It was a shock to learn Maus, by Art Spiegelman, was voted -- 10-0 -- to be excluded from the The McMinn County School Board's curriculum, one day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Maus is an account of Spiegelman's father's life during the Holocaust as a Jewish man, and the comic has garnered plenty of praise over the decades for its personal, innovative and memorable depiction of this horrific period of history, even winning a Pulitzer Prize. It's no surprise this book has been incorporated into many classes when it comes to teaching students about World War II, the Holocaust and concentration camps, but it is a surprise that some school districts, like McMinn County, miss the point of the book entirely, thus excluding it from classrooms, despite how important the story is, as well as how accessible and captivating the way it's told can be for many students.
While the school board defends their decision, claiming that they "do not diminish the value of Maus," and that they do not "dispute the importance of teaching our children the historical and moral lessons and realities of the Holocaust," one school board member originally questioned, "why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff, it is not wise or healthy?" This claim, as well as the defense that, "the Board felt this work was simply too adult-oriented for use in our schools," does undermine the work, as well as the students themselves.
Firstly, Maus does have a visual element to it, recreating the events Spiegelman's dad went through in classic comic-strip style, with the people being depicted as animals (Jewish people are mice; Germans are cats; Americans are dogs). While this shows more of the atrocities than a textbook would, as those books rely more heavily on text than images, the way Spiegelman approaches the Holocaust with his artwork finds a way to be haunting yet not excessively graphic for students, thanks to the black and white, stylized depictions of animals going through these historic events.
In fact, depicting the people as animals could, for some readers, make this allegory easier to comprehend since it is hard to process how humans could do such unthinkable things to other people. Along with that, some students could struggle with the language used in textbooks depending on their reading level or English comprehension, not to mention some students have learning disabilities that impact their educational experience. Including a comic book about the Holocaust could prove to be more accessible to these students thanks to the visual aide, and it can also be seen as more compelling than a traditional textbook.
This connects to the personal element of Maus. It is no less historical than a textbook; however, as Spiegelman's father's account of what happened, this makes the subject matter feel more relatable, especially as readers see who these people are beyond the tragedy. It also makes what they go through all the more heartbreaking, giving readers a better understanding of the nightmares they went through. Furthermore, this does not "promote" some sort of negative take away, as the school board implies; instead, it highlights why it's important not to repeat these atrocities.
Also, as opposed to being a broad account of the Holocaust, Maus narrows in on one family's experience in a concise story. That specificity not only makes it easier to take in compared to the more grand scheme of World War II and the Holocaust at large, but it also reads more like a story than a lesson plan. This could make it easier to remember Maus' content compared to the dense paragraphs packed into a textbook, as well as more engaging, as it's treated as a story first, message and lesson second.
Maus is not the only comic that proves that these sort of stories can be as good, if not better, than traditional learning material. Displacement by Kiku Hughes similarly looks back at a point of history -- Japanese internment in America -- with a more fictional lense, as the protagonist, a girl from the 21st century, travels back in time to the internment camp her grandma was in; however, the experiences, politics and rhetoric seen in the comic are still rooted in history. Meanwhile, books like Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which has also been banned before, give a personal account into history, similar to Maus. Again, comics like these could be great aides alongside the traditional learning materials, as they have a central, personal story that can be easy to remember and connect directly to what's being covered in textbooks.
Furthermore, as the Board claims, they are not trying to "dispute the importance" of teaching children about the Holocaust; however, the Holocaust, like so much of history, is not pretty, and it's irresponsible to ignore parts of it or try to sanitize it. Maus gives an honest portrayal of what it was like to be Jewish in the Holocaust, and the reality was a nightmare. Spiegelman found a way to convey that in a medium that is accessible to adults and children. Comics are excellent tools to use in the classroom, as exemplified by Maus, and to ban such books denies students a chance to better understand history, while also making a harmful statement that some voices and stories are not acceptable, even when they are highly regarded and important.