For many Parker students who attended Parker in seventh grade, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a staple of the English curriculum. This year, the book was removed from the class entirely.

According to Kate Tabor, the seventh grade English teacher, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is frequently one of the most challenged novels since it illuminates themes that make people uncomfortable. At Parker, the novel, written by Harper Lee and published in 1960, has been taught for upwards of eighteen years in the seventh grade English class curriculum, according to Tabor.

Tabor believes the conversations the book initiates are essential to the growth and development of young minds. “It gives me a lot of space to talk about issues that are still relevant today.” Tabor said. “‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a book that really challenges us to think about race and class differently.”

Benjamin Gordji, a current freshman, believes the book was beneficial to him. Gordji said, “The book really taught me how race relations have progressed over time, and the tension that occurred in the early twentieth century.” “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in the 1930s.

Similarly, Grayson Schementi, another freshman, believes that reading this novel is imperative to our understanding issues both old and new. Schementi said, “Reading literature is one of the best ways to expose students to the world of racism.”

Freshman Grace Conrad agrees that reading the novel is important, but not necessarily for seventh graders. “I believe that ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ should be taught to older students,” Conrad said, “because seventh graders aren’t well equipped to handle the themes and challenges of the book.”

Tabor alluded to the difficulty with teaching literature of this complexity and the maturity needed to tackle the novel head on. “ I didn’t teach it last year not because I didn’t want to, but because we ran out of time,” Tabor said. “It takes a good six weeks to teach a book like that because when teaching twelve and thirteen year-olds, there’s a lot to think about. It’s one of reasons I like the book, but it’s also why I approach it carefully and depending on the class, make adjustments.”

Recalling the novel’s content, Tabor said, “ This novel depicts a white savior, and if you are too fast with it, or too glib, then it feels like this white man is trying to save the world, which is why you really have to dig to understand it. I think we are uncomfortable whenever something makes us look at ourselves in the mirror.”

Annette Lesak, the middle and upper school librarian, suggests we consider not whether but when. “I think there are points in emotional development where it is ideal to talk about certain things,” Lesak said, “but I don’t believe that anything is inappropriate for students.”

Lesak firmly believes that censorship of reading material is in violation of First Amendment rights. “ I think that when people ban books, it is out of fear and misunderstanding and wanting to limit people’s exposure to views other than their own,” Lesak said. “I don’t think that reading books gives people evil ideas or causes them to do bad things. Banning happens when people want to be closed–minded.”

Tabor echoed these sentiments. “Most of the times when a book is challenged, it’s not because they are doing anything obscene or offensive,” she said. “It’s just because we are uncomfortable confronting things that hurt or touch us in a way, so we push it away.”

There are, however, options, Lesak said. “There are many good and important books out there that also discuss issues such as class, race, inequality, and society,” she said. “I think it’s not the only book that can be used as a vehicle to talk about these issues.”

Tabor strives to understand what students need to know about the media, and what’s going on in the world around them, and she feels that “To Kill a Mockingbird” can help in illustrating that. But she doesn’t stop looking around. “I am always thinking about if there is a more contemporary book we could read, with a more suitable and less daunting vocabulary level, and maybe one with a different perspective,” she said. “So in no way is the book list set in stone.”

For Schementi, the experience of reading the novel is still valuable. Schementi said, “after reading this, it becomes our job as students and as citizens to share stories like this and ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.”