Engaging with conflict
Many of us may have grown up reading some of Mark Twain’s work – at least in abridged versions – and many of us may have taken delight in the stories, particularly in the rebellions of the central characters. Twain’s work has come under considerable criticism from many angles, but most notably for the use of racist terms and stereotypical depictions of Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Teachers in the United States have hesitated to teach the book or recommend it to their students. Teachers in India – particularly those who teach language or social studies – may have also experienced similar waves of approval and disapproval of texts and topics over the years, with some books moving out of our lists quietly while others are rudely excised by Boards, often without explanation. Whether one is teaching William Shakespeare or Munshi Premchand, there are likely to be things the authors say and describe that are quite different from the way we view the world today, including the use of language and terminology that we may no longer find acceptable or appropriate.
How do teachers deal with changing notions of “appropriate”? We live in an age where every cultural product is accompanied by trigger warnings and disclaimers, whether it is videos with flashing lights (which could disturb those with neurological conditions) or violent and sexual content (which could disturb children or others with specific sensitivities) or language (which could cause offense to certain groups). While some may find this all too much, arguing that we are being too protective, others would prefer that we are better safe than sorry. Some parents carefully curate their children’s viewing and reading exposure while others allow more freedom. Some would want schools to follow the same caution as they do, while others would want their children to have broader exposure to a diverse range of content.
I was speaking with a young teacher recently who mentioned that she sometimes gets complaints from parents objecting to something she showed in class, because it offended the parents’ religious sentiments, or because it was seen as promoting a certain kind of gender politics. In many cases, her school backs her decision, taking the position that exposure to sensitive content is always accompanied by explanation, contextualization, and nuanced discussion about what it means and how it could be interpreted. Even so, she remarked, it can get difficult to know how children – and parents – might react, so she tends to stick to a narrow set of content that is deemed safe: material that does not raise thorny political, religious, or cultural questions.
As someone who teaches young adults (and not very young children), I too am constantly debating about the material I bring into the classroom. Is it too liberal, or too conservative, too overtly political, or socially/culturally provocative? One would think that the purpose of education is to build the tools that allow young people to deal with the world in all its complexity, its beauty and its ugliness, its richness and its poverty, and to make up their own minds about the positions they wish to take. If we are too concerned with appropriateness in the moment, we will be foregoing the opportunity to engage with difficult debates, or worse, silence them altogether. Of course, there is the very valid concern with using age appropriate content, and we must cater to the maturity level of the students, but too often we underestimate the ability of students to deal with diverse materials. Our focus as educators should be to get students to think about what makes something appropriate or not, and the broader context that sets the rules and standards.
Twain’s Huck Finn has been given a new lease of life with Percival Everett’s novel James, which tells the story from the point of view of Huck’s Black co-traveller Jim. Clearly, without engaging with the original content, no matter how objectionable, we cannot think of alternative perspectives.
It’s perhaps fitting that we begin the new year with a cover story about working through conflict, and going beyond differences of opinion to discover understanding. We hope you continue to journey with Teacher Plus as we try to find new perspectives and new ways of engaging with teaching and learning in a world that is growing increasingly complex, and increasingly challenging.
We hope you have a great year ahead!
