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The Presence of To Kill A Mockingbird in Schools

This document discusses the arguments for and against including "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 8th grade classrooms. It argues that the book teaches important lessons about prejudice, perspective-taking, and moral conscience. While some parents argue students are too immature for the book's content and language, the document contends that an excellent teacher can mitigate any issues and use the book to further important discussions about society and history. Overall, it concludes that "To Kill a Mockingbird" has meaningful lessons to teach students, if guided properly by a knowledgeable teacher.

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52 views

The Presence of To Kill A Mockingbird in Schools

This document discusses the arguments for and against including "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 8th grade classrooms. It argues that the book teaches important lessons about prejudice, perspective-taking, and moral conscience. While some parents argue students are too immature for the book's content and language, the document contends that an excellent teacher can mitigate any issues and use the book to further important discussions about society and history. Overall, it concludes that "To Kill a Mockingbird" has meaningful lessons to teach students, if guided properly by a knowledgeable teacher.

Uploaded by

api-552381974
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Cattell 1

Alyssa Cattell

Mrs. Stro

ERWC 2

10 January, 2022

The Presence of “To Kill a Mockingbird”” in Schools

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a small book with a lot of meaning. The story covers the

tragic incident where a white woman accused an African American man of touching her without

her consent. The story takes place in the 1930’s where equal rights were still being fought for

and fair treatment of colored people was not yet accepted. Some parents may believe that “To

Kill a Mockingbird” should not be put in schools at the 8th grade level yet it has many important

lessons to be learned, and their children should be mature enough to comprehend the storyline

and strive to not make the same mistakes people did back then.

Firstly, the lessons in the story are very important and should be learned and taught in

schools. Source B states, “we see situations that really encourage readers to think critically about

how misjudgments can impact the lives of many innocent people, and on a larger scale, how

those misjudgments might influence a society’s view of an entire group of people.” Not knowing

the whole story proves that words hurt and people say things they may not always mean to

offend people but they may have their pre accusations in mind. This is a very important lesson

because children in this society need to learn early how to treat people and make this country a

better place. Source D says,”One of the best loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has

been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide

served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and voted one of the best novels of

the twentieth century by librarians across the country.” This shows that the book being translated
Cattell 2

in many different languages gives all students of all walks of life the opportunity to read and

learn.

To add on, the children reading the book don't have a conscience in this. In Source C the

comic says,” The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” This

means that the conscience of a person may be controlled by the upper hand. The second of

the comic says, “But atticus having a conscience makes me uncomfortable” (Source C). This

shows that the schools believe that the students should never feel uncomfortable with anything.

This stops them from learning things that may seem harsh or cruel yet the students deserve a

chance to know the reality and see that the world wasn't and isn't perfect.

Some parents may believe that the students are too young to comprehend and are too

immature. One may argue,”8th grade classrooms in Biloxi, Mississippi, over complaints about

language in the book, in particular the use of the N-word. The parent who filed the complaint

was concerned about her daughter, who is black, and her classmates’ response to the book, which

reportedly included laughter over the use of the slur” (Source A). This better helps the parents

believe that their child should not read the book. Yet Source E says,”These damages can be

mitigated or evaded by an excellent teacher.” A good influence and established teacher would

know how to react and how to manage these kinds of situations. Parental guidance also plays a

factor if their child can’t be mature then they should not read the book.

In conclusion, the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” has important lessons to be taught by

excellent teachers, and that the conscience of the students never comes to play. The storys cruel

background gives a good look into American history. The story gives the perspectives of many

types of people which helps the kids understand what role they play as they become older.

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