Due to racial slurs. Replaces it with Fredrick Douglas???
A suburban Philadelphia school expelled “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its curriculum over the book’s overuse of the N-word.
The Friends’ Central School removed the Mark Twain classic from the 11th-grade American literature class last week after students said it made them feel uncomfortable, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“We have all come to the conclusion that the community costs of reading this book in 11th grade outweigh the literary benefits,” principal Art Hall said in a letter to parents.
Hall said students were challenged by the use of the racial slur, and felt the school was not being inclusive enough.
Friends’ Central prides itself on its Quaker roots, according to the school’s website, which emphasize “peaceful resolution of conflicts, seeking truth, and collaboration.”
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, blasted the school’s action as an act of censorship.
“We would still see this as a kind of censorship because there is something to be learned from this work,” she told the Inquirer.
But the principal insisted it isn’t censorship.
“I do not believe that we’re censoring. I really do believe that this is an opportunity for the school to step forward and listen to the students,” Hall said.
The book, published in the US in 1885, chronicles the travels of Huck, who runs away from his abusive father, and the friendship he builds with Jim, a runaway slave.
The book will remain in the private school’s library even though it’s no longer on the required reading list. The class will assign “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” in place of the Twain work.
A suburban Philadelphia school expelled “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its curriculum over the book’s overuse of the N-word.
The Friends’ Central School removed the Mark Twain classic from the 11th-grade American literature class last week after students said it made them feel uncomfortable, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“We have all come to the conclusion that the community costs of reading this book in 11th grade outweigh the literary benefits,” principal Art Hall said in a letter to parents.
Hall said students were challenged by the use of the racial slur, and felt the school was not being inclusive enough.
Friends’ Central prides itself on its Quaker roots, according to the school’s website, which emphasize “peaceful resolution of conflicts, seeking truth, and collaboration.”
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, blasted the school’s action as an act of censorship.
“We would still see this as a kind of censorship because there is something to be learned from this work,” she told the Inquirer.
But the principal insisted it isn’t censorship.
“I do not believe that we’re censoring. I really do believe that this is an opportunity for the school to step forward and listen to the students,” Hall said.
The book, published in the US in 1885, chronicles the travels of Huck, who runs away from his abusive father, and the friendship he builds with Jim, a runaway slave.
The book will remain in the private school’s library even though it’s no longer on the required reading list. The class will assign “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” in place of the Twain work.
