The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn leads to more curriculum controversy
The racial epithet leapt from the chalkboard. It was listed along with other emotionally charged words designed to illustrate the power of language in an introductory lesson to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ibrahim Mohamed, a student at Richland High School in North Richland Hills, asked his teacher to shorten the word to the "N-word," but said he was met with questions from the teacher about whether the word offended him or hurt. Ibrahim complained to his mother and the principal that as the lone black student in the class the teacher’s questioning made him feel unnecessarily singled out. Birdville Independent School District (BISD) officials say the exercise was part of a new curriculum developed by the district's 11th-grade English teachers and a consultant to put such powerful words in the proper context and was not meant to offend anyone. The curriculum has now been shelved and will be reviewed. Ibrahim's mother wants the book banned. A group calling itself "The Coalition to Stop the N-Word" met with BISD’s superintendent, seeking a written apology for the family and sensitivity training for teachers. Thomas Muhammad, a spokesman for the coalition, said that the group wants the book banned because it is representing the family's wishes. However, coalition member Ron Price, a Dallas ISD school board member, dissents, believing the book has value. "To remove the book is to keep people in ignorance," he said.
Scholars of the book's author, Mark Twain, say that the context provided during lessons can make all the difference between a student being enlightened or offended. "You want to create a safe place where students of all ethnicities feel comfortable reading a challenging text," said Jocelyn Chadwick, a former Harvard educator who has written books and essays about how to teach the book. Dr. Chadwick noted many teachers have not been adequately prepared to introduce sensitive materials into their classes because there is no standard curriculum to which they can refer. "If you're teaching European or Middle Eastern literature, you put it into historical context before you ever teach the book," she said. "With American literature, we assume the students get it. But they don't. They don't always know their history." Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and American studies' director at Stanford University, wrote in an essay that "irony, history, and racism all painfully intertwine in our past and present, and they all come together in Huck Finn." Ibrahim has been assigned to another English class at the school, and the teacher has apologized to him and his family. His mother still wants the book banned. She said she has never read the entire book and doesn't intend to. Her son, however, said: "I'll give it a chance. I'll read it."
Dallas Morning News By Laurie Fox
[Editor’s Note: A report of another controversy over the novel is excerpted at the first link below. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird has been the subject of a similar debate at Fort Walton Beach High School in Okaloosa County, Florida, reported at the following links. The school’s decision to put on a student production of Ms. Lee’s novel raised concerns over the work’s use of the "N-word." Okaloosa County School District officials convened a panel of African-American community leaders, which decided the play should be presented with the offending word omitted out of concern for cultural sensitivity. However, after a subsequent meeting between cast members, school officials, and panel members it was decided to present the work as written.]
NSBA School Law pages on Huckleberry Finn controversy
Northwest Florida Daily News By Rachel Kyler
Northwest Florida Daily News By Rachel Kyler