Read Across America and Cancel Culture?

 Read Across America is held each year on March 2nd.  I know this because it's my mom's birthday, and she shares her birthday with Dr. Seuss. What a great day of celebration for all ages! Exciting activities are planned by dedicated teachers for this special day.  Students and teachers celebrate reading and Dr. Seuss! And Dr. Seuss happens to be one of my MOST favorite authors with his rhythmic-style and "coined" words and phrases.  Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, is simply one-of-a-kind.  And who doesn't love a rare treasure?  

Not many years ago, Dr. Seuss was labeled "progressive." Several of his most famous books including The Butter Battle Book and The Lorax were considered "controversial". With themes related to the nuclear arms race or conserving our natural resources, perhaps Dr. Seuss was ahead of his time.  Yet, it was his seemingly-simple books that led to the best conversations, creations, and ideas from my students!  Dr. Seuss's books invigorated students (and their teachers) on March 2nd each year.

So one can only imagine my surprise after reading that the Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia  chose to "Cancel Dr. Seuss" citing racial undertones. 

"As we become more culturally responsive and racially conscious, all building leaders should know that in recent years there has been research revealing radical undertones in the books written and the illustrations drawn by Dr. Seuss," the school district continued.

See the following link for the article. https://www.foxnews.com/us/loudoun-county-public-schools-dr-seuss-racial-undertones 

 Baffling.  If I thought for one minute that this was true, I would have never used these books in my classroom.  Not one single time did I ever detect any racism.  Never.  And just in case I missed it, at least one of the hundreds of students that transitioned through my classroom for over twenty years would have noticed.  AND that student would have mentioned it to his/her parents who would have certainly informed me that there was a problem.  It did not happen. Not one time.

So canceling Dr. Seuss aka Read Across America Day is a problem for me on many levels. 

First, reading is a complex skill.  Students learn to read at different rates. Research shows that one in five people suffer from dyslexia or other language based learning disabilities. (Dyslexic students often require a structured, multi-sensory, Orton Gillingham-based literacy program.) Comprehension involves six complicated skills, therefore the challenging task of learning to read should be celebrated!

Next, reading provides freedom. It allows us to escape into a fantasy world, travel back in time to historical events,  study newly-discovered data, and determine the ingredients needed to create one's favorite dessert. This seemingly simple skill is a requirement even for small tasks and should never be taken for granted. This freedom most definately demands to be celebrated!   

Finally, reading provides the groundwork needed to begin a variety of conversations.  Whether it results from an incredible sports play described in an internet article, the debate of a Shakespearean play during English class, or the dialogue exchange about a Biblical passage during your small group, reading leads to liberation.  It sparks creative conversations leading to new inventions and provides essential information necessary for panel discussions. Reading promotes growth both personal growth and growth in our society. The ability to read is truly liberating.

For these reasons, I do not understand why Loudoun County Public School would choose to cancel Read Across American Day and Dr. Seuss.  

When the illogical is deemed logical, I am forced to ask difficult questions.  

• What would be the reasons to cancel the celebration of Dr. Seuss and reading?    
• Is reading not important to this school system anymore?
• Does the current administration desire for their students to be forever dependent upon the bureaucracy? Why?
• Why would a school district stop reading books by Dr. Seuss after so many years? (Will teachers be allowed to show the Seuss-inspired movies with a Hollywood spin?)
  
• Is this "Cancel Culture" behavior due to the themes in Dr. Seuss's books? (Many of his themes encourage conversation and promote creativity and logical thinking.)
• Could this public school system in Virginia want to crush creativity and problem-solving strategies in their students? Why?

I could go on, but I'm confident you get the message.  

According to the above article, Learning for Justice, a liberal education advocacy group, pressured the district into putting a hault on the yearly celebration honoring Dr. Seuss.  The article states that Learning for Justice (in efforts to uphold the mission of Southern Poverty Law Center) determined that Dr. Seuss's writing and illustrations include racial undertones according to research. 

Please understand my message. Cancel Culture is not the way.  Open conversations (also known as the freedom of speech) lead to a deeper understanding for everyone involved. Policy change is an option, but only after a particular situation has been discussed openly and fairly. You may disagree with my opinion, and I am just fine with that.  What we all MUST agree on is that the cancel policy hurts everyone- not just one side or the other.  Instead, we must agree to abide by a code of ethics in order to collaborate effectively and together determine how to proceed in these situations. Only then will we begin to build bridges and understand one another on a deeper level.  

Proverbs 27::17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." With God's help, we can share differing opinions in authentic and productive conversations while showing God's love for our fellow man. I believe that is a WIN-WIN combination. 

