We need to talk…

‘We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?'” (Bradbury 50)

Here’s my hot take: posting about going out to buy the books that are being banned is grossly oversimplifying a truly terrible issue. Don’t get me wrong, you should read Maus and Thirteen Reasons Why and The Hate U Give. Read whatever you want, but the current movement to ban books from public schools and libraries has nothing to do with the texts themselves. The ludicrous notion that the brilliant, heartbreaking, and challenging graphic novel Maus was banned for a couple of curse words and a tiny piece of nudity reveals much about our current culture. I know, Tennessee school board, it would be difficult to defend not wanting our children to grapple with the horrors of the holocaust (heck, that might even get you canceled), but protecting them from “nudity” - that’s something “everyone” can support.

I believe that removing engaging, beloved texts from classrooms and libraries is the culmination of a culture that fundamentally distrusts educators. To reveal any biases, I am a teacher. A large part of my job is helping students develop a love of reading and critical thinking to write their truths compellingly. I make decisions about the texts my students read based on my district requirements and my team of brilliant, thoughtful educators. When I choose an article, short story, novel, play, speech, work of art, etc., for my class to read, I think carefully about the learning objectives I am trying to achieve. Is this text going to offer “profound insights into the human condition and serve as models for students’ thinking and writing“ (this is directly from my state teaching standards, which I know very well because I am an educator, and we are supposed to know this stuff). The current banning craze isn’t about not letting kids read the books. It is about not allowing kids to read the books in classrooms where a trained educator can guide them to critically think about what they read, ask their own questions, and codify their own beliefs and ideas. Teachers are exhausted and outraged not because they took one book away but because teaching these texts to get to the deep, complex thinking is our job--our passion. So, go ahead, buy the books that people are banning. Read them. But then, start talking about them. Ask questions. Write bravely, and then listen. Listen to the teachers who are desperate to teach your kids. Trust them. Listen to your kids. They want to be challenged; they want to learn and succeed as much as their teachers want them to. They are curious and thoughtful, and brilliant. Trust them. They are the brightest hope we have.