School Ends Dr. Seuss Reading When Students Recognize Its Racism Lesson
By: BRANDON SCHREUR
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A school in Ohio abruptly ended a reading of Dr. Seuss ' The Sneetches after a student recognized its lessons about racism.
According to an article by The Dispatch , a third-grade classroom within Shale Meadows Elementary School, which is part of Ohio's Olentangy Local School District, was reading Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches while spending a day with NPR reporter Erika Beras. Beras was there to record a new episode of NPR's "Planet Money," a podcast exploring the economic lessons that can be learned from various topics.
At one point, one of the students made a comment about the book's themes and lessons on racism. "It's almost like what happened back then, how people were treated...Like, disrespected...Like, white people disrespected Black people, but then, they might stand up in the book," the student commented.
The district's assistant director of communications, Amanda Beeman, stop up and interrupted the reading shortly after the comment was made. "I don't know if I feel comfortable with the book being one of the ones featured," Beeman said. "I just feel like this isn't teaching anything about economics, and this is a little bit more about differences with race and everything like that." When Beras pointed out The Sneetches is also about topics such as open markets and economic loss, Beeman commented, "I just don't think it might be appropriate for the third-grade class and for them to have a discussion around it."
Olentangy Local School District Responds to the Situation
Beras later contacted Beeman about what happened, Beeman said, "When the book began addressing racism, segregation and discriminating behaviors, this was not the conversation we had prepared Mrs. Robek, the students or parents would take place. There may be some very important economics lessons in The Sneetches , but I did not feel that those lessons were the themes students were going to grasp at that point in the day or in the book." Beeman further told The Dispatch, "As ( The Sneetches ) was being read, I made a personal judgment call we shouldn’t do the reading because of some of the other themes and undertones that were unfolding that were not shared that we would be discussing with parents."
Published in 1961, The Sneetches (which is part of a collection of Dr. Seuss stories titled The Sneetches and Other Stories ) is about a type of yellow creature (a Sneetch) that is either born with or without a star on its belly. While those with stars discriminate against those without, a character named Sylvester McMonkey McBean invents a machine that can either remove or add a star. The story ends with the Sneetches spending all of their money on Sylvester McMonkey McBean's machine before learning neither star-bellies nor non-star-bellies are superior.
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Seems the kids know a little more than the parents want to let on.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! dr seuss is teaching crt!
Burn the books!
Oh, Dr. Suess, racism on the loose, time to kill the goose, just another mother fucker…
Since when do rhymes define our times?
When those who can’t think raise a stink…
If books are banned…that cannot stand.
It’s for free thought the battle fought.
The state of our schools.
The administration and teachers immediately stop any discussion and stop using the book just to stop the abuse they would get from several nutjob parents.
Basically the dumbing down of the schools. Can't have them kids thinking now....
God help us if they read "The Lorax" to the kids!!
I thought I remembered some controversy when the movie came out.
Something about people yelling that they were indoctrinating kids with the idea of conservation...
Obviously, the school knew that the parents were born starless , which makes them patently inferior.
These poor ignorant starless parents are conditioned to be offended by any book that provides a lesson about discrimination.
Maybe Sylvester McMonkey McBean can use his machine to give stars to those ignorant parents.
BUTT, they will still be clueless even though they have stars.
Stars my ass....
One star, two star, three star four.
I saw that star and I wanted some more.
I saved and I scrinched till I could scrinch no more.
Till I could finally get that star I adore.
Wasn't there a decision 2 years ago to stop publishing 6 books by Theodor Seuss Geis because many of his works were "steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes." Why was this school using books of a racist?
“Why was this school using books of a racist?”
Rhetorical?
Or hysterical?
You fail to see Seuss’ body of work as dehumanizing and degrading to Black, Native Americans, Jewish and Muslim people, and people of color?
Appreciate your understanding of social justice…See 7.1.1
The administrator panicked, with visions of being attacked by MAGA parents at a school board meeting dancing in her head.
Ive said it a lot but I'll say it again. There are millions and millions of white parents in this country that dont want their children taught that racism has been a thing throughout American history. They much prefer to take MLK out of context.
Are you blind to the racism, prejudice and gender stereotypes in Seuss’ books?
