Thanks to a recent post by John Bell on Oz and Ends, an issue about Yoko Kawashima Watkin's So Far From the Bamboo Grove, has come to my attention. Please go over to John's blog and the blogs he links to, to read about the controversy. I am a little late coming to this, but in light of my previous post, I had to weigh in somewhat. Because I have nothing but respect for Linda Sue Park, I tend to be eager to accept her take on this. For some reason some authors just inspire total trust in me, when it comes to being fair and intelligent. She is one of them.
As I mentioned in my last post, my oldest son is Korean. I do not remember this book being a part of his curriculum in 5th or 6th grade. He actually attended elementary school in Dover,MA, -- part of the school district that has given voice to the issue-- but it was an independent school that just happened to be located there.
But had the book been one of the class “reads,” I think he would have been upset. I know that he had to deal with several instances of Asian stereotyping in early years and even in high school. Were his elementary school class to read a text that is clearly a negative portrayal of Koreans specifically, it would have made the challenges he had faced even much worse. A reason for not reading the book in his class? I cannot say. I can only think of my own son's tough road at times, and my wish to protect him as much as possible.
But I offer just several simple thoughts, since so much intelligent discussion has already taken place on this topic:
FIRST: With regard to the negative picture painted of Koreans in the book, the parents upset by it have legitimate points that need to be addressed, whether or not the book is pulled from the curriculum. That is the problem when one uses fiction as history lesson more than as a study of literature.
SECOND: I would prefer that books that deal with rape are held for later grades. I do not think that ten year olds should be forced to go down that road of sexual understanding. I think that the concept of rape is better left to an audience with more of a reason to be thinking about those things, let alone with at least a decent knowledge of what exactly rape is
THIRD: I think that not enough attention is given to the different Asian cultures well represented in this country's population, period. Just see my previous post about the whole American Girl phenomenon. While I think the trend is changing, I find the change is not fast enough, so I hate the idea of ANY Asian voice being quieted.
But, one more thing, that also weighs on my heart:
I DO remember the book being a part of my middle son's reading list in 5th grade at a day school in Newton, MA. Oh, I remember that year well. I even did some reading along with him--as much as I could stand, anyway, because EVERY SINGLE BOOK his class read that year was about death and loss and destruction, and the capacity of humans to be, well, very inhumane.
I have a clear recollection of thinking that the school’s choice of books was not exactly a good selection if you want kids, especially reluctant boy readers, to fall in love with reading and the pleasure it brings. My boys are in that group. They were not the kind to pick up books for pleasure reading, so they read only what was assigned---barely. After that “YEAR OF LIVING DEPRESSINGLY” I said to another parent: “Were this my 5th grade reading list for the whole school year, I might be ready to jump off a bridge come the month of June."
So when you think about school reading lists, consider not ony whether or not a single group is portrayed in an unbalanced light, but whether or not you need to hit kids over their heads with the darker side of life to the exclusison of everything else. They're young and they're impressionable, but they also want to be happy and have fun.
They are, after all, still kids.
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