Parents objected to novel, writing assignment (offended some Native American parents)

okit ^

[chance33_98]

Controversial Book Pulled

Parents objected to novel, writing assignment

WICHITA KANSAS SAM LEWIN 5/2/2003

Officials at the Wichita, Kansas, Public Schools District have decided to pull a book that offended some Native American parents. As the Native American Times reported this week, two sets of parents were shocked to find their children were given an assignment requiring them to read and answer questions about the poem “Ten Little Indians”, as part of an English class. Mystery writer Agatha Christie contains the poem in the novel “And Then There Were None”.

“ I was like what kind of poem is this?” said Robert Bruner, a full-blooded Creek with a child in the class.

Now, school officials have decided to dump the novel from the curriculum.

“ The principal brought this to the attention of the Assistant Superintendent, and we had a meeting with the parents and agreed this was culturally insensitive and it’s been pulled”, said Susan Arnesman, Communications Specialist with the School District. “ This is not going to happen again.”

“ This is good”, said Bruner. “It shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I feel a little bit better.”

The parents said they were frustrated over the reaction they received from school officials when they tried to state their objections. At this most recent meeting, the parents were told about options available to them in addressing concerns at the school, Arnesman said.

West High English teacher Kathleen Harpenau assigned the book to her 9th grade students. The novel has a racially charged history, and was originally called “Ten Little N******”.

That title was changed to “And Then There Were None” in 1940.

School board officials say there are 49 thousand students in Wichita’s public school system and over half are minorities.

[chance33_98]

If it offends christians they call it censorship, if it offends other groups it is called being sensitive...

[patriciaruth]

I think it would be a good thing to bury forever the jingle "One little, two little, three little Indians" and all the rest of the racist childhood lore of our past.

For those who want to preserve the our history so we can learn from it, the texts could be placed in the Smithsonian or the Iraqi Museum and children could happily grow up without it.

[mfulstone]

I think it would be a good thing to bury forever the jingle "One little, two little, three little Indians" and all the rest of the racist childhood lore of our past.

For those who want to preserve the our history so we can learn from it, the texts could be placed in the Smithsonian or the Iraqi Museum and children could happily grow up without it.

Please - not before i'm gone.

Censorship in the name of political correctness is an abomination, IMHO. But, not to worry, I'm 63 years old and won't live forever. After I'm gone you can create your own little utopia and I won't care. I just hope you can live with it. Once censorship is given a place, it will spread like a foul, degenerative disease and and will leave its victims with terminal brain rot.

[Alouette]

The novel has a racially charged history

All the characters in it are eeeevil white people.

[I Luv Bush]

School board officials say there are 49 thousand students in Wichita’s public school system and over half are minorities.

Then, by definition, they are no longer minorities....

[Tennessee_Bob]

and all the rest of the racist childhood lore of our past.

You'd get rid of Mark Twain?

[mfulstone]

Mark Twain was NOT a racist.
He was way ahead of his time...

[Tennessee_Bob]

I'm not saying he's a racist - the language that he uses though, is viewed as racist through some people's skewed lenses. There are those who complain about the characters Jim and Indian Joe. The book has been removed from library shelves for "racist" language. If patriciaruth would ban the rhyme "Ten Little Indians," then she should go ahead and ban Mark Twain as well, along with half the classic literature that's out there.

[honeygrl]

"I think it would be a good thing to bury forever the jingle "One little, two little, three little Indians" and all the rest of the racist childhood lore of our past."

First of all, I don't see how the 10 Little Indians poem/song is racist. I sing the song to my 2 yr old all the time since he's learning to count and don't plan to stop anytime soon. And second of all, Does this mean you approve of what they are doing to the text books in California? They are taking out all things they may offend someone. No more Founding Fathers... instead they are Framers.. it was too sexist. No more Mount Rushmore.. it's offensive to some. Snowman becomes Snowperson. And on and on and on. That's what happens when you start pandering to people who are so easily offended.

[weegee]

I found how to get the left to champion this author... he was jailed for treason as a song writer during the Civil War.

According to this and other articles, Ten Little Indians was a song by Septimus Winner (and latter appropriated and the name changed for a Victorian musical which is where A.Christie took her book title from).

Years later, at a time when the war wasn't going all that well for the Union, President Lincoln tired of the endless delays of General George McClellan and relieved him of command. Winner disagreed with Honest Abe and composed another song which is not quite as well known as Mocking Bird. It was called "Give us back Our Old Commander," and he published it under his name rather than that of the fictional "Alice Hawthorne." It quickly sold many tens of thousands of copies. However, not using a pen name may have been a grievous mistake!

