Reading offensive racist term out loud in class because a character uses it in the book - Of Mice and Men

@jewel1968 I refuse to say the word, not an English teacher my school does reading every morning where we all read a book together. I do use it as a moment to talk to the children and teach them the background and the hurt it still causes. It’s prompted some very interesting discussions, which has lead to open conversation from children who’ve in the past been told to get over it (receiving racial abuse) and those that have never experienced have listen, I can’t say they understood...

Mostly in music of black origin, at a guess. Because the black community is reclaiming the word and the meaning is ameliorating in specific contexts. It's how language has always worked - and one of the fruitful ways to discuss it.

I think my boy was intrigued as the word is also used in a lot of music now

Whenever I have taught the book, I have always discussed the use of the word, it’s origins and why it is so awful before we get to it in the text. We talk about why no one should use the word except in my classroom and only then when we are discussing the theme. I have never come across pupils disobeying this. They have always been respectful of its use and shown great maturity. I have taught in tough state comps and a small indie - the response from the pupils was always the same.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo would be great for a Year 9 group @Flyingarcher. It's a verse novel so maybe dyslexia-friendly as the page is less 'full' and it moves quickly. It's very readable and is quite brilliant!!

I’m not a big fan of replacing or editing out words of classic literature. For example Enid Blyton and her use of gollywog or Fanny.

He’s twelve

Interesting as my boy cane home from school today and told me the book contained the word. I said it was if it’s time, and then we got distracted.

@Flyingarcher , I think I saw a useful thread with a list of books on Twitter. Rose Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence, is excellent, but might be too old for your Yr 8s. It's modern, and explores lots of current YA themes, but is not dystopian.

I am desperately looking for a dyslexic friendly book which has a strong female central character who just happens to be black, ie, comes across issues to do with ethnicity but is a modern forward thinking character with whom my class can identify. I want something about being black in a modern society that doesn't rely on tropes of slavery, drugs, gangs. I found one fantastic book but it is too rude for Year 9! I have a fab Tanya Landman book that I probs will go for but it is historical/slave based but I can do work round that. There just isn't anything like Hunger Games or a rip roaring read with a black central female character. What is sad is when my pupils create a heroine for narrative writing, they are nearly always white - even when written by black or Asian girls. Am addressing this at the moment - hoping my year 8 will be feisty and create kick ass characters with whom they can identify.

I don't read it. I leave a blank space. I work in an overwhelming white school, where normally there are just one or two black students in the room. I would feel extremely uncomfortable saying the word aloud as a white person in front of black students, who might be really upset by it, but unwilling to draw attention to themselves by mentioning it. The impact of the word is still felt because they can see it there on the page.

Oh, and we discuss the issues surrounding a variety of words and how they're used before studying the text. We don't gain anything by sanitising and banning these texts but it's not a word I'm going to say in my class.

I don't read it aloud. Discussed with the chairs of Afro-Caribbean society who were in my form and also took English. They recommended this for a variety of reasons but also thought it was a great book to study.
Anyone using said word around school needs to be reported and dealt with.

I would disagree strongly that it's a misogynistic novel. It's depicting a misogynistic society, but his ultimate depiction of Curley's wife is sympathetic.

You can't not teach things because the morals are not the morals of today. I'm not entirely okay with Romeo and Juliet being married at 13 but it's a product of its time. Any half decent teacher teaches it in its context because if you hide shameful things from the past, you're never going to get past them.

Rita if that's the case virtually any book should be taught. The mysoginy of THE CHARACTERS of the novel is an excellent starting point for issues still very prevalent. Slut shaming, seeing women as objects etc etc. It is taught within the context if hie women are viewed at that place and time. All of Shakesieare could be viewed as mysogbisitic as the worn in the tragedies are murdered or die from suicide etc.

Of Mice and Men is also very misogynist, and I don’t think it should be taught on that basis.

Why should it not be either of those?
Gatsby is on the A level syllabus so I wouldn't expect many schools to teach it lower down.

If you are only going to read one American novel in school, it should not be Of Mice and Men or To Kill a Mockingbird . Why not Steinbeck's Travels with Charley or A Great Gatsby?

And in PSE they’re learning about the Scotsborro Boys which has shocked even me but ties in very well with the context of the text.

Same as @MrsHamlet. I read it aloud and we discuss the issue sensibly. I mention it before reading that there is some language used that is unacceptable today and would result in very real consequences if used.