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this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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is there a better place, to learn and discuss racial slurs and the significance of the word, than in a class room ?
or should they learn it from rap music ? where it's thrown around liberally like punctation, with no information about why it is the word that it is ?
The main complaint is that for people of colour, to be sat in a classroom with their peers whilst the derogatory words are read out loud is highly uncomfortable for them. I totally can understand that and why this is now coming up as more and more of the UK are becoming multicultural.
It should be taught in a classroom yes, but probably not in English literature class and something more like a Modern History of British Culture class, where it can be explained why Of Mice and Men was originally selected for a GCSE book, why it’s no longer acceptable, why the derogatory words are disgraceful and then why it was removed from the syllabus. This gives an all round education on the subject. Not perfect but it’s a start.
When I was in high school I was told half-caste was an acceptable term in the mid 2000s, and I still accidentally used it till a couple years ago because I was never told otherwise. It was only because of a friend who is more social than I am told me it’s no longer acceptable to use to refer to people with mixed racial parents.
It's possible to read the novel and see discriminatory language without speaking it aloud. It needs to be taught in a context where the racism (and misogyny and abuse of disabled as well) are called out. English lessons are the best place for this to happen.
There's a great poem that's been taught in English classrooms for years by John Agard called "Half-Caste" where he demolishes the racism of the term.
Teachers - English teachers - need to challenge and discuss racism.
Sounds like I had a crap English teacher then if being taught “half-caste” was meant to frame it as a racist term.
Quite likely. There are a great number of poorly-educated terrible English teachers. Pot luck if you find a good one in a school.
I can see why, only if it is still being taught as it was 30 years ago - ie without addressing the language used - and I hope thats not the case. I can't imagine anyone doing so in 2023.
If you start pulling stuff for those reasons (and for the record, I dont understand why they are still reading Steinbeck anyway) you go down a slightly dodgy path.
Of Mice and Men is a good novel for lower-attaining teens who struggle with reading. It's very short (5 or so chapters), deals with "adult issues" and is a bit like a "novel-by-numbers" where you can introduce things like setting, theme, characters, symbolism in a pretty straightforward way. One of the problems was that when schools began chasing exam grades in earnest because of accountability, ALL kids started studying the novel including the top end who should be academically stretched by something more challenging.
What they are saying in the article that racism can and should be thought (and is!) but it’s entirely unnecessary and off putting for it to be part of English lit.
Part of English lit is encouraging a positive attitude to reading and literature. Yes it delves into the details but it should be encouraging young people about the joy of reading. That’s definitely not going to happen if you are choosing books that alienate your readers when there are plenty of alternatives that would be more suitable
This isn’t about “banning” of mice and men. It’s just about it not being the focus of the class where this hateful racist language and attitudes would be read out.
It’s a very understandable viewpoint
if we're only reading about rainbows and unicorns, it certainly thins the library.
That’s not the point and you know it. A child who already is likely to have experienced racism towards themselves not being comfortable with hearing casual racism being read out in class isn’t the same as wanting books restricted to “rainbows and unicorns”
I’m not saying that I agree with that of mice and men should be removed from the curriculum (honestly I don’t know what the right thing to do is) but I understand and empathise with the girls position.
it is the unavoidable point if you insist English Lit should avoid difficult topics in order to instil the joy of reading, because literature is filled with harrowing stories of people behaving inhumanely towards one another.
at the same time, arguing that difficult topics should not be avoided but taught carefully, does not mean i do not empathise with those affected.