Having recently completed reading Sir Arther Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, I went online to do some research on the novel. It's an interesting story, and I enjoyed the historical references to events in the U.S. West from the perspective of a Brit.
I was a bit surprised that a Virginia school district removed the book from its 6th grade reading list due to a protest from a parent about the books proposed anti-Mormon tone. Seriously?
An absence of blog posts regarding the removal decision does not exist. Adding my own opinion to so many others may seem trivial, but I seriously had to make some comment about the decision to remove the book from the approved reading list. Notice I did not mention "ban". The book from simply removed from a 6th grade approved reading list. The reason for its removal does, of course, smack of the same ignorance that caused mass book burnings in Germany in the last century.
As any sensible person would recognize, using a Mormon as an antagonist in a novel is not more extraordinary or controversial as using a Black Muslim or an Anglo Protestant. Did Capote shy away from In Cold Blood because the killers were protestant?
Similar situations exist all across the country. School districts consistently revise approved reading lists in attempts to satisfy interest levels of students while respecting cultural boundaries. Often, I am saddened that many American / British classics are passed over in favor of contemporary pieces that do not challenge reader engagement. Students need to read.
Students need allusions to cultural, history and literature. The travesty of standardized testing and the canned curriculum demanded by rigid standardization is the slow erosion and often complete disappearance of classic literature from conversations. This is one of the catalysts for me to read the Sherlock Holmes novels. After this, I am tackling the series of books deemed Southern Gothic. I share my reading experiences with my students; they may never develop a passion for the novels, but at least they are getting some exposure.
I was a bit surprised that a Virginia school district removed the book from its 6th grade reading list due to a protest from a parent about the books proposed anti-Mormon tone. Seriously?An absence of blog posts regarding the removal decision does not exist. Adding my own opinion to so many others may seem trivial, but I seriously had to make some comment about the decision to remove the book from the approved reading list. Notice I did not mention "ban". The book from simply removed from a 6th grade approved reading list. The reason for its removal does, of course, smack of the same ignorance that caused mass book burnings in Germany in the last century.
As any sensible person would recognize, using a Mormon as an antagonist in a novel is not more extraordinary or controversial as using a Black Muslim or an Anglo Protestant. Did Capote shy away from In Cold Blood because the killers were protestant?
Similar situations exist all across the country. School districts consistently revise approved reading lists in attempts to satisfy interest levels of students while respecting cultural boundaries. Often, I am saddened that many American / British classics are passed over in favor of contemporary pieces that do not challenge reader engagement. Students need to read.
Students need allusions to cultural, history and literature. The travesty of standardized testing and the canned curriculum demanded by rigid standardization is the slow erosion and often complete disappearance of classic literature from conversations. This is one of the catalysts for me to read the Sherlock Holmes novels. After this, I am tackling the series of books deemed Southern Gothic. I share my reading experiences with my students; they may never develop a passion for the novels, but at least they are getting some exposure.
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