‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ removed from required reading list for Mukilteo schools
Jan 26, 2022, 11:13 AM
Shoppers read about a Chicago program involving Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "To Kill A Mockingbird." (File photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
(File photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be removed from the 9th grade required reading list in the Mukilteo School District.
The vote to remove the book came after a parent complained about the use of the ‘N’ word, which appears “in excess of 50 times,” KIRO Nights host Jack Stine explained.
“It is now removed because it is too racially charged,” Jack said.
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Frequent guest of KIRO Nights, “Billy Sunshine,” called the removal “insane.”
To clarify, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has been removed from the required reading list, but not from libraries. It is still on the district’s approved list and is not banned, Jack noted.
“Parents should not be allowed to tell teachers what to teach or what books go in the library,” Billy said.
“You and I both know that this is wrong. It’s parents out there — this is so bizarre,” Jack said. “Let’s take a state that you hate, Billy. In Florida, [Governor] Ron DeSantis is telling teachers what they can and can’t teach, right? And it’s parents who are coming out and saying we want our kids to actually learn ‘history.’ So in that instance, should parents not be telling the state what their kids should and should not be learning?”
“Well no, that’s not true — I can’t say that,” Billy replied. “You’re right. You’ve got to take it pragmatically, a piece at a time.”
“Yes, I finally did it,” Jack said. “I finally beat you at your own game — I used facts and logic.”
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