I grew up reading Dr. Seuss books. Of course, the early readers like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. I remember reading The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and my first grade teacher gave me my own copy of the book at Christmas. I did a demo lesson using The Lorax to get hired for my first teaching job and then taught a science unit on sustainable development, inspired by the same book. One of my favorite Dr. Seuss books has always been Horton Hatches the Egg. When I taught kindergarten, we always celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with a full week of activities. Dr. Seuss is synonymous to the joy of reading, in my eyes.
Yet. Recently, I've seen teachers I admire greatly sharing disdain for Dr. Seuss and celebrating him in schools. This article has been shared, which describes Dr. Seuss' work as problematic in regards to how he depicts nonwhite characters. This lead me to wonder if we can appreciate art while recognizing the artist as flawed. Can I listen to a Michael Jackson song and enjoy it even though I know he was most likely a pedophile? Can I read a Dr. Seuss book and find it a worthwhile book to share even if he had views I don't agree with? I read my class Horton Hatches the Egg today. My daughter's Daisy troop (I am a co-leader) had a Dr. Seuss theme reading celebration meeting tonight. I don't feel ready to shun Dr. Seuss but I feel like those I admire will think badly of me for still reading and sharing his work. What are your thoughts on Dr. Seuss? Can we enjoy art and separate the artist's character or is it all wrapped up together?
7 Comments
Melanie White
3/3/2020 04:02:04 am
This is complex and it reminds me of the debate over Sherman Alexie when the #MeToo movement pointed out his indiscretions. And there are other writers whose views are unsavoury, whose depictions are racist and classist, but adults can navigate these dualities in many cases. The ability to understand the subtle and not so subtle messaging of racist ideas requires attention to detail and active participation. The enjoyment of children's literature is often passive and this is where ideas about the world begin and form and grow, but I must recognize my bias since I am not an elementary educator so this is not an issue in front of me.
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Ms. Victor Reads
3/3/2020 04:16:17 am
So hard, right? I struggle with similar issues and thought about raising it when our director read a Dr. Seuss book aloud during a recent assembly. I opted to not say anything, but then regretted that...
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3/3/2020 06:01:03 am
I have a similar post today about the use of lawn jockeys. I THINK it is important to remember the age and times when Geissel wrote during which many people had very narrow perspectives of people and life. It doesn't make it right and our use of stories and texts that do not reflect where we are and should be as an inclusive society should always to careful and with an explanation of how we as a society have evolved. When reading Danny and the Dinosaur, I always talked about the terms Indians (Native Americans), Eskimos (Inuits) and clothes lines. It offered a deeper understanding and students always seemed to remember!
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Sherri Spelic
3/3/2020 01:22:26 pm
I appreciate your candor and bringing this up. I'm not a language teacher but I have thought about this dilemma as a long time Seuss fan. Reckoning with this author's past is a new thing for me and while I haven't tossed his books from my shelves, I will seek out new books from different authors where I will not need to choose between the popularity of the work and the author's misdeeds. Seuss's work has been a staple of my read aloud library for years but now I am ready to move on and yes, leave Seuss in the past.
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3/3/2020 03:53:34 pm
I loved Seuss books as a child; they were my first teachers of rhyme and wordplay. They're fun to read. For those reasons I will not deny them to children. I have recently used Hop on Pop with students working on word families/ onset-rime. On RAA day I read non-Seuss books to students just because they were ones they had not heard before. But they all recognized a reference to The Grinch in one of them.
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Susan Kennedy
3/3/2020 05:19:04 pm
This year, I was ready to let Dr. Seuss go. If I am really personally going to be an ally, I can choose other texts, beautiful, rich, own-voice texts that will speak to students and families with a clear message. I won’t judge you, that seems against what I’m trying to promote, however as a coach, I must promote quality, windows, doors, and mirrors. On an important day to promote wide reading, I can choose a different voice. One that is baggage free.
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3/3/2020 05:52:37 pm
You raise such an important and interesting question, Kathy. It is true with authors, actors, composers, etc. with tainted baggage in their past... It's tough. I tend to agree with Susan from the previous comment which is that if you can find something else wonderful and inclusive to read, perhaps it's time to fade Dr. Seuss out a bit...
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