TEACHABLE MOMENTS | THE SMALL SPECK OF DUST

Teaching moments. They are everywhere and obvious with children. But they are also laced throughout our lives as adults.

Over two years ago I was reading a Dr Seuss book to Hazel (my oldest, then 1 year old) and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I felt like the book was representing bad things I had learned from history but it was conveyed with colorful cartoons. Then we picked up the next book and it was conveying war-themed messaging and suggesting bombing others. Yes — the book was showing the process of planning warfare, attempting to destroy others, and then adjusting the strategy and trying again when the first plan doesn’t work. All because the people put their butter on the “wrong” side of bread.

Would my son think violence was appropriate action when people look and think differently than us? Would he grow up to believe that if he attempts to hurt someone but it isn’t effective, he should try again with greater force? After that day I hid the books and waited awhile to revisit them. Time passed and I reopened a book, and again the same concern washed over me. I had to do some research. My intuition was telling me something was not right.

What I discovered was disappointing — Dr Seuss perpetuated racial and political propaganda, he created blatantly racist cartoons including making Black people look like monkeys in the children books, and making an adult cartoon that said “TAKE HOME A HIGH-GRADE N*GGER FOR YOUR WOOD PILE”. If you want to do some of your own personal research, these links can help:

The Racism of Dr Seuss (2017)

Ban from Schools (2021)

The Other Side of Seuss (2017)

Fast forward two years to Winter 2021 and our Christian preschool scheduled a “theme week” honoring and celebrating Dr Seuss. Fear, anxiety, and frustration rose up in me knowing that this school has already failed to protect my children on a few other MAJOR issues (diary post for another time because it’s still too hard to type).

I found it concerning they would choose to honor and celebrate his works for a whole week instead of featuring other incredible picture book artists. From a psychology perspective, this decision can result in children deepening trust with this particular author and perhaps even prioritizing them in the future because the books or illustration style would be more familiar. My concern: What if my kid choose a blatantly racist book from Dr. Seuss next time?

Like any Millennial mother, I shared a video on Instagram stories trying to process my thoughts. My video was filmed while driving, off the cuff, and filled with genuine anxiety which I’m sure everyone could see. (Not to mention it was highly dangerous. For the record, I don’t support ‘gramming while driving.)

Many folks who are proactively doing anti-racist work in their homes supported my stance to not engage the Dr Seuss theme week. Others who are more moderates, supported my stance but also expressed the value Dr Seuss brings to their lives, which is rhyming and vocabulary development for their children. (This is valid.) I got one nasty message from a self-professed conservative who said “you Libtards cancel anything that makes you uncomfortable. Maybe you should be cancelled”. I even got messages from my mom and dad asking me for more examples and information so they could better understand my concerns. And… to nobody’s surprise if you know my family, my dad encouraged me to unpack the feelings and reaction a bit more prior to thrusting my small children into a role of a political pawn or an attempt to teach the school how to be “on the right side of history.”

All of these responses were valuable. Obviously the one was not kind at all, but it did confirm some suspicion that folks were choosing to make this political versus trying to understand the reasons I was uncomfortable with the situation.

THE TEACHING MOMENT

Later that day, a dear friend and the most compassionate, kid-caring, creative person I know, sent me a message. It’s the message I really needed. He said all the concerns and unpacking is critical. He also reminded me of the teachable moments that come from art that is no longer socially acceptable to make today. Then he wrapped up the message by giving me a brief history lesson that included more materials to expanding my knowledge of Dr Seuss and his publishing empire.

Do you know what I learned when I dug in a little deeper? The Dr Seuss who was blatantly racist, cheating on his wife, and building a wealthy empire from works that misrepresent and degrade others, was simultaneously coming to realize his own prejudice and attempted to create an anti-racist cartoon to convey this. He also revised some of his older works as an effort to “right his wrongs”.

I appreciated this opportunity to learn. Was it enough for me to forget the plethora of work that hurt others or my own person nausea from reading some of the books? No it wasn’t. But I did enjoy seeing that there was an evolution for Dr Seuss, and perhaps that is the hope I need to hold onto for others who are actively racist in our communities. Through this process of continued research, I also discovered there was an opportunity for my kids to dress up for theme week without honoring a racist person.

A PERSON’S A PERSON, NO MATTER HOW SMALL.

Back to the beginning of the story, when I was trying to decide if my kids should be allowed to participate in the school’s Dr Seuss theme days. On Wednesday they wore clothes inside out for Wacky Wednesday — not a problem for me. On Thursday they dressed in Christmas jammies with their classmates — not a problem for me. And on Friday the kids wore a shirt that said “Unite Against Racism” with a grey fuzzy “Speck of Dust” on their wrist.

In the book ‘Horton Hears a Who!’, there is a small speck of dust. And on that small speck of dust is a minuscule town of Whoville. Only Horton the elephant can hear them screaming on the dust ball, so he vows to protect them. (Maybe you remember the line, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” ??)

From 1941–1943, Dr Seuss drew over 400 political cartoons that included portrayals of Japanese individuals with slant-eyes, pig-noses, and coke-bottle glasses. He justified his work, and you can read more about that here. But after visiting with young people in Japan, Dr Seuss wrote ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ in support and celebration of how the Japanese were rebuilding their lives after the war.

Isaac and Hazel wore their small speck of dust in honor of those who have been shouting to be heard, to be recognized, and to be provided both equity and equality in daily life. Their tshirt message wasn’t only for Dr Seuss week. It’s a message they can wear often, especially at a Christian preschool school. Because if anyone would be uniting against racism and injustice, it would probably be Jesus. Right?

A FINAL NOTE

If you prefer Dr Seuss books for vocabulary building and early reading, we don’t judge you. It’s a personal decision we make to use other authors, and we are immensely grateful to have the freedom that allows each of us to make these independent decisions for our homes and families.

As always, I welcome thoughtful dialogue. If you have something nasty or attacking to say please, email cloneal@gmail.com.