Banned Books and Bye Bye, Beloved...

 Image from www.bannedbooksweek.org

After finishing Beloved this week, I decided to do a little more research on what other educators and literary enthusiasts thought about using this book in high school curriculum. I had a hunch that it would be controversial between the educators and parents of students, and oh boy, was I right! Though my suspicions about parents being weary of Beloved being taught to their children were absolutely correct, I was shocked to discover that there was a dispute on my own turf in Fairfax, Virginia. This is the article I found about the dispute that occurred in the Fairfax County school district.

Though I may sound as if I am being a bit judgmental, how many parents that are opposed to this novel have actually read it in its entirety? Probably a very slim amount. I have a feeling that their children repeat some of the novel's more graphic or sexual moments to their parents, which results on sending them on a rant about protecting their child's innocence. I would love to know if the readers of this blog agree or disagree with the statement I have just made. What do you think about the parents who are so strongly opposed to their children reading this Nobel prize winning book?

Though ethics come into play for the argument of protecting student's innocence, I feel that teachers and their parents must realize that a teenager in this generation's innocence has most likely already been compromised with the things they hear and see on a daily basis through the media (the most obvious and current example: the tragedy in Boston). Though students have a general understanding of slavery and that African American's were treated very poorly, Beloved offers a plethora of insight as to how slavery truly compromised not only a person's physical being, but mental being as well. It is hard to envision slavery on this level unless you have read Beloved as a whole, and it is an essential part of history for students to understand.

After reading this article, I came to the the conclusion that it is a teacher's responsibility to have their students participate in Banned Books Week. Though the week of celebrating the freedom to read whatever we choose has already passed for this school year, it gives us teachers a chance to prepare for the upcoming Banned Books Week which lasts from September 22nd - 28th. If you future teachers or new teachers need some information on the Banned Books Week, here is the link about the event.

A beneficial assignment for your class would be to have each of your students work on a journal during the week that explains the importance of reading Beloved and other banned books. They can write what important themes they have taken away from the book, how they felt after reading it, why it is important to keep an open mind regarding stories such as these, etc. Try to steer them away from themes such as "slavery was bad" or "violence does not solve problems". Before you instruct the class to write this journal, have them dig deep into parts of the text that really stuck out to them and analyze them as a whole classroom. This way, the students will truly understand how slavery drove African American's to the brink of insanity, and what it feels like to be classified as an animal or an object.

If you want to be absolutely positive that your class has read and understood Beloved, here are a few quiz questions you could give to your students pertaining to the ending portion of the novel:

1. What happens to Sethe after she tells Beloved she knows that Beloved is the daughter she has killed?
2. How does Denver first reach out for help after she realizes that she is the only one who can hold the family together?
3. What is Sethe's, Denver's, and Beloved's reaction to Mr. Bodwin when he rides up to 124?

Are there any more quiz questions you feel would be essential to obtaining the knowledge that your students have read and understood Beloved? How do you feel about Banned Books Week, or about the article that I posted above? I would love to hear your feedback.

Hope you all are weathering the storm!
 

Sources:
 "Banned Books Week." Banned Books Week. Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.

Shapiro, T. Rees. "Education." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 07 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-07/local/36963373_1_books-older-students-parents-more-control>.