As you all know, there’s a big fray going on out there about which books should and shouldn’t be taught. Ugh, we don’t like to get into frays, not at ALL! We’d like to keep quietly doing what we’re doing, sharing the best lessons of old books in hands-on ways that develop empathy and respect. But with more and more books being pulled from shelves, and more questions coming our way, we want to share our stance.
When we were kids, old books revealed to us many beautiful and wonderful things. They also revealed some disrespectful attitudes, ideas, actions, words, and laws--all of which rubbed us the wrong way long before we knew why. We just knew that those things represented people’s worst. And we know now that the worst still lingers in deepening layers.
We’re not on the fence about this. But we want those layers exposed and learned from—not suppressed and whitewashed. So for us, the answer is not in removing old books; it’s in using their problems as teaching opportunities. It’s in bringing kids’ attention to what shouldn’t have been, and how far we’ve come, and what remains to be changed. It’s in adding new books too, written by people who’ve been there. It’s in seeing that good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things, and that everyone, in books and real life, has something to work on. It’s in pointing out that change starts with empathy and respect. It’s in noting that a true hero always shows both--or doesn’t at first, but learns to, and grows, by the end.
As kids, the main characters in old books shaped our ideals about people’s best, and made us try to be kinder and fairer. So at LitWits, we choose books for their character values, despite or because of the errors people make and the things they learn by the end. Protagonists, like readers, don’t have to be perfect, but they do have to know or learn important truths about themselves and others. And if the story includes words and actions of disrespect, we want our heroes to stand up for those being spoken against.
For instance, in the 1935 book Caddie Woodlawn, based on author Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother’s recollections, Caddie’s mother and neighbors use racial slurs in reference to the Indians, but this seems done to highlight their erroneous judgment. Caddie herself, following her admirable father’s lead, does not use these slurs and is in fact a friend to the Indians, even riding through an icy night to warn them of her neighbors’ violent intentions.
Caddie’s not perfect, and neither was the author or her grandmother--and neither are any of us. But she was doing her best, in a setting where overt racist practices and laws were the norm. And she stood up for what was right at great risk to herself, and against most adults in her life. We can do far worse than to emulate her courage and convictions.
We can also do far better. Those character models are just a “way in” to learning what was done before, to showing kids where bad ideas began, and to pointing out the progress—and how far we still have to go. But we won’t learn those things, or be able to share them with kids, if we take away the books that give us examples of what was bad, better, and good. Those examples help us work toward the best of who we can be.
Thank you for listening. We hope you'll take a look at our creative teaching ideas for Caddie Woodlawn, as an example of the ways we engage kids with old books in fun, hands-on ways while imparting lessons of respect and empathy.
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