To Kill A Mockingbird Should Be Taught In Schools Essay

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has greatly influenced education in American schools. Although it has significantly impacted the English curriculum, this book has been deemed as a very controversial topic as many have wondered about the appropriateness of teaching it to students. Nevertheless, To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in schools because it teaches compassion and empathy, and allows for connections to the real world. The novel should be taught in schools because it teaches readers to have compassion and empathy towards others. For instance, according to “Why I Kept Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird When Others Wouldn’t” by Elizabeth Heubeck, “It also inspired conversations about compassion and empathy—specifically, feeling compassion and not being afraid of those who are different …show more content…

For instance, many characters are faced with prejudice, whether it be against race, class, gender, or they are simply just outcast in society. Although prejudice today is not nearly as severe as in the 1930’s, it is still a major issue in today’s society. Tom Robinson may be the focus when it comes to the topic of prejudice in the book, but Harper Lee makes it apparent to include other types of discrimination that don’t just have to do with race. One character who is affected by this prejudice is Walter Cunningham. As shown in chapter 3 of To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout tells Calpurnia, “He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham.” Scout feels that since Walter Cunningham’s family is not as wealthy as hers, she regards him as inferior and is rude to him when invited over to eat. Walter faces prejudice due to his class, which is also a problem that is prevalent in the real world, as people of lower classes tend to have less opportunities such as not being able to pay for a college tuition, which leads to less job opportunities and bad living