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Huckleberry Finn Should Be Taught In Schools

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The First Amendment provides the right to free speech, but school districts are finding it hard to voice theirs. Topics of religious views, sexual education, and offensive language have become a controversial issue amongst mothers, fathers, and schools. Debates about these issues lead parents and board members to question the material being taught to children in schools. Different beliefs and ways of life have caused a tense and uneasy feeling to sweep over schools. Before launching into a new year, a school should look through planned curriculum and instruction, and take into account what may be appropriate for the current age of the students, how parents or guardians will react to the topics being studied, and if there is a topic option …show more content…

One of the books that receive negative attention from schools and parents is the 1884 novel by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn. Twain’s text deals with the disturbing reality of racism, which is considered too mature for students to read. Critics of the book have highlighted the fact that not all secondary school classroom’s students are subtle or supple readers, which may cause pupils to take offense to the text. While this may be true, it gives the students the right of engaging in their own confrontation of their insecurities and prejudice feelings (Henry). By being shielded from the world’s views and the public’s opinions, as children mature and live life in the real world, it comes as a culture shock to hear vulgar language and topics not integrated into daily lives. Having not been somewhat exposed to world issues from a young age, it could lead to misunderstanding the society they have grown up in (Student …show more content…

Nonfiction has had an increase in popularity recently and age-appropriate subjects are more readily accessible for younger pupils and can be seen as an important instrument for skill growth and as a foundation of reading outside of school for pleasure for younger students. A combination of both fiction and nonfiction will stimulate the minds of the youth and help teachers as they include factual text in their instruction (Palmer and Stewart). Listening to and discussing true events and people can provide background information and inspire new students to study more about a subject. Through letters and school meetings teachers can communicate with parents about age-appropriate nonfiction that can be read at home. Students would then develop skills to independently access these topics on their own with support from both their parents and teachers (Palmer and

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For the reason that the n-word appears 219 times in the novel, many schools have decided to ban the book in their classrooms. Cautiously questioning students whether or not the novel arouses an “uncomfortable” (Coeyman) feeling, teachers debate on teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Multiple teachers feel that their inter-racial classes may include students who feel offended by the n-word. Various schools have considered the novel to be “...too racially offensive…”(Coeyman). For instance, school districts in Virginia have banned the book after a mother complained about how her son was disturbed by the “‘...racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past…’”(Balingit).

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697 Words | 3 Pages

Which Version of Huckleberry Finn should be taught The novel The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain should be taught in schools. The old version is a part of history and we should keep it that way. I think that the youth of this generation is pampered and that their parents are overprotective.

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1666 Words | 7 Pages

Why Would a Good Novel be Kicked out of the Classroom? A trashy and racist book wouldn 't be allowed in classrooms. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is getting a lot of negative talk about. The dominant problem that students, parents, teachers, and even professors, face , is the usage of the n-word.

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1456 Words | 6 Pages

In 1998, McClintock High School in Tempe, Arizona assigned students to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The book has long been regarded as a controversial novel, and each generation that comes upon it has found something that rubs against the current societal norms. The mother of a student at McClintock took serious offense to the use of the word, “nigger” throughout the book and protested that it be banned due to the racial discrimination (Source I). Huck Finn is just one of the many pieces of literature that have been labelled “challenging,” and many feel that they do not deserve a place in schools’ curriculum. However, the study of challenging literature introduces students to new ideas and lessons that they can apply

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620 Words | 3 Pages

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, why this book written by Mark Twain should be on the banned books list in schools and why it is too mature for it’s students. This book is full of situations that honesty students are not able to handle, leaving inappropriate impressions about racism and how to treat people and is going to cause teenagers and young adults to repeat the language and personalities seen in this, to other groups of this century that are fitting now The problem with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn’t that it is a bad book, not that maybe it is poorly written or isn’t a learning experience. The fact of the matter is that students do not hold the attention span or mental capacity to be forced to deal with this. While some may use to excuse that high school students may have enough knowledge over these situations, or if explained, people would enjoy the moral of the story more, that is not always the case.

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465 Words | 2 Pages

Hayleigh Franklin Mrs. Korando American Literature 18 March 2024 Should Huck Finn be Taught at Trico The story Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, should be taught at Trico for years to come. The story offers many valuable lessons that students need to learn. One lesson that could be taught is that you should never judge someone by the way they look. Many people were slaves and because they looked different they were treated as objects. Huck saw this and learned that Jim, like other slaves, could feel and feel the same as white folks.