Ruby Bridges- "Guard Your Heart"

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (NIV) As I continue to learn from this verse, I am reminded of Ruby Bridges.  She is such a unique character in the history of our great nation.  

Ruby was born September 8, 1954. The ruling for Brown vs. the Board of Education was also decided the year Ruby was born. Just six years later, Ruby was asked to something that required enormous courage. She was one of six African American students that tested (the previous year) and scored high enough to be elgible for enrollment in her neighborhood school.  The William Frantz School, located in New Orleans, was Ruby's neighborhood school. 

Integration was no easy task.  Ruby was the only African American student chosen to integrate her neighborhood school.  The only one! Can you imagine? US Marshals escorted Ruby along with her mother to school the first day.  There were barricades and screaming mobs.  Thankfully, little Ruby associated the baracades and loud mobs with Mardi Gras celebrations. However, her innocence was quickly stolen.  No one at William Frantz School was prepared to teach Ruby on her first day.  Most of the families had chosen to keep their students home in protest.

Barbara Henry from Boston was new to the William Frantz School and agreed to teach Ruby. Ruby was the only student in her class.  Mrs. Henry taught Ruby while helping her with her feelings and emotions of being ostracized.

Each day she was escorted to school by US Marshals.  When Ruby had to use the restroom, they escorted her. One morning as Ruby walked into school she heard a woman in the crowd threaten to poison her.  After that event, Ruby stopped eating the lunch that her mom prepared for her each day.  Ruby began to suffer from nightmares. Eventually, she saw child psychologist, Dr. Robert Coles, who volunteered his time due to his concern for Ruby. When the school janitor found a rodent problem in Mrs. Henry's classroom, he and Mrs. Henry discovered that Ruby had been hiding her lunches in a cabinet. She had been too frightened to eat them.  The hateful woman's threat had really bothered Ruby and caused her to be fearful of eating her lunch prepared at home. When Mrs. Henry realized the issue, she began bring Ruby a lunch from her home for the remainder of the year. 

One morning another person in the crowd proudly displayed a wooden coffin with a black doll inside. I cannot begin to imagine the intense emotions that six-year-old Ruby was facing. (People can be so very hateful. We often see their "true colors" when they don't get their way.)

But Ruby was not the only one that was being tormented.  Her father lost his job. Her grandparents were forced to move from the land that they had worked on as sharecroppers for over twenty-five years.  The family was banned from the local grocery store where they had shopped in the past.  Unbelievable!

But eventually, Ruby's community - blacks and whites - showed support and kindness to Ruby and her family in various ways. Some of the neighbors watched Ruby's home as protectors. Another neighbor provided Ruby's father with a job.  Several walked behind the US Marshals on trips to and from school each day. Eventually, some of the students returned to school.  

One morning as Mrs. Henry watched Ruby and her escorts, she noticed that Ruby stopped and mouthed words as if she was talking to the crowd.  When she entered the classroom, Mrs. Henry told Ruby that she had never observed her stop and address the crowd before.  Ruby informed Mrs. Henry that she was not speaking to the crowd, but she was simply saying a prayer as she did everyday.  Ruby went on to explain that she usually prayed before turning the corner on her way to and from school each day. But this day, Ruby had forgotten to pray. After realizing this, she stopped and prayed for her tormentors in the heat of the battle just before entering William Frantz Elementary School. 

Later one of Ruby's escorts, Federal Marshal Charles Burkes, reported that Ruby never cried or whimpered.  He stated, "She just marched along like a little soldier." 

How could a six-year-old girl change American History? How did she fight this overwhelming battle without engaging her enemies?  I think I might know.

Ruby guarded her heart. She was a six-year-old girl determined to "guard her heart". It is remarkable to say the least.

The prayer that she prayed twice daily is reported to be this:

"Please God, try to forgive these people because even if they say those bad things, they don't know what they are doing. So, You could forgive them, just like You did those folks a long time ago when they said terrible things about You."

 Well if that doesn't step on your toes, I don't know what will!

Ruby Bridges loved people and forgave people, just like Jesus.  She guarded her heart. I love the story of Ruby Bridges.  It inspires me to practice love and forgiveness. It remind me to "guard my heart above all because it is the well-spring of life."  It compels me to pray for my enemies even when I'm not feeling it- "because they don't know what they are doing". 

My prayer is that God makes me strong enough to establish my boundaries, yet sensitive enough to pray for my enemies. Even when it doesn't make sense. 

Here is the book that I sugguest reading to children if you are a teacher, parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle:

The Story of Ruby Bridges

Other source to learn more about Ruby Bridges:

Biography.com/activist/ruby-bridges

www.rubybridges.com 

  

An Open Letter to Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana