Tag: curriculum

What we keep getting wrong in conversations about banned books

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March 17, Jill DeTemple, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas, for a piece advocating that community members gather and discuss shared values in a civil setting rather than create book banning lists. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading: What we keep getting wrong in conversations about banned books:  Bit.ly/3CRTRxK 

Judging by the headlines, it might be easy to believe that every school board in the United States is getting ready to purge their libraries of materials that some find offensive.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has directed schools to remove all books with “pornographic content.” Texas House Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, has demanded school libraries account for their holdings related to race, gender and sexuality, prompting some teachers to remove titles from classroom shelves. In Tennessee, Maus was eliminated from a junior high school reading list, resulting in the book moving to a top seller position on Amazon, and in Washington State, the Mukilteo School Board found itself defending a decision to make To Kill a Mockingbird optional due to the complexities it presents around racist language and a white hero saving a black protagonist.

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Let’s Build Trust Instead of Banning Books

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March 10, Jill DeTemple, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas, for a piece advocating that community members gather and discuss shared values in a civil setting rather than create book banning lists. Published in Education Week under the heading Let’s Build Trust Instead of Banning Books: https://bit.ly/3tXIC2P 

It is a difficult time to be an educator. Aside from the massive disruptions and stress of a pandemic lasting more than two years, even as it appears to be winding down, teachers, school boards, and librarians are at the dead center of divisive conflicts over how—and if—students should encounter issues of racism, sexuality, and the dark side of American history in their schools. As has happened in the past, efforts to ban or remove books from school are a manifestation of this conflict.

In recent weeks, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed schools to remove all books with “pornography or obscene content.” Texas state Rep. Matt Krause has demanded school libraries account for their holdings related to race, gender, and sexuality—prompting some teachers to take titles from classroom shelves out of fear of reprisal. Last month, in one Tennessee district, Maus was eliminated from a junior high school reading list, driving the book to a top-seller position on Amazon. In a Washington state district, the school board is having to defend making To Kill a Mockingbird optionalrather than required reading because of concerns over racist language and the book’s portrayal of a “white savior complex.”

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The right’s attacks on critical race theory are an attempt to hijack history in schools — again

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Oct. 27, Kathleen Wellman, Dedman Family Distinguished Professor of History SMU Dallas, for a commentary critical of efforts by right-leaning Christian groups to inordinately influence curriculum to match a faith-based world view. Published in Religion News Service under the heading The right’s attacks on critical race theory are an attempt to hijack history in schools — again: https://bit.ly/3GoF6nP 

(RNS) — School board meetings across the nation have grown contentious in recent months as Americans have stepped up to microphones to protest what they’ve been told is a pandemic of teaching about critical race theory — a method of legal analysis practiced in law schools and graduate programs that examines how racism is embedded in our social institutions. Educators, in return, have responded that they don’t teach primary and secondary schoolers CRT.

This drama, which has become a key issue in political campaigns that will be decided next month, is based on fears that teaching about race will challenge the traditional story of an unproblematic and unquestionably exceptional America. In that, the fight over CRT is nothing new: It’s just the latest attempt by the political right playbook to distort the teaching of history.

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