Sunday, September 24, 2006
That Shit's Still Good
Books get banned or called into question for various reasons: sexual references, homosexual content, violent scenes, racial or sexist vocabulary, and cussing. Having one, all, or a combination of these is grounds for trouble. Unfortunately, YA texts tend to have these in their contents as well. However, when this seemingly “crude” content looked at in the greater context of the book can have some very valuable lessons for students. In an article found on Google News from Trinidad, Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe, professor at Wellesley College, writes an article in response to literary content in education. After reading his article, I felt it had many points our education system could benefit from as well:
William Empson, a famous English poet and critic, has argued that "The main purpose of reading imaginative literature is to grasp a wide variety of experience, imagining people with codes and customs very unlike our own." At the national level-that is, as a part of our national agenda-the study of literature should be used to inculcate a sense of national identity and expose our students to issues of politics, society, aesthetics, etc., so as to develop a critical faculty as the literatures of European and America have done for their people.
In this context, the use of a couple cuss words should be the least of our concerns. If one accepts that a curriculum should engender critical self-learning and develop critical intelligence then a few cuss words should not be a problem to our students. One does not expect a young adult who is taking a CXC examination in literature to be devoid of that critical faculty that allows him to evaluate language, meaning and its implications. In fact, one of the most important jobs of a teacher is to develop that critical intelligence upon which our democracy depends. How, in heaven's name, can we expect a young person to discern the double speak of contemporary politicians if she or he cannot discern how another young person deals with his or her sexuality or make other decisions about his life.
No education can take place without an encounter with complex arguments and even dis-approving words. Nor for that matter can it fail to examine issues of children's sexuality and moral behavior. As a novel reveals its meanings through dialogue and discourse, the task of an author is to find the most appropriate language to express his character's thoughts and feelings. Although some cuss words may not be acceptable to parents, the world that our students encounter-the public sphere as Jurgen Habermas calls it-- is littered with cuss words, homophobic words and sexist words to which many of our young people will have to respond.
Like Dr. Cudjoe, I too see the value in texts that may not necessarily have the cleanest vocabulary, as long as the content serves a greater purpose. Many banned books get on the list because people forget to look at the greater purpose those books serve--YA lit included. This strikes quite a blow to the "teachable" cannon.
Even though a text may contain offensive language (whether it be sexist, racial, or curse words) or situations, if the overall theme(s) or message can get students to think or look at things in a different way then the text has done its job from an educational point of view. Students want to read texts that pertain to their lives--YA lit. This is why I want to bring this genre into my classroom, in the hopes that my students will want to read. Sometimes giving students a banned book can be a hook to get them to want to read; this plays into the mindset of "Everyone says it's bad to read this, so I'm going to do it." On the other hand, my greatest fear is that parents will see these texts only as a few cuss words and challenge these texts to be removed from my classroom.
I feel that there is no better way to explore the topics that interest students then through texts. These texts are meant to engage students! By reading texts that aren't "safe", educators can teach students to look at things in context, critically look at the information they are given and how it is presented, teach about and experience other cultures or lifestyles, and overall help students develop critical intelligence. After all, isn't that what the texts educators have students read supposed to do?
Article from:
Cudjoe, Dr. Selwyn R. "Cussing and Critical Interpretation." Trinicenter.com. 24 Sept. 2006. 25 Sept. 2006 <http://www.trinicenter.com/Cudjoe/2006/2409.htm>.
William Empson, a famous English poet and critic, has argued that "The main purpose of reading imaginative literature is to grasp a wide variety of experience, imagining people with codes and customs very unlike our own." At the national level-that is, as a part of our national agenda-the study of literature should be used to inculcate a sense of national identity and expose our students to issues of politics, society, aesthetics, etc., so as to develop a critical faculty as the literatures of European and America have done for their people.
In this context, the use of a couple cuss words should be the least of our concerns. If one accepts that a curriculum should engender critical self-learning and develop critical intelligence then a few cuss words should not be a problem to our students. One does not expect a young adult who is taking a CXC examination in literature to be devoid of that critical faculty that allows him to evaluate language, meaning and its implications. In fact, one of the most important jobs of a teacher is to develop that critical intelligence upon which our democracy depends. How, in heaven's name, can we expect a young person to discern the double speak of contemporary politicians if she or he cannot discern how another young person deals with his or her sexuality or make other decisions about his life.
No education can take place without an encounter with complex arguments and even dis-approving words. Nor for that matter can it fail to examine issues of children's sexuality and moral behavior. As a novel reveals its meanings through dialogue and discourse, the task of an author is to find the most appropriate language to express his character's thoughts and feelings. Although some cuss words may not be acceptable to parents, the world that our students encounter-the public sphere as Jurgen Habermas calls it-- is littered with cuss words, homophobic words and sexist words to which many of our young people will have to respond.
Like Dr. Cudjoe, I too see the value in texts that may not necessarily have the cleanest vocabulary, as long as the content serves a greater purpose. Many banned books get on the list because people forget to look at the greater purpose those books serve--YA lit included. This strikes quite a blow to the "teachable" cannon.
Even though a text may contain offensive language (whether it be sexist, racial, or curse words) or situations, if the overall theme(s) or message can get students to think or look at things in a different way then the text has done its job from an educational point of view. Students want to read texts that pertain to their lives--YA lit. This is why I want to bring this genre into my classroom, in the hopes that my students will want to read. Sometimes giving students a banned book can be a hook to get them to want to read; this plays into the mindset of "Everyone says it's bad to read this, so I'm going to do it." On the other hand, my greatest fear is that parents will see these texts only as a few cuss words and challenge these texts to be removed from my classroom.
I feel that there is no better way to explore the topics that interest students then through texts. These texts are meant to engage students! By reading texts that aren't "safe", educators can teach students to look at things in context, critically look at the information they are given and how it is presented, teach about and experience other cultures or lifestyles, and overall help students develop critical intelligence. After all, isn't that what the texts educators have students read supposed to do?
Article from:
Cudjoe, Dr. Selwyn R. "Cussing and Critical Interpretation." Trinicenter.com. 24 Sept. 2006. 25 Sept. 2006 <http://www.trinicenter.com/Cudjoe/2006/2409.htm>.
// posted by Julie L. Lenhart @ 5:36 PM 
