'The only thing McMinn County’s ban will do is rob its students of crucial lessons about the world around them from one of the most compelling and accessible works available to a young audience,' Nick Ramsey writes. - NBCNewsTHINK
and noted that this book “shows people hanging, it shows [Nazis] killing kids.” He then asks, “Why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff” — a genuine demonstration of his own ignorance of Spiegelman’s intent, which was to warn against the evils of the Holocaust by showing its horrific brutality.
Throughout the meeting, several members of the McMinn County Board of Education insisted they did not object to their students learning about the Holocaust — but they all still voted to ban “Maus,” which raises questions about how committed they are to ensuring their students learn the unsantized, unredacted truth.
My own experience with “Maus” demonstrates its unique ability to teach students a difficult lesson at just the right stage of development using a medium they have likely encountered before.on Wednesday, Spiegelman said he was “baffled” and called the ban “Orwellian.” He also said that he doubts the reasons McMinn County members gave for banning “Maus,” saying he believes it has more to do with the subject matter. “There’s something going on very, very haywire there.
I cannot speak to the motives of the McMinn County school board, but something “very haywire” is indeed happening. In at least 10 states — from New York to Texas — lawmakers, school officials and parents