The book To Kill A Mockingbird is a very controversial book because of the content and the words that are used in it. Many people question if it should be taught in schools.

Although, the book has won many different awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Quill award for Audio book.  Some people believe that it should be banned. The most recent state that has banned this book was Mississippi.

“I do not think it should be banned because the values of it outweigh the hard stuff. And the hard stuff is very contextual and historical,” Mrs. Veach said.

Many students agree with her.

“It has a good perspective on life back in the 30’s but also a deeper look into today’s society and it also teacher prejudice at a young, mature age,” Sarah Baker said.

Junior Brooke Dolleman also had some thoughts on the subject.

“I don’t think it should be banned because it teaches lots of important lessons and talks about racism which is still present to this day,” Dolleman said.

Another student who thinks that it should not be banned is Sam Ketchem.

“It’s still important to see all of the racism, sexism and income inequality in the past so we can improve in the future,” Ketchem said.

The main reason why this book is so controversial is because of the language it uses.

“I would love if there was a censored version with certain words like the N word because I don’t think that’s appropriate to be teaching,” Mrs. Veach said.

Many schools teach the book in 9th grade, but Glacier peak teaches it in 10th grade.

“I think 9th grade is a little young because empathy is not really something people understand at much of a younger age. I think freshmen aren’t always mature enough to be able to handle hard subjects, but that doesn’t mean they can’t,” Mrs. Veach said.