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386 Words | 2 Pages

Modern times challenge Twain’s satirical writing, as it becomes progressively offensive towards racial groups. Many critics and journalists alike debate whether The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned in classrooms as it perpetuates racial stereotypes and its unnecessary use of the N-word. “The Case Against Huck Finn”, written by John H. Wallace, is an article that states every point of why the book should be banned in school. One of the authors' thesis is that the usage of the N-word in the classroom severs the relationships between the teacher and black students. John H Wallace writes, “the black child is offended by the use of the word ‘n*****’ anywhere, no matter what rationale the teacher may use to justify it.”

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{The principle of Chelmsford High School has received complains from some parents about the fact that Huck Finn is taught in schools. Being aware that the English teachers have opposing views on the subject, he has brought two teachers of polar views into his office to discuss the subject and to come to a consensus.} Principle: Could both of you give a brief summary as to why each of you believe whether or not Huckleberry Finn should be taught at CHS? Mr.

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622 Words | 3 Pages

Would you ban a book that teaches a good lesson just because it has a word you don’t like? Schools all across America are banning “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in high school just because it has the N-word. The book teaches a lesson in respecting people even if they have a different skin color. Plus it usually taught to Juniors, which know that it is just a word and know that the past shouldn’t just be forgotten. That is why “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should still be taught in high school.

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316 Words | 2 Pages

I think Huckleberry Finn should be taught in high schools all across the country rather than in college. The reason it should be taught in high school is because it really shows how harsh real life is and the troubles people face every day. Also, it shows how life was like back in the day giving students a chance to relive the past most people want to forget. There are many views of this topic that are contradicting in this paper I will go into my view and explain my reasoning. Most people want to shield high school students from the harsh realities of life that they will eventually find out.

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334 Words | 2 Pages

Literature has a great importance to the societal values of education. In the education of young adults, high school districts have been in debates whether “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” meet the standards of schools. In the novel,” The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain presents a remarkable amount of N- words seen throughout the novel challenging the cultural ideology of schools. The particular use of the N- is the debate of school districts willing to add the book for a lesson plan as it is presented too racist. Racism against the African Americans can be dated to the time of the ending of indentured servitude.

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686 Words | 3 Pages

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic American novel that should be taught through all America not only to teach kids about American history and culture but to make kids embrace it as if they were living in that era. Mark Twain has a lot of great novels but this novel in particular is special thus it presents a new genre were the words in the book flow as if it was a conversation. This is very special because it makes it easier for the reader to understand and engage with the reading. The biggest counterargument and excuse that schools and people have given for the prohibition of it been taught is because of the language used. This language should be taught and thus The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be read by students.

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1056 Words | 5 Pages

Everyday provides countless interactions and events that can bring forth profound lessons. Each lesson helps define one’s person and shape his or her future decisions. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn undergoes a series of adventures off of his raft which provide him with new identities. The crucial lessons Huck learns from his journeys cause him to mature and understand his abilities as a human. He learns from being a bystander, being reactive and stepping in to correct a wrong, and ultimately being proactive and taking immediate action.

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917 Words | 4 Pages

Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” She describes that the future of our world has to be aware of things that have happened in the past, such as racism. The NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a civil rights organization that displayed their position on this certain situation. The NAACP position is correct in that Mark Twain’s un-sanitized version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught because the book describes the important awareness of the historical oppression of people, it provides a value of morality from that time period that students should learn, and gives an important lesson about race that should be taught to students.

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1233 Words | 5 Pages

The real world is full of harsh realities and explicit content that some students never get the chance to see until they are actually coughing up to it themselves. This can often cause students to be caught having to have extreme pain or anger because of the alien situation that they were thrown into. Many goals can also be achieved in a classroom setting because, “YAL is for students to recognize injustice, question the status quo, develop their own opinions about others, and learn how to overcome the angst and pains of adolescence” (Source G). The awareness and the fact that the issue is brought up in advance in the classroom, actually helps students when they face the situation later and it helps them understand it better. The classroom environment mainly feels safe for the students because they are around their classmates and more importantly their teachers.

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