Current Events > Huckleberry Finn should NOT be taught in high school because of the N word?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Or any other book with pervasive use of the N word, To Kill a Mockingbird.
I say yes.

Just replace all instanced of the N word with "N-word".
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Why is that book being taught in high school in the first place? Like, there is nothing to it other than two dumb kids on an adventure

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history is full of equally terrible or worse things should we not teach history anyone either ? where does it stop

If you ban Huckleberry Finn for the use of the word, you have to ban To Kill A Mockingbird too.
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Might as well ban Ender's Game for the homophobic comments

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It depends on the intellectual capacity of the highschoolers. A lot of people just arent developed enough to understand the point of the book

Teach them that it is a book from a different time when different values existed and that it is really stupid to censor the past.

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Honestly it shouldn't be taught because it's a boring ass poopy novel

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Foppe posted...

Teach them that it is a book from a different time when different values existed and that it is really stupid to censor the past.

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Is there a big where the K word is repeated all the time that kids have to read? How about the C word? how about the S word. No just the slur for African-Americans. You might want to ask yourself why are you fighting so hard to keep that in the rotation.
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What are the k, c, and s words?
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cjsdowg posted...

Is there a big where the K word is repeated all the time that kids have to read? How about the C word? how about the S word. No just the slur for African-Americans. You might want to ask yourself why are you fighting so hard to keep that in the rotation.

Because the book is a snapshot of life at the time. It's showing the reality, harsh as it was, of America at that time.

Mark Twain was one of, if not the, most liberal celebrities of his time and incredibly progressive in race rights/issues. Treating the black character anything but that way would have been a lie and disservice to what slaves, pre-and-post Civil War, went through. That's kind of the point.

The n-word isn't there as something funny. It's not a joke. It's a fact of life. The response should be disgust. Not because Twain wrote it in there. But the fact that that's what America used to be and still continues to be in certain ways of life.

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DirkDiggles posted...

What are the k, c, and s words?

I guess the c one is the woman's genitals.

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I don't believe in censoring historic literature like this. Is the word terrible? Absolutely. But deleting it from history takes away the ability to teach future generations why it is bad, the impact it has, and educating them on why we should never return to that.

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We need to protec the children...
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Fortunately, if you'd like to learn that racism existed and how it was normalized you can read that in a history book in your history class. While I do agree, that censorship of this kind is counterintuitive, I find it questionable to advocate for this to be mandatory in an English class. If it's so important, it should be taught at the teachers discretion. Otherwise I don't think it's really important to be used as material in an English class. There are other literary works where a similar message that one might try to teach is self evident.
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SailorGoon posted...

mandatory in an English class.

Never once was this the case for me. Graduated in 2001

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Conflict posted...

I mean yeah there's never gonna be one book that's mandatory for every single English class in the world. There are people who haven't read Of Mice & Men or The Crucible (lucky them)

We were not forced to read any book. They would tell us to read a book that we pick and do a report on it.

Wait, there was one that the whole class read - A Yellow Raft In Blue Water

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SailorGoon posted...

Fortunately, if you'd like to learn that racism existed and how it was normalized you can read that in a history book in your history class. While I do agree, that censorship of this kind is counterintuitive, I find it questionable to advocate for this to be mandatory in an English class. If it's so important, it should be taught at the teachers discretion. Otherwise I don't think it's really important to be used as material in an English class. There are other literary works where a similar message that one might try to teach is self evident.

Well, I am a high school English teacher. And I've taught it a few times because I don't believe in censorship either. The problem for me though is that I can be around several black students and adults while reading this. And, despite my beliefs, I find it hard to read aloud. It's very uncomfortable. I've pushed through but the shit gives me anxiety. I say keep it in the library, but to put it on a high school class, I say skip it. Too many hurt feelings and you have to work hard to try and put it in context anyway to even get students to see it from a historical or literary experience.

MC_BatCommander posted...

Honestly it shouldn't be taught because it's a boring ass poopy novel

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I feel like everyone voting no is white

NES4EVER posted...

I don't believe in censoring historic literature like this. Is the word terrible? Absolutely. But deleting it from history takes away the ability to teach future generations why it is bad, the impact it has, and educating them on why we should never return to that.

A mod speaking against censorship

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SH_expert44 posted...

Just replace all instanced of the N word with "N-word".

This is how we read it aloud in school back in the mid 90's.

Did not read kill or Finn in high school
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Kastrada posted...

cjsdowg posted...

Is there a big where the K word is repeated all the time that kids have to read? How about the C word? how about the S word. No just the slur for African-Americans. You might want to ask yourself why are you fighting so hard to keep that in the rotation.

Because the book is a snapshot of life at the time. It's showing the reality, harsh as it was, of America at that time.

Mark Twain was one of, if not the, most liberal celebrities of his time and incredibly progressive in race rights/issues. Treating the black character anything but that way would have been a lie and disservice to what slaves, pre-and-post Civil War, went through. That's kind of the point.

The n-word isn't there as something funny. It's not a joke. It's a fact of life. The response should be disgust. Not because Twain wrote it in there. But the fact that that's what America used to be and still continues to be in certain ways of life.

This doesn't bring up discussion about issues in America . Americans still think that Slavery was no big deal. In the South they celebrate evil people like John C. Calhoun.
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cjsdowg posted...

This doesn't bring up discussion about issues in America . Americans still think that Slavery was no big deal. In the South they celebrate evil people like John C. Calhoun.

That's the fault of the government and education system, not the fault of the book. I've used the book in history classes and it's an easy gateway to the time period.

Not teaching the book doesn't help anyone or fix the major problems especially in regards to race. There needs to be a revamp of the education system and get agenda-driven politicians and businesses out of education.

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Ah yes Its should be

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Long as context is explained, it should be fine.

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The book is not celebrating the n-word
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I use this as a verb when the "I'M OFFENDED" age don't get a goddamn thing about, anything, really.
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It should not not be taught, but it's not like it's required to be taught. It's just some randomass book.
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I mean, do you TEACH someone a book even?

Also, say TEACH a lot. Teach teach teach. Thats a weird ass word now. Teach.
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Medzzz posted...

Did not read kill or Finn in high school

To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in all middle schools.
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reading this book hasn't stopped these kids from growing up and completely forgetting the lessons from that book as adults, though
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reminds me of this:

I don't understand how a school system can chastise me for swearing and yet force me to read vile and vulgar books such as Black Boy and Native Son. That's called hypocrisy.

http://www.sydlexia.com/books/grapes15.htm

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As a teacher, that is a teachable moment. Teach the students why the word was used then, and why it is inappropriate now.
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