The district's assistant director of communications, Amanda Beeman, stop up and interrupted the reading shortly after the comment was made. "I don't know if I feel comfortable with the book being one of the ones featured," Beeman said. "I just feel like this isn't teaching anything about economics, and this is a little bit more about differences with race and everything like that."
LOL, panic city in the world of whiteness.
And thus a teaching point, as with the works of Dickens, Twain, Hemingway, et. al.
To put the words into context is to educate.
Sure, do you also use that to dodge the racism of slave owners like Jefferson and Washington?
No, never have and never will. It is again a case of always putting things into historical context.
Creative thoughts and personal deeds are always skewed when viewed through today’s lens. And unfortunately, sometimes at our collective loss.
“In Dr. Seuss’ books, we have a kind of sensibility which is oriented toward centering the white child and decentering everyone else,” said Ebony Thomas, a professor of children’s and young adult literature at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of “The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games.”
“Dr. Seuss was shaped by a completely immersive white supremacist culture," Thomas said.
Jefferson was a hypocrite.
He said, "All men are created equal."
The mixed race children he fathered were also his slaves.
Exactly, he and Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss never owned slaves, butt, six of his books are not being published anymore.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the organization that owns the rights to the books, films, TV shows, stage productions, exhibitions, digital media, licensed merchandise, and other strategic partnerships, announced on March 2, 2021, that it will stop publishing and licensing six books. The publications include And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937), If I Ran the Zoo (1950), McElligot's Pool (1947), On Beyond Zebra! (1955), Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953) and The Cat's Quizzer (1976). According to the organization, the books "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong" and are no longer being published due to racist and insensitive imagery.
Exactly.
Why just six?...
You're joking, right?
There are over 60 Dr. Seuss books. His estate has decided to stop publishing six.
If you think they should stop publishing more of his content you should complain to them
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the organization that owns the rights to the books, films, TV shows, stage productions, exhibitions, digital media, licensed merchandise, and other strategic partnerships, announced on March 2, 2021, that it will stop publishing and licensing six books. The publications include And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937), If I Ran the Zoo (1950), McElligot's Pool (1947), On Beyond Zebra! (1955), Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953) and The Cat's Quizzer (1976). According to the organization, the books "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong" and are no longer being published due to racist and insensitive imagery.
Please notice that the book in the article, " The Sneetches" is still being published.
Why would you ask that? He was obviously a racist indoctrinating children. Not good right?...
Ahh, so just six of his books are toxic?
Again with this bullshit?
I've posted the opinion expressed by Dr. Seuss Enterprises twice.
Is that comment an attempt to spam/troll the Dr. Seuss Enterprises Foundation or is the lame comment an attempt to stalk/troll me?
mothing wrong with Dr Suess books, Some people just want ti finb stuff to complain about
I read about the Underground Railroad in third grade.
In fourth grade, I read "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" about segregated schools and racial violence in the South. It was assigned reading, and became one of my favorite childhood books. I think I still have a copy somewhere.
If these kids are smart enough to figure out what the book was about, and at least one obviously was,then they're mature enough to discuss what the book was about. Are educators afraid of turning out kids who are too smart? Dr. Seuss was all about delivering a serious message in a fun way, tailored to young, developing minds. So let those minds continue to develop. All stories can't be as determinedly cheerful as "Oh, the Places You'll Go."
In 2017, a Massachusetts school librarian rejected Seuss books from then-first lady Melania Trump saying they were “steeped in racist propaganda.”
"So, my school doesn’t have a NEED for these books. And then there’s the matter of the books themselves. You may not be aware of this, but Dr. Seuss is a bit of a cliché, a tired and worn ambassador for children’s literature. As First Lady of the United States, you have an incredible platform with world-class resources at your fingertips. Just down the street you have access to a phenomenal children’s librarian: Dr. Carla Hayden , the current Librarian of Congress. I have no doubt Dr. Hayden would have given you some stellar recommendations.
Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr. Seuss’s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes. Open one of his books ( If I Ran a Zoo or And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street , for example), and you’ll see the racist mockery in his art. Grace Hwang Lynch’s School Library Journal article, “ Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away from Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books ,” reports on Katie Ishizuka’s work analyzing the minstrel characteristics and trope nature of Seuss’s characters. Scholar Philip Nel ’s new book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books , further explores and shines a spotlight on the systemic racism and oppression in education and literature.
