Just stop with the belt issue...lol. You're making me feel REALLY old.

So here's a question, for those of us lucky enough to not know the n-word or any other slur/offensive word up to a certain age because we weren't called it, when do you want your kid to find out the word exists? Do you introduce Huck Finn to a kid who's never heard the n-word before? Apply this to the c-word, or to other racial or ethnic slurs too.

Also, the years of teaching Huck Finn haven't exactly erased the current use of it as a slur either, so while that may be the ideal, I'm not sure it's actually successful.

I don't know how many kids by that age REALLY don't know these offensive words. I think parents would love to think their kids don't know them, but kids hear a lot of things in school, on tv, in music and at the movies. They aren't stupid. Some parents are just too cowardly to talk to their kids about why these words are unacceptable to them and society.

BTW...I loved reading old books from the '50s when I was a kid. It was weird reading how things were different. I see why Judy Blume would want to change her books, though I wasn't allowed to read her books as a kid...too racy. LOL

That's not the question though. I didn't listen to rap growing up, I was never called the n-word, no one in my family used the n-word. I went to a private school that was almost all white and never heard it used there. Huck Finn was one of my first exposures to it. Now, I was privileged not to have to know about the n-word then. But the same question applies. I'm talking about legitimate situations where the kids have not been exposed to that language and I'm not talking about fuck, shit, or even bitch but words that are considered slurs and fairly universally offensive ones.

I guess I grew up in a different environment:D I honestly knew that word by at least age 7...probably younger. What age is Huck Finn usually taught? I don't remember reading it in school. I read it on my own.

The suburb I mentioned earlier was very insular, so it kind of mirrors your situation. These people were very aware of the word (and others), and this was before "OMG RAP MUSIC IS EVERYWHERE" and the internet.

6th through HS and into college in my experience. But that's why I extended it past the n-word itself. When do we teach about the c-word? I wouldn't feel comfortable in a classroom with a majority of males reading from a book that called a woman a C*** 219 times in high school. Even if that book were a classic as Huck Finn, I'd doubt we'd teach it to 6th grader.

When I was 12, I pronounced Arab as Ay-rab in class and everyone laughed at me. I honestly thought that was the pronunciation and had no idea it was derogatory. I'm glad I was corrected! Not that we had any Arabs anywhere in our town, which of course is why I was ignorant about it.

I don't think the n-word and the c-word are in the same category. TNT can show a Law & Order rerun where the n-bomb gets dropped multiple times and nothing happens. (It was an episode where Courtney B Vance was accused of killing his white boss and he was the one who used the word.) If they had an episode with the c-bomb, I doubt they would get away with that no matter the context, they would probably get fined.

The only reason that racial terms have become as offensive as they have is because the country as a whole has changed. The c-word, however, has been offensive I think pretty much since its creation.

I also remember an episode of L&O using the n-word, but it was Angie Harmon who said it. She was quoting someone else, though.

Now, for clarification, which c-word are we referring to? The one included in "raccoon" or "c u next tuesday"?

Never read Huck Finn I don't think. What is the lesson that it is supposed to teach? If it is racism I can think of much better books, like To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Next Tuesday :)

I think Archie Bunker is the only one who still uses the raccoon word.

I'd like my children to learn in the way I think most early child psychologists agree is the best: watching the original "Bad News Bears".

Huck Finn assails racist beliefs in a MUCH different fashion than To Kill a Mocking Bird - in fact, the existence of racism might be the only overlap.

For that reason, it shouldn't be a "one-or-the-other" thing - Huck Finn's angle essentially attacks the fundamental stupidity of embracing Christian values while denigrating other races, and is somewhat biting in tone and effect.

In short: To Kill a Mockingbird is probably better literature, but Huck Finn might be the stronger argument.

Context is everything.

Mark Twain was making a very important point with "Huckleberry Finn" - Jim is the most honorable character in the book, a fact which finally convinces Huckleberry Finn to turn his back on everything his society has taught him because he has come to see Jim as a man, and not as a slave, or n_______. The use of the disputed word to refer to Jim stands in stark contrast to the character we see presented as Twain shows us Huckleberry Finn's epiphany. Twain held up a mirror to his society, and if what he shows was unpleasant or painful - good. That's what good literature does - it makes you think. In the hands of a skillful teacher "Huckleberry Finn" can be an incredible experience. I'd rather a teacher or school decide not to teach it than sanitize it in some attempt to "protect" the students.

As to "To Kill A Mockingbird" - are they going to take "n________ "out of it, too? I taught "TKAM" for the first time to 8th graders this year, and when they heard the word in the movie they reacted as though they had been slapped - which lead to some really great discussions on the use of the word, and what it says about those who use it.

I just don't think HF is taught well enough for students to get that. I didn't at that age. I think I got "slavery is bad" and "this is hard to read" out of it, honestly.