Public Schooling Battles: February Dispatch

February is a short month, so March caught me by surprise. Hence the late Dispatch. But if February had 31 days, it would be like this came out on March 11. Not that bad, right? Anyway, on with the February battles, which are heavy on books, slavery lessons, and …dances.Books:February saw three new book challenges: BothThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn andTo Kill a Mockingbird were removed from requiredreading lists in Duluth, MN;Stickwas removed from all classrooms and libraries below the high school level in Beaverton, OR; andThe Hate U Givewas pulled as an assignment in Springfield, MO. Three of these books are not newly contested territory in our public schools ’ constant values and identity-based battles.Huckleberry Finn andTo Kill a Mockingbird have been flashpoints for decades —and the latter, several times in thelast fewmonths—while we saw abattle overThe Hate U Givein Texas in 2017.Slavery illustrations: A teacher in Leander, TX, assigned students todraw pictures of themselves as slaves for homework and to “write one sentence that describes your surroundings using each of the 5 senses.” A New York City teacher made her African-American students lie down on the floor and then she stepped on their backs to try to give them asense for how slavery felt. Needless to say these things disturbed many parents. But they aren ’t the first concerning “immersion” assignments—which seem largely intended to help kids get a better feeling for historical events...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs