The shocking news has emerged that Education Secretary Michael Gove has removed To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men from the GCSE syllabus because he believes students should focus on more English writers.
Gove, sadly, seems to have missed the point. To Kill a Mockingbird is so much more than just an American text; it’s an exploration of human decency, prejudice and the way young minds are shaped by the society in which they are raised. The themes within the book are so important and dealt with with such class and intelligence that it will open the minds of young readers and make them ask questions they wouldn’t have previously thought to ask. I should know, it had that effect on me and made me see the world differently.
I’m all for celebrating British writers – after all, we are the nation of Shakespeare, Austen and Dickens – but we need to encourage children to see a world beyond their own if they are ever to learn tolerance and understanding.
A wise woman once wrote: ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.’ For centuries, books have provided that opportunity. Let’s not stop it now.
Source: The Independent
