Mukilteo School Board plans vote on the fate of ‘Mockingbird’

Speakers offered varying opinions on whether the novel should be required. The board is to decide Jan. 24.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

MUKILTEO — The Mukilteo School Board will vote in two weeks to decide if “To Kill a Mockingbird” should be required reading in the ninth grade.

At Monday’s meeting, board members offered differing opinions on a novel that students have been reading for six decades.

Three high school English teachers made the request in September that the book be removed from the required reading list for freshmen.

Reasons included it “celebrates white saviorhood,” “marginalizes characters of color” and “uses the ‘n’ word almost 50 times.”

This is the first time in over 20 years a book faces removal from required reading in the district.

The 20-member Instructional Materials Committee of staff and parents evaluated the removal request and heard both sides. They recommended to the board the novel not be required curriculum, but that it should remain on the approved novels list for teachers to use.

The book tells the story of a white lawyer defending a Black man wrongly accused of rape in Alabama in the 1930s, and it uses the dialogue of that time and place. The theme is prejudice and loss of innocence. Harper Lee’s novel won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961.

Each grade has a required novel. Freshmen read “Mockingbird.” Sophomores are assigned “Things Fall Apart,” juniors read “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” and for seniors the book is “Pygmalion.” In lower grades, books are “Talk Two Moons” for sixth grade; “Tangerine” for seventh grade; and “Fahrenheit 451” or “The Giver” for eighth grade.

For years, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has been challenged and at times removed or banned by other school districts nationwide.

In the request, teachers Verena Kuzmany, Riley Gaggero and Rachel Johnson suggested replacing the book with “All American Boys,” a 2015 novel about two teens, one Black and one white, handling racism and police brutality. That novel has also been “banned and challenged due to profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views,” according to the American Library Association.

Board member John Gahagan planned to do some reading homework of his own before deciding.

“I am going to re-read the book,” Gahagan said of “Mockingbird.” “It has been 50-plus years.”

He mentioned the notion of “white saviorhood.”

“Why is it always that a white guy has to come and save the day?” he said. “It’s a beloved book, but maybe after 60 years it’s time to re-look at that. Not to say kids can’t read it, teachers can’t teach it, but should we require it?”

Charles Hauck, the sole new member on the board, appeared to have already made up his mind.

“Other generations of children have read this book and understood it and used it in their learning experience,” Hauck said. “It’s a bad thing to start out picking and choosing books. Once you start this process, I don’t see any end to it. The book has the ability to teach, not to destroy and not to make someone feel bad.”

Thien Nguyen, Mariner High School student board representative, said some students are offended by the derogatory terms.

“There are so many better books out there … that can offer valuable insights in a less harmful way and a more educational way,” Thien said.

He called for more student input in the decision.

“One missing variable is the students, whose voices matter the most in this discussion,” he said.

Monica Chandler, district director of curriculum and professional development, said racial events in recent years prompted seeing the book “through a different lens.”

“The students in our classrooms are very different than the students we had 30 years ago,” she said.

Ann Freeman, a community member, voiced opposition to the book’s removal.

“It is through our discomfort with any literary work that we gain insight, true learning and then can effect change,” she said. “The answer is not to remove it.”

Kamiak teacher Kuzmany stated her case at the meeting.

“Regarding the romanticizing of this book as a beloved classic, I’d like to ask those of you listening today to consider for whom this text exactly is a cherished classic,” she said. “… Just as Confederate statues have no place in our cities and should be dethroned from pillars of history, we should re-examine texts that do not provide our students of color, who continue to be marginalized in our society and in our schools, with an empowering narrative.”

Judy Schwab, a board member since 1997, expressed concern the removal would be “setting a precedent for all novels going forward.”

She cited the “misogyny in the works of Shakespeare” or “‘The Diary of Anne Frank,’ a true story of Jews being persecuted.”

The board is set to vote on its decision Jan. 24.

Andrea Brown: abrown@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3443. Twitter @reporterbrown.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

LifeWise local co-directors Darcie Hammer and Sarah Sweeny talk about what a typical classroom routine looks like on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett off-campus Bible program draws mixed reaction from parents

The weekly optional program, LifeWise Academy, takes children out of public school during the day for religious lessons.

Protesters line Broadway in Everett for Main Street USA rally

Thousands turn out to protest President Trump on Saturday in Everett, joining hundreds of other towns and cities.

An EcoRemedy employee checks a control panel of their equipment at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS

Edmonds is the first city in the country to implement… Continue reading

Over a dozen parents and some Snohomish School District students gather outside of the district office to protest and discuss safety concerns after an incident with a student at Machias Elementary School on Friday, April 18, 2025 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Parents protest handling of alleged weapon incident at Machias Elementary

Families say district failed to communicate clearly; some have kept kids home for weeks.

Irene Pfister, left, holds a sign reading “Justice for Jonathan” next to another protester with a sign that says “Major Crimes Needs to Investigate,” during a call to action Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Arlington. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Arlington community rallies, a family waits for news on missing man

Family and neighbors say more can be done in the search for Jonathan Hoang. The sheriff’s office says all leads are being pursued.

Mary Ann Karber, 101, spins the wheel during Wheel of Forunte at Washington Oakes on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lunch and Wheel of Fortune with some Everett swinging seniors

She’s 101 and he’s 76. At Washington Oakes, fun and friendship are on the menu.

Connect Casino Road Director Alvaro Gullien speaks at an Everett City Council meeting to share community thoughts regarding affordable housing and preventing displacement of those that live along Casino Road on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How will Everett’s comprehensive plan work in Casino Road?

Residents in the diverse, tight-knit neighborhood want “Investment without displacement.” The city’s plan will help achieve that, staff say.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition championship robotics Team 2910 Jack in the Bot on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek robotics team celebrates world championship win

The team — known as “Jack in the Bot” — came in first place above about 600 others at a Texas world championship event last week.

Trees and foliage grow at the Rockport State Park on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 in Rockport, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Washington Legislature approves hiking Discover Pass price to $45

The price for a Washington state Discover Pass would rise by $15… Continue reading

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Parental rights overhaul gains final approval in WA Legislature

The bill was among the most controversial of this year’s session.

Snohomish firefighters appeal vaccine suspensions to Ninth Circuit

Despite lower court’s decision, eight men maintain their department did not properly accommodate their religious beliefs during COVID.

A rental sign seen in Everett. Saturday, May 23, 2020 (Sue Misao / Herald file)
Compromise reached on Washington bill to cap rent increases

Under a version released Thursday, rent hikes would be limited to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.