Banned books at Jackson-Reed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So in response to the Israel/Hamas war, Jackson-Reed decides to respond by....wait for it....DROPPING Maus and Night from the curriculum until further notice.....Let me understand this, the response to anti-Semitism is "best not talk about anything Jewish"? We are living in scary times, folks. Right-wing book-banning parents, meet need-more-context-to-talk-about-the-Holocaust-right-now school administrators. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023...israel-gaza-protest/

Wow. DCPS has gone full MAGA.

More like the left has gone full MAGA. And I can't help but think there are some chaos agents cheering this on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So in response to the Israel/Hamas war, Jackson-Reed decides to respond by....wait for it....DROPPING Maus and Night from the curriculum until further notice.....Let me understand this, the response to anti-Semitism is "best not talk about anything Jewish"? We are living in scary times, folks. Right-wing book-banning parents, meet need-more-context-to-talk-about-the-Holocaust-right-now school administrators. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023...israel-gaza-protest/

Wow. DCPS has gone full MAGA.

More like the left has gone full MAGA. And I can't help but think there are some chaos agents cheering this on.

If the two of you are going to participate, at least read the thread before wasting everyone’s time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a 10th grader at JR and a DCPS teacher, I looked at the curriculum out of curiosity. The unit essential questions follow.

How do authors’ uses of rhetorical appeals, literary devices, and methods of development strengthen the persuasiveness of their messages?
How does point of view affect our perception of an event and shape the way we tell a story?
How is tone effectively used in text to reveal the writer's point of view and argument?
How can we prevent future atrocities through acknowledging and remembering the events of our past?

This is such an important question, especially right now. And I 100% understand why teachers want to be careful and thoughtful about how they lead that conversation, especially right now.

As a Jewish person who has done Holocaust research, including interviewing survivors, I know how resistant many Jewish people are to the idea of comparing the Holocaust to other genocides. And I know that many Zionist Jewish people are particularly resistant to the idea that what’s happening in now in Gaza is or could become a genocide, and that for some the very idea or discussion of that is tantamount to anti-Semitism. It’s very difficult as a teacher to wade into that, knowing that there is a small but insistent group of students and parents who will not only not acknowledge that atrocities are being committed in Gaza right now but also will not tolerate any discussion of the current situation in Gaza in the context of genocide. And then you also have the small but insistent group of antisemitic students who will use the current situation in Gaza to attempt to erase or justify the Holocaust.

Thank you PP for sharing the discussion questions. Seeing them demonstrates that DCPS (appropriately) expects discussion of literature of the Holocaust to be connected to broader context and that there is no way to address at least the fourth question without opening the discussion to what’s currently happening in Gaza. And while I wish this conversation were one we could have without special preparation, I respect the teachers’ desire to ensure they have the resources and support they and students will need to have a productive and thoughtful conversation in the current environment.

Agree that the bolded is an important question, however it does not have a place in the English curriculum. Had the curriculum developers stopped at essential question 3 there would be no issue really with moving forward. Instead DCPS developed and approved a curriculum that puts teachers in a position where they have to address moral issues. I hope there is an adult in that room on Jan. that recognizes the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a 10th grader at JR and a DCPS teacher, I looked at the curriculum out of curiosity. The unit essential questions follow.

How do authors’ uses of rhetorical appeals, literary devices, and methods of development strengthen the persuasiveness of their messages?
How does point of view affect our perception of an event and shape the way we tell a story?
How is tone effectively used in text to reveal the writer's point of view and argument?
How can we prevent future atrocities through acknowledging and remembering the events of our past?

This is such an important question, especially right now. And I 100% understand why teachers want to be careful and thoughtful about how they lead that conversation, especially right now.

As a Jewish person who has done Holocaust research, including interviewing survivors, I know how resistant many Jewish people are to the idea of comparing the Holocaust to other genocides. And I know that many Zionist Jewish people are particularly resistant to the idea that what’s happening in now in Gaza is or could become a genocide, and that for some the very idea or discussion of that is tantamount to anti-Semitism. It’s very difficult as a teacher to wade into that, knowing that there is a small but insistent group of students and parents who will not only not acknowledge that atrocities are being committed in Gaza right now but also will not tolerate any discussion of the current situation in Gaza in the context of genocide. And then you also have the small but insistent group of antisemitic students who will use the current situation in Gaza to attempt to erase or justify the Holocaust.

Thank you PP for sharing the discussion questions. Seeing them demonstrates that DCPS (appropriately) expects discussion of literature of the Holocaust to be connected to broader context and that there is no way to address at least the fourth question without opening the discussion to what’s currently happening in Gaza. And while I wish this conversation were one we could have without special preparation, I respect the teachers’ desire to ensure they have the resources and support they and students will need to have a productive and thoughtful conversation in the current environment.

Agree that the bolded is an important question, however it does not have a place in the English curriculum. Had the curriculum developers stopped at essential question 3 there would be no issue really with moving forward. Instead DCPS developed and approved a curriculum that puts teachers in a position where they have to address moral issues. I hope there is an adult in that room on Jan. that recognizes the difference.

Both Common Core and current education trends encourage making connections between what is studied in class and the real world.

And shouldn't a lesson of the Holocaust is how do we avoid similar situations in the future? If not, what's the point of learning about it?

The problem here is not DCPS. The problem is people who ate scared to allow students (and teachers) to have their own views for fear they will not be the "right" ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a 10th grader at JR and a DCPS teacher, I looked at the curriculum out of curiosity. The unit essential questions follow.

How do authors’ uses of rhetorical appeals, literary devices, and methods of development strengthen the persuasiveness of their messages?
How does point of view affect our perception of an event and shape the way we tell a story?
How is tone effectively used in text to reveal the writer's point of view and argument?
How can we prevent future atrocities through acknowledging and remembering the events of our past?

This is such an important question, especially right now. And I 100% understand why teachers want to be careful and thoughtful about how they lead that conversation, especially right now.

As a Jewish person who has done Holocaust research, including interviewing survivors, I know how resistant many Jewish people are to the idea of comparing the Holocaust to other genocides. And I know that many Zionist Jewish people are particularly resistant to the idea that what’s happening in now in Gaza is or could become a genocide, and that for some the very idea or discussion of that is tantamount to anti-Semitism. It’s very difficult as a teacher to wade into that, knowing that there is a small but insistent group of students and parents who will not only not acknowledge that atrocities are being committed in Gaza right now but also will not tolerate any discussion of the current situation in Gaza in the context of genocide. And then you also have the small but insistent group of antisemitic students who will use the current situation in Gaza to attempt to erase or justify the Holocaust.

Thank you PP for sharing the discussion questions. Seeing them demonstrates that DCPS (appropriately) expects discussion of literature of the Holocaust to be connected to broader context and that there is no way to address at least the fourth question without opening the discussion to what’s currently happening in Gaza. And while I wish this conversation were one we could have without special preparation, I respect the teachers’ desire to ensure they have the resources and support they and students will need to have a productive and thoughtful conversation in the current environment.

Nicely said. This thread should be locked now.