Article I of the United States Constitution, Sections 8 and 9, has a provision for suspension of habeus corpus in the case of war or national emergency. Lincoln requested suspension and got it from the Congress. The Lincoln Administration immediately set to work, and jailed numerous newspaper editors and other "malcontents" who disagreed with the government's policies. It was just about this time that Septimus Winner came along with and published "Give us back Our Old Commander," the lyrics of which are critical of the fact that Lincoln had suspended Gen. McClellan. He was soon caught up in the web and jailed for treasonous activity and demoralizing the troops. He was never officially charged with treason...when habeus corpus is suspended, there is no need for charges. Suspicion is enough. He was released a few months later.

[R. Scott]

The work by Agatha Christie has little to do with the jingle. It is about a group of ten English men and women who are responsible for the death of others but refuse to accept their guilty role.
Only the new title is offensive. It was changed once, change it again and go on with the assignment.

[weegee]

You may be thinking of the same "children's song" that I was:

One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys.

Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians
Seven little, six little, five little Indians
Four little, three little, two little Indians
One little Indian boy.

The one that was the poem in the mystery novel was this one (I haven't found the original lyrics yet):

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his self and then there were nine.
Nine Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself then there were eight.
Eight Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there then there were seven.
Seven Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves then there were six.
Six Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumble-bee stung one then there were five.
Five Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery then there were four.
Four Indian boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one then there were three.
Three Indian boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one then there were two.
Two Indian boys sitting in the sun;
One got all frizzled up then there was one.
One Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

[weegee]

Here's what is reputed to be the original SW song (which contains something akin to both lyrics):

TEN LITTLE INDIANS, by Septimus Winner, 1868

Ten little Injuns standin' in a line,
One toddled home and then there were nine;
Nine little Injuns swingin' on a gate,
One tumbled off and then there were eight.
One little, two little, three little, four little, five little Injuns boys,
Six little, seven little, eight little, nine little, ten little Injuns boys.
Eight little Injuns gayest under heav'n,
One went to sleep and then there were seven;
Seven little Injuns cutting up their tricks,
One broke his neck and then there were six.

Six little Injuns kickin' all alive,
One kick'd the bucket and then there were five;
Five little Injuns on a cellar door,
One tumbled in and then there were four.

Four little Injuns up on a spree,
One he got fuddled and then there were three;
Three little Injuns out in a canoe,
One tumbled overboard and then there were two.

Two little Injuns foolin' with a gun,
One shot t'other and then there was one;
One little Injuns livin' all alone,
He got married and then there were none.

Frank Green was credited with the poem TEN LITTLE ******* in 1869. It was the basis for the poem in the A.Christie novel (but it still has some different lines from the book version I showed in the previous post).

See at this link here:
http://www.deliciousdeath.com/34/34e.html

[bimbo]

Once censorship is given a place, it will spread like a foul, degenerative disease and and will leave its victims with terminal brain rot.

Well said. I can recall the 1960s “Free Speech Movement” at Berkeley … after being given their “right” to utter anything offensive, the Left now claims a new sensitivity that demands they censor the free speech of others. What hypocrisy!

[F-117A]

Fahrenheit 451

[Alouette]

Hmm, maybe we can change the title to "10 Little H1-B Tech workers"?

[weegee]

I agree.

[savedbygrace]

What an incredibly short-sighted and foolish notion.

Others have already pointed this out to you, but IMO you need to be hit hard with the truth. Children don't learn why an idea is bad by being insulated from the idea. Show it to them and teach them why you think it's a bad idea.

And what's that little dig about the Iraqi Museum? Considering that you are advocating censorship at the highest level, maybe YOU should be put in the Iraqi Museum, patriciaruth. You are demonstrating contempt for the American ideals of freedom and liberty.

Many have died for those ideals and you want to throw them away because you are offended by someone's written words. Please tell us you're not a teacher, or a mother of children.

[Rebelbase]

TEN LITTLE White Boys, by Septimus Winner, 1868 (Revised by Rebelbase)

Ten little White Boys standin' in a line,
One toddled home and then there were nine;
Nine little White Boys swingin' on a gate,
One tumbled off and then there were eight.

One little, two little, three little, four little, five little White Boys , Six little, seven little, eight little, nine little, ten little White Boys.

Eight little White Boys gayest under heav'n,
One went to sleep and then there were seven;
Seven little White Boys cutting up their tricks,
One broke his neck and then there were six.

Six little White Boys kickin' all alive,
One kick'd the bucket and then there were five;
Five little White Boys on a cellar door,
One tumbled in and then there were four.

Four little White Boys up on a spree,
One he got fuddled and then there were three;
Three little White Boys out in a canoe,
One tumbled overboard and then there were two.

Two little White Boys foolin' with a gun,
One shot t'other and then there was one;
One little White Boy livin' all alone,
He got married and then there were none.


In modern times, talking about gays and guns is what would get this poem banned in most schools.

[proud American in Canada]

"Hmm, maybe we can change the title to "10 Little H1-B Tech workers"?"


LOL! What difference does it make what they're called? As far as I'm concerned, the possibilities are endless:

10 Little Frenchmen
10 Little bureacrats
10 Little Democrats