but voted to allow teachers to continue to use it in their lesson plans. “We need to examine carefully … whose collective memory we are upholding,” she said. The teachers also cited concerns that characters in the book frequently use the N-word while no character explains that the slur is derogatory, and that the word and the portrayal of Black characters cause harm to students of color.Īt a school board meeting earlier this month, Verena Kuzmany, a teacher at Kamiak, questioned the “romanticization” of the book as a “cherished classic.” The teachers’ objections to the book included criticism that Black characters are not fully realized and that the book romanticizes the idea of a “white savior.” ![]() The book will not be not banned, however, and teachers may still choose to assign the book in their classrooms. Three teachers at Kamiak High School made the request in the fall to remove Lee’s iconic novel from the required ninth grade curriculum, said Monica Chandler, the district’s director of curriculum and professional development, told Crosscut in an interview before the school board approved the proposal.
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