The irony of banning books, movies, songs etc is that most people want to access the media because it's banned, it's usually more exciting do something you "shouldn't" do. I never read it in high school, but it was available in the school library. I'm thinking about reading it now.
Agree with you 100%. I bought them in 2020 , and read both this weekend. They are perfect for middle school through high school. I’m sad about this,and censorship of many valuable books. It’s chilling.
I have never read _Maus_. I do have quite a bit of experience in teaching teenagers though and I can pretty much guarantee that the average 13-15 year old has seen more gratuitous violence and nudity on their computer screens this week than they are likely to encounter in _Maus_ . And, the violence etc. in _Maus_ is clearly purpose driven and meaningful (unlike what kids are watching on the internet). This hand wringing about inappropriate material for 8th Graders is just theater, window dressing for attempts to limit young people's access to the truth.
It seems clear to me that the excuse of "but the children" is a very thin veil for the fact that they don't actually want to talk about these issues. They're white supremacists, plain and simple. I think TN's bill last year, PC 493 outlines quite well what they're really trying to avoid (which includes things such as the children's discomfort or guilt -- but also discussion of oppression and privilege). Children's supposed purity is being used as an excuse so that they don't have to say that they don't want to hear/have their children hear about issues that minority's face. They don't want to know about it because they benefit from it. Don't get me wrong, some people might really believe they're doing it for the kids, but there are a lot of people who are conscious that it's for their own gain and regardless, the end result is the same. But with something like Maus (a survivor's story AND something that is clearly more well-suited for a younger audience), there's no way it's a misunderstanding. Most if not all of that school board knew what they were doing and it's disgusting. It's only one small piece of the censorship happening over here (I'm in TN) -- SB 1229 targeted LGBT people/topics and that was enacted just last year as well. And there are other areas of curriculum that I could go into as well, but I'll save you the essay lol. None of this is accidental, even if some individuals don't see the greater role their playing because they've decided to bury their head in the sand to keep from experiencing discomfort.
It's very strange watching this particular banning because I remember when learning about the holocaust in school, I did have classes where we were shown photos of actual concentration camps and what happened to the victims in those camps. The idea that children cannot learn if they see accurate history because it might be upsetting is strange to me. History isn't supposed to be comfortable.
Studied these at university and thought they were phenomenal, I wish we'd been taught these in school. We didn't cover the holocaust at all at my school :/ Although we did study the Kennedy assassination and they showed us the video footage of that. I guess times have changed? What's sad is that people are always saying like "kids are so sensitive these days" and "back in my day we had no health and safety" and all of that crap, and then it's the adults who are stopping the kids from having valuable learning experiences.
Great to see you, Justine. I have Vol 1 and have searched all over for Vol 2 but no luck. I have added it to my tbr for February. Maus is a feat, considering the reticence many Holocaust survivors displayed when talking about that experience with their children. Notice you have Che behind you. Is that the graphic edition?
I’ve read Maus and I think they are excellent for learning about the Holocaust. I am against banning of books in any way, and we should let kids read whatever they want. If school boards are concerned, they should make sure teachers are discussing these texts with kids to explain context/themes etc
I think its also really werd to ban a book about the holocaust for a depiction of suicide, when the suicide was committed by a surviver of the holocaust, and its very obvious that the reason they commit suicide is (at least in part) ptsd from what they experienced in the holocaust!
I think this book is very powerful but doesn’t meet todays political trends. German government did an amazing job in the marketing so in the history books printed today there are no longer Germans but Nazis. Putting aside Mouse and the Holocaust, we should also be learning about Colonialism in more detail- that subject is practically omitted in schools curriculums and there is no lobby from Black Community to change it.
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This was such a great review and discussion of the banning of Maus.
Great breakdown!
The irony of banning books, movies, songs etc is that most people want to access the media because it's banned, it's usually more exciting do something you "shouldn't" do. I never read it in high school, but it was available in the school library. I'm thinking about reading it now.
