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new kid by jerry craft
Mar. 14th, 2022 09:38 amI heard an episode of This American Life about the fight against critical race theory in public schools. One of the topics was a book - New Kid by Jerry Craft. It's about a Black kid who starts attending a private school in new york city that's full of rich white kids. It's a graphic novel and it's being banned/challenged all over the place. I went on a kick a few years ago to read a string of books from the ALA challenged list and it was great, so I picked up New Kid.
The story is an endearing one. It's true that some of the white kids are say really insensitive things to him, but others befriend him. He ends up supporting the other outsider kids and bringing all his friends together, he has a lot of good conversations with his parents and grandparents about fitting in, and draws his thoughts down in a notebook. I guess that's my favorite thing about this book... for a middle schooler, the main character is oddly good at putting his perspective into words in a way that we should all celebrate. It still comes across as authentic, I just know from personal middle schooler experience that some kids are good at processing their thoughts and others would just say "I don't like this school" but have no way to say why. The saddest part of the book is when a teacher finds his personal sketchbook, reads through it without asking, and says she feels attacked. He'd drawn about how insignificant he feels to be called the name of the other black kid, and she tells him that he should feel special and appreciate being different. Jordan has a pretty good comeback, asking her how often she seeks out places where she's different, which is awfully smart for a middle schooler.
The podcast interviewed a Texas mom who tried to cancel an author visit to the school, saying that she didn't want her kids to read the book. The book is semi-autobiographical, a lot of what Jerry Craft wrote is based on events from his life. The Texas mom said that it's not right for kids to read what he's saying "Because you don't harm future generations of children because you went through a bad experience. You don't poison the minds of my children even if it happened. You do not poison the minds of other kids and make them feel like they have to make concessions for being white."
Diversity 101 taught me that privilege isn't something the world is asking us to get rid of, it's just something we should be using for good. The teacher COULD have had a more tolerant response to Jordan's journal instead of making it all about her. The school jerkwad COULD have listened when other students said his "jokes" weren't funny. There are kids who stick up for Jordan, and other kids who need his help, but he doesn't ask any of them for concessions.
I own this book - which is rare for me, but the waiting list at my library was long and this way my kids can read it. I don't think it will make them feel bad about being white. Hell... the hardest part for me would be explaining to my kids why it's being banned. THAT'S the conversation that will make us all feel bad about being white.
The story is an endearing one. It's true that some of the white kids are say really insensitive things to him, but others befriend him. He ends up supporting the other outsider kids and bringing all his friends together, he has a lot of good conversations with his parents and grandparents about fitting in, and draws his thoughts down in a notebook. I guess that's my favorite thing about this book... for a middle schooler, the main character is oddly good at putting his perspective into words in a way that we should all celebrate. It still comes across as authentic, I just know from personal middle schooler experience that some kids are good at processing their thoughts and others would just say "I don't like this school" but have no way to say why. The saddest part of the book is when a teacher finds his personal sketchbook, reads through it without asking, and says she feels attacked. He'd drawn about how insignificant he feels to be called the name of the other black kid, and she tells him that he should feel special and appreciate being different. Jordan has a pretty good comeback, asking her how often she seeks out places where she's different, which is awfully smart for a middle schooler.
The podcast interviewed a Texas mom who tried to cancel an author visit to the school, saying that she didn't want her kids to read the book. The book is semi-autobiographical, a lot of what Jerry Craft wrote is based on events from his life. The Texas mom said that it's not right for kids to read what he's saying "Because you don't harm future generations of children because you went through a bad experience. You don't poison the minds of my children even if it happened. You do not poison the minds of other kids and make them feel like they have to make concessions for being white."
Diversity 101 taught me that privilege isn't something the world is asking us to get rid of, it's just something we should be using for good. The teacher COULD have had a more tolerant response to Jordan's journal instead of making it all about her. The school jerkwad COULD have listened when other students said his "jokes" weren't funny. There are kids who stick up for Jordan, and other kids who need his help, but he doesn't ask any of them for concessions.
I own this book - which is rare for me, but the waiting list at my library was long and this way my kids can read it. I don't think it will make them feel bad about being white. Hell... the hardest part for me would be explaining to my kids why it's being banned. THAT'S the conversation that will make us all feel bad about being white.