Picture it: the year is 2026. You have succeeded beyond your wildest dreams; you are the envy of your friends and neighbors: you are a high school American Literature teacher.
It's time to teach what is ostensibly the greatest American novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Excited as you are, you know that you are going to have to deal with the most controversial aspect of the novel--the use of the n-word, which appears 219 times. Here are some options:
1. You decide not to teach the book because it's offensive or because you want to avoid causing pain. For one such perspective, read this New York Times article by a law professor who argues we should not teach it.
2. You use New South Books' bowdlerized version, which replaces the offending word with "slave."
3. You leave it in the book but do not say it out loud and skip over it when reading aloud.
4. You discuss the controversy, and both you and the students use the word.
What do you choose to do and why? Does your answer change depending on the makeup of the class (i.e., racial composition or high school vs. college)? It may help to think about this argument in terms of logos, pathos, and ethos.
Each of the four options above reveals what your priorities are as a teacher. Think about what your top goals would be and which option would help you achieve them. And because I know you so well, I fully expect that you will come up with at least four other options that I haven't thought of yet!
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