Too Controversial For The Classroom?
The bestselling novel The Hate U Give, which is inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement, has caused a lot of controversy since it was first published two years ago. It has been banned by school officials in Katy, Texas. And in South Carolina, police demanded that the book be removed from the high school reading list. Elsewhere, it has been challenged for “inappropriate language,” and it was even listed by the American Library Association as one of of the top ten banned books of the year.
Who knew the controversy would reach Eastside’s campus as well?
Senior English teacher Mrs. Harrison-Gordon thought this book be a great novel to bring into her classroom. She thought this book was very relevant and wanted her students to culturally connect to important topics like modern-day racism and police brutality.
But things didn’t go according to plan.
Some students had an issue with book, refusing to do their work altogether or making it very clear that weren’t going to do the reading for this particular book. Some students even got their parents and other teachers involved.
Facing increasing pressure, Mrs. Harrison-Gordon decided to table the book after just a few chapters. She made the choice to stop reading the novel as a class because she wants all of her students to be comfortable and to be able to tell her when they are not. But the choice wasn’t an easy one.
“I feel really disappointed as a black person in America,” says Mrs. Harrison-Gordon. “We still have a long way to be understood and to be heard.” She had hoped that the book might help connect students to the truth about what’s going on in the world.
“In my community, we have to live with this everyday,” she says. “These topics are uncomfortable and I can’t change who I am, so I’m forced to live in these situations.”
Senior Alberto Heredia is one of those students who was disappointed by the decision. “I enjoyed this book a lot and was really happy to finally be interested in a book we were reading,” he says. “It sucked we had to stop reading it because someone got offended.”
Some students felt differently. “This book was just boring,” says one Eastside student who wished to remain anonymous. “I really don’t understand why we have to read about something that doesn’t even really involve school. It seems pointless.’’
Many students, however, seem to be frustrated that their peers weren’t willing to engage with the book and the important topics it brought up. They said it was unfair that they had to stop reading the novel because students were unwilling to step outside of their privilege and endure a bit of discomfort.
Mrs. Harrison-Gordon agrees. “It’s very unfortunate that students who were very interested and connected to the subject had to stop reading the novel,” she says. To allow those students the option of finishing the novel, she decided to keep the books in her classroom so that students who wanted to keep reading were able to do so.
Mrs. Harrison-Gordon says that this experience has definitely made her more aware of her students’ feelings and says she will be doing things a little differently when she teaches the book next year. She feels that she has support from Eastside administration, even if she doesn’t have it from some students and their parents.
Going into the future, Mrs. Harrison-Gordon says she wants to be truthful and open with her students. She hopes they’ll feel the same. But, either way, she’s going to continue to be herself in her own classroom. She’ll never change that.