I would give it a shot. Great book
Agree with you 100%. I bought them in 2020 , and read both this weekend. They are perfect for middle school through high school. I’m sad about this,and censorship of many valuable books. It’s chilling.
I have never read _Maus_. I do have quite a bit of experience in teaching teenagers though and I can pretty much guarantee that the average 13-15 year old has seen more gratuitous violence and nudity on their computer screens this week than they are likely to encounter in _Maus_ . And, the violence etc. in _Maus_ is clearly purpose driven and meaningful (unlike what kids are watching on the internet). This hand wringing about inappropriate material for 8th Graders is just theater, window dressing for attempts to limit young people's access to the truth.
So much YES to this! The average video game has tons more violence and nudity in it!
100% agree.
💯💯💯
It seems clear to me that the excuse of "but the children" is a very thin veil for the fact that they don't actually want to talk about these issues. They're white supremacists, plain and simple. I think TN's bill last year, PC 493 outlines quite well what they're really trying to avoid (which includes things such as the children's discomfort or guilt -- but also discussion of oppression and privilege). Children's supposed purity is being used as an excuse so that they don't have to say that they don't want to hear/have their children hear about issues that minority's face. They don't want to know about it because they benefit from it. Don't get me wrong, some people might really believe they're doing it for the kids, but there are a lot of people who are conscious that it's for their own gain and regardless, the end result is the same. But with something like Maus (a survivor's story AND something that is clearly more well-suited for a younger audience), there's no way it's a misunderstanding. Most if not all of that school board knew what they were doing and it's disgusting. It's only one small piece of the censorship happening over here (I'm in TN) -- SB 1229 targeted LGBT people/topics and that was enacted just last year as well. And there are other areas of curriculum that I could go into as well, but I'll save you the essay lol. None of this is accidental, even if some individuals don't see the greater role their playing because they've decided to bury their head in the sand to keep from experiencing discomfort.
It's very strange watching this particular banning because I remember when learning about the holocaust in school, I did have classes where we were shown photos of actual concentration camps and what happened to the victims in those camps. The idea that children cannot learn if they see accurate history because it might be upsetting is strange to me. History isn't supposed to be comfortable.
Studied these at university and thought they were phenomenal, I wish we'd been taught these in school. We didn't cover the holocaust at all at my school :/ Although we did study the Kennedy assassination and they showed us the video footage of that. I guess times have changed? What's sad is that people are always saying like "kids are so sensitive these days" and "back in my day we had no health and safety" and all of that crap, and then it's the adults who are stopping the kids from having valuable learning experiences.
Good point
Great to see you, Justine. I have Vol 1 and have searched all over for Vol 2 but no luck. I have added it to my tbr for February. Maus is a feat, considering the reticence many Holocaust survivors displayed when talking about that experience with their children. Notice you have Che behind you. Is that the graphic edition?
Vol. 2 is on Amazon for $16 (paperback) price went up since yesterday.
That is the graphic novel edition. A friend gave it to me for my bday! It was a great read
I’ve read Maus and I think they are excellent for learning about the Holocaust. I am against banning of books in any way, and we should let kids read whatever they want. If school boards are concerned, they should make sure teachers are discussing these texts with kids to explain context/themes etc
Agreed
Hope that school ban gets overturned.
Hope so but probably not
I think its also really werd to ban a book about the holocaust for a depiction of suicide, when the suicide was committed by a surviver of the holocaust, and its very obvious that the reason they commit suicide is (at least in part) ptsd from what they experienced in the holocaust!
I understand why they want to protect the children, but I'm also against censorship as well.
I think this book is very powerful but doesn’t meet todays political trends.
German government did an amazing job in the marketing so in the history books printed today there are no longer Germans but Nazis.
Putting aside Mouse and the Holocaust, we should also be learning about Colonialism in more detail- that subject is practically omitted in schools curriculums and there is no lobby from Black Community to change it.