To the Editor,
Thank you, Elena Colarusso, for opening the topic of assigned reading in English/Language Arts classes in the New Canaan Public Schools. The reading of literature is a very important piece in educational formation. To give the controversy over the Sherman Alexie book some context, I believe it will be helpful to take a look at the span of reading our children and grandchildren will complete in grades 6-12.
With the dominance of screen and social media of our young people, as well as trends towards STEM (especially computer science) and finance concentrations in colleges and universities, the literature our students read in grades 6-12 may be the only formal exposure to literature and poetry some of your students will ever have in their lives. So what is so important about literature?
Drama, biography, novels, poetry all deal with the great questions of humankind and the meaning of life. The reading of great literature humanizes persons and expands their horizons.
So when it comes to choosing literature for schools, the question is not what books should be censored. The question to be asked is, what are the best books students should read while we have them in a formal classroom—the best literature to make a lasting impression, a humanizing impression on our students.
With this in mind, I visited our home town book store. The staff kindly allowed me to skim through the Alexie book (“Half Time Indian”). It is the story of a poor, marginalized Indian child who left the reservation in pursuit of a better education and succeeded. But…..it is at the same time soiled with racial and homophobic slurs, vulgarity, gross religious offensiveness, female objectivization, crude sexual boundary crossing, even bestiality. Sadly this author trashed his own opportunity to write a great “break through” novel for the young adult audience. He had the story to tell.
This book is available at Elm Street Book and the New Canaan Library. Students can easily obtain it if they want to read it. It is not banned. However, it rises nowhere near the level of excellent literature to qualify as “assigned reading” in their educational foundation. When schools select a book for assigned curriculum, they are putting a stamp of academic approval on that work of art and parents need to be able to trust them.
For good “break through” literature, I recommend “The Circuit” a collection of short stories by Francisco Jiménez, son of migrant chicanos or “When It Snows in Havana” by Carlos Eire who escaped at age 10 without his parents on one of the “Peter Pan Flights” from Castro’s Cuba. Both of these works won the National Book Award.
In closing, I would be remiss if I did not disclose that Mr. Alexie, the author of “Half Time Indian”, stands accused by 10 women of sexual harassment and abuse. (See NPR article 2018)
Parents, teachers, administrators, Board of Education members, let’s stand up for the best literature in our schools! This may be the only literature they read in a formal setting for the rest of their lives. It needs to be the best.
Maryann Knag
Maryann Knag is a retired Stratford High School teacher and an almost 4 year resident of New Canaan
