In some of my classes, I offer book club extra credit. Students read a book, and we meet during finals week to talk about it.
Several years ago, I chose Maus for my Writing in Social Justice class.
We had a wonderful discussion, but one moment will stay with me forever. One student said Maus taught her about the camps.
The rest of us were aghast. She knew about the Holocaust, right? Yes, but she had never heard of the camps.
She thought all of the Jews and other people the Nazis didn’t like were simply shot on sight.
She had never watched any of the great films: Life is Beautiful, Schindler’s List. She didn’t know where and how Anne Frank died.
A student dedicated to social justice was missing a key part of history.
That’s why we must not ban books; we must read them.
