The Color Purple

I enjoyed the conversation we had on The Color Purple. I specifically found it interesting that it led to a discussion about how teachers are very limited in what they can teach to students about novels like The Color Purple. Yes there are parts that may make us uncomfortable but I think that's a good opportunity to teach students about maturity. I believe it is possible to discuss matters such as rape and domestic violence with high school students. Sure there will be some that are extremely uncomfortable with it, they don't have to speak up. They could be aloud to step out of the room if need be. And yes there would be some students who would make a joke out of it. That's a good opportunity for a teacher to show them that that's not the right way to handle that. But this is not the world we live in. There are too many politics involved and parents that want to try to shelter their kids. But while we are preventing kids from being able to to discuss things such as violence in a safe, controlled environment, they are out videoing themselves fighting just for fun.

I was shocked to hear some of the things that are not allowed to be discussed in a classroom. Some of those things were taught in my high school classes. I am amazed at what has changed over the last 10 years. I was gonna mention this in class but I didn't really get a chance. I recently saw a video posted on Facebook of a high school student speaking out against his teacher. He was criticizing her for only handing out packets of work for them to do and he said that she wasn't teaching them anything. I think at one point he called her lazy, but I'm not sure. Now maybe this teacher was lazy or just didn't care. But maybe, she was confined to just handing out packets of work because that was the only way to stick to the strict guidelines on what should be taught. It saddens me that students think most teachers don't care to teach anything with substance when in reality it's the government's method of standardization that is holding them back.

I hope when I am a teacher I can find some balance between what I want the students to learn and what the government says I can teach them. I know it'll be tough, I see the struggles other teachers face.