“Contextually, it was political- but it was grey and I would prefer it didn’t appear and I believe she agreed.” “I responded that in the context, it was borderline,” Stigant said. The decision is the latest at the center of a labor dispute between the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation and the province. It’s a matter of legality and living up to our obligation to children and their families.” “I don’t consider it taking a stand on the dispute. “It’s a good use of my time if it serves the purpose of shielding the children from political messaging,” Stigant said. Seuss, and even former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, but said the review is necessary to protect students from an often-bitter dispute. Stigant conceded Tuesday that it might seem absurd to spend time reviewing quotes from Dr. He met with the teacher to discuss what is and is not considered in keeping with district standards. The teacher had the quote amid other material she brought to a meeting with management after receiving a notice relating to union material that was visible in her car on school property.ĭave Stigant, acting director of instruction for the Prince Rupert School District, said that the school based its decision on an arbitrator’s ruling in 2011 that political materials must be kept out of British Columbia classrooms. The line in question is: “I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we too should have rights.”Īdministrators were quick to try to save face by denying that the book itself has been banned, just the quote but since the book contains the offending line, out the book must go. So, what is the offensive line that has school administrators in an uproar? Yertle, one of three stories in the book, deals with the king of a pond who stacks himself on top of other turtles in order to reach the moon, and yells at them when they complain. Seuss titles that have repeatedly faced the ire of censors for various reasons now a teacher at an elementary school in northern British Columbia has been told that a quote from the classic work has been deemed “too political” and the quote is no longer allowed to be displayed, or worn on clothing. Yertle the Turtle (1958) is one of six- yes, six- beloved Dr. Seuss has been branded too political for the classroom. Incidents of censorship by the border patrol, negative reactions to fiction based on historical documents, and now it seems Dr. For the third time in recent weeks the Banned Books Awareness series once again focuses on some rather disturbing trends from Canada.

Yertle the turtle 1958