One year, someone triple ordered William Golding's 1952 classic, Lord of the Flies. It was a tough novel to teach to young, innocent ninth graders, so I didn't teach it the next year or the next. The new ninth grade teacher thought she could handle it and proceeded with reading the book--until a parent objected--strongly.
Later, the curriculum committee banned the book. Five hundred copies collected dust on shelves, until they were placed in the hallway with other rejected books that had worn out their welcome or no longer fulfilled an objective. They awaited the used book seller who would buy the books for pennies on the dollar.
What a shame to see the discarded classic that had already endured for more than half a century.
By now, I was teaching seniors. Along with literature, they were learning about some tough US history-the Cold War years which included Vietnam and the social unrest that accompanied this tumultuous period. Maybe there's a place for this story in our curriculum, I wondered.
Mrs. F. (my teaching partner) and I looked around to make sure no one was looking, and we scooped up the contraband and ferreted them to our room, hid them in the cupboard, slammed the door tight and hoped for the right time to set them free.
Just like ideas--the ideas that would come from a book such as this. Dangerous ideas and conclusions about human nature. Raised consciousness that would need sorting like wheat from the chaff. The kind of sorting where we plunk ourselves in an apple orchard and separate the good apples from the bad. The apples start in the same bin, but we look for blemishes, worm holes, and rotten cores. After sorting for an hour or so, we easily spot the crispy edible apples from the apples destined for compost.
It is in books such as Lord of the Flies, that help us sort out acceptable and unacceptable human behavior--the bad apple behavior from the good apple behavior. We vicariously and safely experience evil, so we recognize it and toss it far from our lives.
This summer, the faculty read was a book about the classics. It extolled the virtue of reading, reading, reading, the classics and letting these proven books teach the morals and values of our community.
Lord of the Flies was included in the recommended list.
The book is set free.
Later, the curriculum committee banned the book. Five hundred copies collected dust on shelves, until they were placed in the hallway with other rejected books that had worn out their welcome or no longer fulfilled an objective. They awaited the used book seller who would buy the books for pennies on the dollar.
What a shame to see the discarded classic that had already endured for more than half a century.
By now, I was teaching seniors. Along with literature, they were learning about some tough US history-the Cold War years which included Vietnam and the social unrest that accompanied this tumultuous period. Maybe there's a place for this story in our curriculum, I wondered.
Mrs. F. (my teaching partner) and I looked around to make sure no one was looking, and we scooped up the contraband and ferreted them to our room, hid them in the cupboard, slammed the door tight and hoped for the right time to set them free.
Just like ideas--the ideas that would come from a book such as this. Dangerous ideas and conclusions about human nature. Raised consciousness that would need sorting like wheat from the chaff. The kind of sorting where we plunk ourselves in an apple orchard and separate the good apples from the bad. The apples start in the same bin, but we look for blemishes, worm holes, and rotten cores. After sorting for an hour or so, we easily spot the crispy edible apples from the apples destined for compost.
It is in books such as Lord of the Flies, that help us sort out acceptable and unacceptable human behavior--the bad apple behavior from the good apple behavior. We vicariously and safely experience evil, so we recognize it and toss it far from our lives.
This summer, the faculty read was a book about the classics. It extolled the virtue of reading, reading, reading, the classics and letting these proven books teach the morals and values of our community.
Lord of the Flies was included in the recommended list.
The book is set free.
Comments