Lately, at Aquin, teachers who assign inappropriate literature have become a problem that many would like to change. The majority of students don’t want to be forced to read books that make them uncomfortable, or don’t want to read them in a catholic high school classroom. Although the author has the right to write whatever he feels and the teachers have the right to think some books should be read for the student’s enrichment, I also believe that students should be warned and have their opinions taken into account.
This is an example of a book that the juniors were made to pay for and read in one of their classes at Aquin Catholic high school:
“Balls, when I thought like you, Alvah, I was just as miserable and graspy as you are now. All you want to do is run out there and get laid and get beat up and get screwed up and get old and sick and banged around by samsara, you f****** eternal meat of comeback you you’ll deserve it too, I’ll say”
“That’s not nice. Everybody’s tearful and trying to live with what they got. Your Buddhism has made you mean Ray and makes you even afraid to take your clothes off for a simple healthy orgy.”
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
This book and others like it have been taught in classrooms at our school and both students and their parents are beginning to get sick of being ambushed with disturbing literature that seem to have no educational point. If there is something particular in these works that the teachers want to show, isn’t there an option with better taste?
In America, there is something in the Constitution that Americans are proud of, and that is the freedom of speech. This includes making literature what you would like it to be, even if it is offensive or has no point but to be crude. This right doesn’t cover what we should be taught morally in a school focused on both academic and spiritual teachings. Several teachers tend to take it farther than most student and parents comfort zone.
There are other ways to teach students about a particular thing that forcing them to read something beyond their comfort zone and offensive to their beliefs. It’s sad that teachers at a Catholic school feel they should defend literature they assign when it is as crude or worse as the excerpt above. This isn’t about teaching inappropriate things to students, it’s about teaching inappropriate things to students in a Catholic school.
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I agree with this post, I'm sick of inappropriate literature, especially when we have to pay for it! It makes me uncomfortable to read, and I get nothing out of reading it because of that.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this post. This teacher seems to do this a lot in that he choses books that are not of importance or they are inappropriate to be reading in our school. The students can only fight so much, so it's a good thing parents are involved.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are seriously complaining about a teacher...on his own blog? I...honestly don't see the logic behind this one.
ReplyDeleteAnd "The Dharma Bums" isn't some "Karma Sutra" knockoff. Not only does it teach us a huge amount about the time era in which it was written, it exposes us to one of the most famous U.S. authors, Jack Kerouac. There's only like two pages out of hundreds that involve stuff like that, so it's akin to complaining about the human race because there's one or two bad eggs. Look past what you guys want to see (Sex, Swearing, etc.) and read it for what it actually is - a novel with great literary value.
I agree though, if you don't feel comfortable reading a novel, you shouldn't have to, but eventually you'll have to be exposed to this kind of stuff.
Just my two cents, take it how you want.
I think everyone has their own opinion on the literature that they read, it isn't what the book is about, it is about what it's teaching you.
ReplyDeleteI agree Longfellow. This book actually more about real life. And kinda interesting novel in a simple language. I'm enjoying with reading this book. But we don't have only this reading this book to read but, another assignment to do too. But it makes me to study harder and to get bored
ReplyDeletenot to get bored. Sorry about that!
ReplyDeleteThis post warrants a response to its content before a discussion of the technical details:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let's not get confused - while this issue (and the excerpt used here to raise it) comes most likely primarily from my class, Oates has said that the problem lies with "teachers", not a "teacher". We need to discuss this topic with that in mind.
Second of all, I want to applaud Oates for bringing this touchy subject up on my blog so that we can all discuss it in a location where (obviously) people feel more free to voice their opinions. These kinds of conversations seldom come up in class, even when I am explaining the material, but perhaps here we can be more open about what we really feel (one of the points of this blog in the first place).
Finally, to add my voice to the discussion - I have articulated my point in class numerous times and will do so here again: the material which some find objectionable in the books I choose to have my classes read is both misunderstood and not significantly different from other works which are a standard and celebrated part of the curriculum. The Catholic Bible contains depictions of orgies, murders, incest, genocide, and other forms of deplorable behavior, but it is mandatory reading here and no one (myself included) believes that we should think what we read is necessarily good and acceptable behavior. This unlikeable subject matter is part of the culture we live in, and if I am to teach American Literature well, I must not hide my students from it, especially in a school whose moral code is based on a faith which does not find it unacceptable to read about.
I will emphatically reiterate here that the literature I assign you has a purpose - the teaching of the Beat Generation in particular and late 20th century literature history in general, not to mention the several literary terms which I am applying to these books in class instruction. Attention to class instruction during any one of the past few days would have revealed as much.
As for the technical aspect of this post: it is well-written, which is excellent, as it has allowed the author to articulate his/her point accurately enough for us to deal with it appropriately, but unfortunately it is not quite long enough, robbing us of further useful insights.
This is a well written post because it gets the writers point/idea/feelings across clearly. However, it also is very important to see things for what they are meant to be seen. "The Dharma Bums" was written as a piece of art. Therefore, I believe very firmly it should be seen for its full worth and entirety.
ReplyDeletei agree with this post all the way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post. I don't think a student should have to read something that makes them feel uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI agree, students shouldn't have to read something that makes them feel uncomfortable but they'll be exposed to it sometime in thier life.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a well written post. I also agree that the book has some offensive things in it.
ReplyDeleteI am indifferent about this post. Yes, there are some offensive aspects to the book, but I think we're old enough to not make such a big deal about them and take from the book what the teacher wants us to learn.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I liked the book Dharma Bums and i enjoyed reading it, but unfortuately people are too imature to read it at a high school level. We probably should be reading something that is approprate and educational.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
ReplyDeleteMany people have different opinions each. However, this quote from the book was not appropriate part.
ReplyDeleteNice post and I am not sure where I stand though.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to think about this post. It would be impossible to make everyone comfortable, or to not be offensive to at least one person. Read what is assigned and quit complaining. It's not like a junior in high school hasn't been exposed to this language before. People need to get over it! Freedom of speech and expression. End of story.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to feel like we should all suck it up and deal wtih the fact that our teachers pile on our homework at major deadlines. We are not the only ones who lose sleep over our blogs/papers/projects/death packets. The teachers suffer too. Adam Wykes wrote a comment at 1:11 AM!
ReplyDeleteHomeworks are killing me. I hope teachers also think of us how we get stressed because of homeworks. haha especially Mr. wykes.. I'm just jokking. Don't be serious
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteYa paying for stuff sure sucks but I think Dharma Bums is an easy to read and follow book, so I don't see the point of complaining about maybe 8% of the book.
ReplyDeleteBeing honest, I spent more time reading Adam Wykes comment/woah man than I did the actual blog post. Seriosly though this post coming from this person *cough* we all know what inaproriate things are and "oh no" it got put into our curiculm! good post tho! LOVE YOU!
ReplyDeleteUm... yea.. i will not get into the argument. Didnt really like the post at all. It's life.. deal with it.
ReplyDelete@ Browning - let's keep it civil. You will keep your points for the post because it was mostly OK, but online it is especially important to be extra-polite, so that you can't be misinterpreted.
ReplyDelete