Today I got an email from my son’s fifth grade reading
teacher. The subject line was ‘Nonfiction Reading.” Eager to see what was in
the queue of my son’s literary future, I opened the email and was shocked by
what I read. The teacher, let’s call her Are
You Kidding Me? was giving families a friendly head’s up that this coming
Monday, the kids will be asked to select
a partner-book to use in tandem with books they currently reading in class to
supplement some of the broader ideas and subject matter. “Hooray!” I thought. “My
tax dollars at work. Carry on, fifth grade Ambassadors of education!”
As I continued to skim the rest of AYKM’s email, a few
unsavory words suddenly jumped off the screen at me: Racism,
WWII, Holocaust to name a few. Below is an excerpt from the actual email:
Many 5th grade students have read or will soon read
books like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
or The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
Both of these books have issues regarding racism. So, I collected books that
discuss the history of racism, including the KKK. Because the texts are
historically accurate and include primary sources, the texts for this topic do
contain the "n word". I wanted to make sure that you are aware of
this before students select their topic on Monday.
AYKM is preparing to offer books to the fifth graders
covering WWII, The Civil War, and The Holocaust. The kids are to pick which
topic they would like to read. Simply look at the cover and decide which
horrible, hateful, vile, disgraceful act of violence in our Country’s history
you would like to read about. Bonus points for how many times you can spot The ‘N’
Word in your book.
Are You Kidding Me?
Look. I’m all about educating our children about the nation’s history. Even
the dark, embarrassing, tragic parts of that history. But, I’m also about not asking 10-year-olds to read about
The Holocaust. Let’s get them warmed up to the idea of cleaning their rooms,
doing their own laundry or clearing the table before we take them on a literary journey through Auschwitz or
introduce them to the KKK.
Maybe I’m over-reacting. Maybe I’m not. When in doubt, I always
ask mom, who is pre-programmed to always take my side. Is it wrong of me to feel like it’s not AYKM’s
job to talk to my kid about The ‘N’ Word? Is it naïve to think that 10-year-olds
are too immature to handle that kind of topic right now? God, I’m 37 and I can’t
handle it. Of course, I wrote AYKM back and said as much. My mother backed me
up (good mommy) and informed me that in Germany, they don’t impart WWII history
in the classroom until students are in 10th grade and 16 years old.
Sixteen!
Below is an excerpt from my response to AYKM:
I feel a bit unsettled about these book choices for
children at such a young age. I have concerns around the level of the
children's public awareness and their maturity about the subject matter, and I
want to ensure that civil sensitivities are imparted to the kids about this era
of our history.
This is only an excerpt. I am open-minded. I will do my due-dilligence and review the material. I'm not about banning books or information. I want to educate my children and grow their minds as
servants to their communities, their planet. I want them to be conscientious,
contributing members of society. However, I’m not
oblivious to the fact that our children are growing up in an era that makes me
afraid when I drop them off at school. I hug and kiss them at the car door
because…what if? What if I lose them to the
gun of some crazed psychopath at their little one-piece school desk? It’s an
awful reality. And someday, it will all be written as our awful history.
So today, I just want my kid to be 10, in sweet, ignorant
bliss of the horrors behind us and even ahead of us. My kid's innocence may be all they have left soon. They have their whole lives to be disappointed in Humankind, so I won't apologize for wanting to preserve a few years of their innocence. Peace. Hope.
So, if keeping my kids in a bubble makes me a
terrible citizen, person or mother; shoot me.
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