Literature can be defined as a tool for ideological transmission. The exclusion or inclusion of specific topics within classroom discourses reflects the ideologies of the teachers leading the class discussions. One children’s literature author popular across generations is Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss. Several educators have published educational materials on the uses of his books in the classroom, in order to promote specific ideological values. Professionals in the field of pedagogy have written about the messages embedded in his texts and have concluded how to best use his books. Scholars and educators have aligned their values with messages from his books like The Sneetches, The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book, in order to promote their own ideologies while teaching reading to their students.
The aim of the study was to determine to what extent educators in public schools have used and still use children’s literature and the works of Theodor Geisel to transmit ideology to their students. The first part of the study investigated the published works of scholars and educators who have promoted Geisel’s books to transmit an ideology to students. The second part of the study examined the teaching practices and philosophies of current teachers in a Midwestern suburban school district in central Ohio. Qualitative inquiries were made, in order to gather information related to the topics of ideological transmission through children’s literature and the purposes of children’s literature in the reading curriculum.
From the study I concluded that a polarity arose within the set of teachers interviewed. Teachers were adamant about what topics of discussion they would and would not allow in their classrooms. Questions from the interviews and the surveys led to two viewpoints about the purpose of children’s books in school. On one hand the findings suggest that teachers felt a book’s sole purpose is to build cognitive reading skills. They simultaneously, however, opposed the insertion of books which might promote certain ideological values within classroom discourse.
The teachers conveyed strong opinions on what they would and would not discuss in their reading groups as it related to racism and African Americans, heterosexism and sexual orientation, and environmentalism. While the majority of the teachers recognized the relevance of discussing racism and African Americans in literature circles, they dismissed the relevance of discourse related to heterosexism and sexual orientation. The teachers unanimously supported the discussion of environmentalism with their students. The findings were consistent regardless of the teachers’ stated political alignments.
Classroom teachers hold positions of power and greatly influence the opinions and values of their students. The types of literature used can mold their students’ ideological frameworks. The absence of certain pieces of literature can also exclude ideological elements and points of view that are meaningful to a liberal and multicultural education, which is the philosophical foundation of a modern education in the United States. The findings support the argument that certain children’s books will continue to be ideological transmitters in the American public school system.