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Books for racist children?


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I think teaching tolerance and acceptance of all the different facets of humanity is vital, be it race, religion, sex, orientation, beauty, culture, whatever. Teaching children to accept people's differences and treat others as equals and with respect is totally different from telling children their religious beliefs are wrong.

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^Unless their beliefs teach intolerance! ;)

 

Teaching that homosexuality is wrong is completely different from teaching intolerance.

 

I assume that's what you're talking about, I apologize if it isn't.

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I would argue that it isn't different, but I'd rather not open up that can of worms :)

 

And I wasn't picking out homosexuality or sexuality specifically - various religions teach intolerance of many things (lifestyles, behaviour, world view...), and so do other structures like society or culture one belongs to, (religion isn't the only thing that does this!). But when we're faced with beliefs conflicting with our own view, it can be temping to think we have the automatic right to 'set the other person straight' and make them think like we do.

 

I'm all for a good debate, letting people know my views on things, if the situation is appropriate - but with children it gets complicated, because they are under the care of their parents and not ours. It doesn't mean we can't talk to them and let them know our views on the world, it just means we need to be more careful, and to think about the ethical issues.

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Fair enough, I just believe it's possible to believe someone's lifestyle is wrong, while still being tolerant of the lifestyle and the individual.

 

Exactly Kafka!

And I think it's possible to teach tolerance without even touching on someone's religious views. Children (and adults) need to read books that challenge and question their preconceived ideas. It's then up to them to choose what they want to believe, but they must be given the opportunity in the first place.

 

A few other books that haven't been mentioned are 'The Diary of Anne Frank', and for older children 'The Book Thief' and 'The Boy in Striped Pajamas', all dealing with WW2 and the treatment of Jews.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hollow Shotguns. Definitely. Not only does it contain some potent messages about social cohesion, but the protagonists of the book are young teens, which I think would make your teens engage deeper with the book.

 

Oh, & the author of Hollow Shotguns is a muslim, south-Asian, so they'll be reading the work of someone from a different culture to their own, which should hopefully instil more tolerance into them.

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I realise that there's not a lot of activity in this thread not, but just in case...I'd recommend Roya Hakakian's Journey from the Land of No and Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel, Persepolis, both autobiographies and coming of ages stories set (for the most part) in Iran, around the time of the revolution (1979). 

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It's most definitely okay to bump up old threads with new suggestions, the original poster will find them useful (if they are still around) as well as other members who take interest in the subject. It might be that we have new members on here who've not noticed this thread before but might get new ideas about something to read :)

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  • 1 month later...

The difficulties are immense. Are they the reading type and if so, what kind of book will they go for? Many multicultural books will struggle to strike a chord with teenage audiences. What about something like Aldous Huxley - Brave New World? It is an indirect method, but I think anything that helps expand their current narrow vision can only be a good thing.

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  • 2 months later...

I guess you're not still looking, judging by when you posted your request, and forgive me if someone else has recommended this, but Little Bee by Chris Cleave is an amazing book. I think the first line starts: "Sometimes I wish I was a British pound coin rather than an African girl..." And it's definitely a gripping story, too!

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