There were 6 books that the family foundation said were no longer appropriate. If you want to talk about Dr. Seuss, you have to talk about him in the totality of his work and lessons.
If your point was political, please say so.
When the foundation announced their decision to stop publishing those six books the fucking White-wingers went bananas (as usual).
Tucker calls for preserving legacy of Dr. Seuss: 'If we lose this battle, America is lost'
Fox News host praises children's book author as 'evangelist against bigotry'
The decision to halt publication of six books by famed children's author Dr. Seuss will "have consequences that extend for generations," Tucker Carlson warned Tuesday, telling viewers that "if we lose this battle, America is lost."
The " Tucker Carlson Tonight " host devoted part of his show to what he called a "demented" and "incomprehensible" attempt to label Seuss a racist following the announcement that Dr. Seuss Enterprises would shelve books deemed to "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong."
The controversial announcement came as President Biden dropped Dr. Seuss from "Read Across America Day," the annual celebration of reading in honor of the legendary author.
"Dr. Seuss was not a racist," Carlson asserted. "He was an evangelist against bigotry. He wrote an entire shelf of books against racism, and not in a subtle way. They were clearly, explicitly against racism. That was the whole point of writing them, to teach children not to be racist."
When the foundation announced their decision to stop publishing those six books the fucking White-wingers went bananas (as usual).
Tucker calls for preserving legacy of Dr. Seuss: 'If we lose this battle, America is lost'
Fox News host praises children's book author as 'evangelist against bigotry'
The decision to halt publication of six books by famed children's author Dr. Seuss will "have consequences that extend for generations," Tucker Carlson warned Tuesday, telling viewers that "if we lose this battle, America is lost."
The " Tucker Carlson Tonight " host devoted part of his show to what he called a "demented" and "incomprehensible" attempt to label Seuss a racist following the announcement that Dr. Seuss Enterprises would shelve books deemed to "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong."
The controversial announcement came as President Biden dropped Dr. Seuss from "Read Across America Day," the annual celebration of reading in honor of the legendary author.
"Dr. Seuss was not a racist," Carlson asserted. "He was an evangelist against bigotry. He wrote an entire shelf of books against racism, and not in a subtle way. They were clearly, explicitly against racism. That was the whole point of writing them, to teach children not to be racist."
Conservatives will be quick to dismiss the effort as a symptom of the left's misguided cancel culture mentality, but "it's totally missing the point," Carlson said.
"Canceling Dr. Seuss isn't stupid. It's intentional. They're banning Dr. Seuss not because he was a racist, but precisely because he wasn't."
Carlson pointed to Seuss's work, "The Sneetches and Other Stories," written in 1961. The story describes a population of furry colorful creatures that are nearly identical to each other aside from a star shape displayed on the stomachs of only half of the population.
In the story, the starred Sneetches begin to feel disdain for their plain-bellied counterparts.
"There's no real difference between the two groups," Carlson recounts. "They don't know that. They're convinced stars are all-important so they spend the entire story jockeying for position based on the relative star-ness ... until they realize in the uplifting final pages of the story none of it matters. Underneath the stars, they're all the same, all Sneetches. Who cares who got a star?
"What matters isn't the group where you came from. What matters is you. Even a five-year-old gets the point of this story," Carlson argued. "At the deepest level, it doesn't matter what we look like, because underneath it all, we're all the same. We're all human beings. We're in this together. All that outward appearance stuff is pointless."
Carlson described the story as a "plea for color-blindness."
"That's why the forces of wokeness hate it and Dr. Seuss. When the people in charge cancel Dr. Seuss, what they're really trying to eliminate is a very specific kind of midcentury American culture, a culture that championed meritocracy and color-blindness and the superiority of individual achievement over tribal identity," he explained.
"These were once called liberal values. Modern liberals don't want to be reminded they once believed any of this. If your kids are allowed to read Dr. Seuss, they will know this was a different country not so long ago, a place where people tried hard not to hate each other, a place where the population was encouraged, begged by its leaders to reject identity politics in favor of universal values and the things that connect us all."
It's fucking ironic that Fucker Carlson is attacking "cancel culture" by citing the same book that this article is about.
The foundation did NOT stop publishing " The Sneetches ."
But I agree with Tucker (a first for me) that Dr. Seuss is not a racist.
The Dr. Seuss books on my shelf are well worn because I read them to my children many times.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
Tucker might be ...