Books Are Meant to Be Discussed, Not Banned
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism!
Last summer, I served on the jury of my first murder trial. We heard all kinds of griping testimony, viewed extensive forensic evidence, and witnessed dramatic outbursts from the defense lawyer, who deemed everything the prosecution presented as “hearsay.” The experience gave me an idea I wanted to try with my 8th-grade students as part of our novel study; we put a banned book on trial.Â
Why Some Texas Schools Are Banning “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Oscar Wilde once said, “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” Recently, school districts across Texas have banned a range of books they deem immoral or inappropriate. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has issued guidance to schools for banning books deemed inappropriate because they possibly contained explicit material, racial issues, and/or LGBTQ characters. As the Texas Tribune reported, “School districts are not required to adopt the agency’s recommendations but can use them as guidance as they develop new procedures or alter their policies for selecting or removing library books.” So, technically, the fate of books is in the hands of school districts.
The Problem With Book BansÂ
My professional belief is students need choice. Students need to discover characters they can relate to and identify with. As a teacher, I always Inform students of the content of a YA-type book because a few students are not permitted to read books from this category, and I respect that. As a mom, I did not have a problem with my children reading such books because it gave us a chance to discuss as a family the situations in the books and reaffirm that our values are different, but it showed them that there were other viewpoints in the world.
While I support student choice, the issue of families exercising choice is double-edged. I oppose the unilateral decision of banning a book for everyone when there are families which allow their students to read the titles in question. I do not believe it should be a one size fits all ruling. The whole situation reminds me of an old episode of “The Waltons.” You see, because of WWII, the citizens of Walton’s Mountain decided to destroy all books from German authors or in the German language. John Boy interrupts a book burning and asks a woman to read a book written in German about to be tossed into the flames. She reads, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and Earth.” One by one, people drop their books as they realize they are making judgments without evidence. This was the big picture I wanted my students to grasp.
We began our journey after a book tasting of sorts. I offered my students two choices of currently banned books in Texas: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee because of its use of the N-word and “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury due to graphic content and vulgarity. Students overwhelmingly chose “To Kill a Mockingbird” because they performed the play two years before. Even though they were already familiar with the content, I still felt slightly nervous. Luckily, I currently teach in a private school, so we are not as affected by rulings coming from TEA as my public school friends.
Preparing to Put “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Trial
Before we began reading this book, I shared statements from several districts which have banned this book. Then I privately spoke with my Black students to see if they would feel uncomfortable reading this. They assured me they were fine with it. However, my one rule when we read aloud, we did not say offensive words – period.
As we read, students kept a dialectical journal (a T chart where text evidence is written on one side and commentary is on the other side, all providing evidence for and against banning the book). Why did I decide to have them collect evidence for both sides of the argument?
- Recording evidence from both sides provided them with a counterargument.
- It kept the debate from becoming too biased by allowing them to see both sides of the story.
- The evidence could be used as witness testimony when we “went to trial.”
- I would not reveal which side of the courtroom they would represent until a few days before the trial.
On the reveal day, students formed teams to collect their best evidence and write a closing argument. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the discourse between the students. Side note – this experience would be a great choice for a formal observation. Evaluators definitely would witness total student engagement, high levels of critical thinking skills, and student-directed discussions.
To further prepare my students for building their case, we watched the closing argument scene from the movie version starring Gregory Peck. I asked my students to pay close attention to the facts he presented. Everyone also noticed the counterargument, which I pointed out is key to winning their case.
Afterward, students found various arguments to support their claims. Some students noted the White savior aspect of the story. The White savior has been a popular trope in literature portraying White people rescuing a Black person. It appears not only in “To Kill a Mockingbird” but also in “The Help” and “The Blind Side.” The second most popular argument compared banning books like “To Kill a Mockingbird” to erasing history. Students opposed this practice because they argued that we must learn from history. A few of their examples included cities tearing down Civil War statues and renaming schools. They combed the internet, collecting their evidence from a myriad of sources, including videos of school board meetings from across the nation regarding the topic of book banning.
The Court Date
If you visited my room on this date, you would see it arranged in the style of a courtroom, complete with a judge’s bench where I presided as judge. I wore my black graduation robe and found a gavel in the “theater prop room to set the tone. (Yes, students addressed me as Your Honor).
Students huddled together, checking over their evidence before our “trial” began. Students had rules of the courtroom to follow. Obviously, you had to present facts – meaning text evidence – when you appeared before my “bench.” If either side felt as though evidence had been omitted in a point, they could “Object!” on the grounds of hearsay, speculation, or circumstantial evidence. This made them double-check their evidence more. In the midst of the trial, students would ask to approach the bench to ask for rulings (decisions), etc. They were also allowed to call witnesses from their peers.
A “Not Guilty” Verdict for “To Kill a Mockingbird”
As our trial drew to a close, students became the jury and could offer a verdict. Both sections of my 8th graders offered alternatives to book banning that seemed reasonable. They believed there might be adult themes in the book, so make sure vulnerable children are not permitted to read it. Schools could provide a warning like some programs on Hulu or Netflix do. However, no one said “To Kill a Mockingbird” needed to be completely banned. It just needs warning labels for families to decide if it is the right choice.
In the end, I felt as though my students made more level-headed suggestions than adults they noticed in either articles or videos. They learned in a highly interactive way to provide true text evidence that was relevant and purposeful. In order to ensure success for my students, I visited with them prior to our “court date” to make sure they were on track, but ultimately their work was 100% in their hands.
Will I do this again? Absolutely! For my 7th-grade students, we decided to take a different approach and put Jonas from The Giver by Lois Lowry on trial to determine if he was justified in taking Gabriel and leaving the village. Holding a mock trial for a book or character taught my students to provide evidence to support their claims because sometimes students only want to provide an opinion without proof. It also gave them a taste of real-world collaboration toward a common goal. It is always interesting to see who emerges as a leader in these situations because everyone has an equal voice. I am so glad I took the opportunity to try it out, and I hope you will too.  Â
Editor’s Note: If you enjoyed this article, please become a Patreon supporter by clicking here.
