(FreedomBeacon.com)- Fox News spoke with several public school teachers about the push to ban Harper Lee’s classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” over its portrayal of blacks, the use of the N-word, and what is described as the “white savior motif,” and how the teachers feel about the move away from the teaching of classic literature in schools.
Wisconsin public school teacher James Fury told Fox Digital that the movement to ban classic works like Lee’s novel is misguided. Fury argued that removing the classics is tantamount to getting rid of culture.
Another teacher, Cicely Lewis, however, wants students to read books that challenge social norms and whose protagonists are from “an underrepresented or oppressed group.” Lewis founded something called “Read Woke” in 2017 as a way to make sure students have access to her idea of “literature.”
Lewis claims that children don’t read the classics. Yes, well, when teachers refuse to assign the classics, that’s what happens.
Lewis objects to Harper Lee’s classic because the black character is written by a white author. In Lewis’ mind, only black authors can create fully-developed black characters. Otherwise, Lewis explains, “there are a lot of tropes” when white people write black characters.
While she wouldn’t ban “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Lewis would only assign it if she also assigned a “supplemental text” that is up-to-date.
Another teacher, Daniel Buck, told Fox Digital that if young adults can’t get engaged with classic literature, that is the fault of the teacher, not the students or the literature itself. Buck said his students never had an issue engaging with the classics.
Teacher Emma Johnson told Fox Digital that classical literature is “extremely important” to the curriculum. Like Daniel Buck, Johnson believes it is up to the teacher to get students to engage with the classics. Johnson argues that most of the classics have themes that are “timeless,” making it possible for students to connect with the stories.
