Banning poems in High School: cancel culture troubling signs

A French language teacher in Toronto was disciplined because she asked her pupils to read and analyze a poem by the French writer, Jacques Prévert. The facts are the following: On February 25, the teacher Nadine Couvreux was publicly denounced by a student of her 10th Virtual School Immersion class to CityTV of Toronto for teaching an alleged “racist” poem. The poem is Pour toi mon amour (For you my love) by Prévert. A journalist from the station news program made an accusatory broadcast on CityTV. 

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) spokesperson said to the reporter that Mrs. Couvreux was solely responsible for the situation since this poem was not part of the curriculum. The teacher was the subject of a harsh Zoom interrogation by members of the TDSB. She received a disciplinary letter warning her that “Any future incidents of this kind may result in further disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal” (you can read the letter here).

The pome in question says: 

POUR TOI MON AMOUR

Je suis allé au marché aux oiseaux

       Et j'ai acheté des oiseaux

            Pour toi

         mon amour

Je suis allé au marché aux fleurs

       Et j'ai acheté des fleurs

               Pour toi

             mon amour

Je suis allé au marché à la ferraille 

        Et j'ai acheté des chaînes

           De lourdes chaînes

              Pour toi 

           mon amour

Et puis je suis allé au marché aux esclaves

         Et je t'ai cherchée

       Mais je ne t'ai pas trouvée 

            mon amour.

According to the disciplinary letter from the school board, the main problem resides in these verses: “I went to the market of ironwork / And I bought chains / Heavy chains / For you” and “And then I went to the market of slaves /And I looked for you.”

In a letter addressed to the disciplinary committee of the school board, Danièle Gasiglia-Laster and Arnaud Laster, who are specialist in Jacques Prévert and editors of his complete works at the publishing collection of Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, wrote (I am translating from French):

“…The poem is feminist and anti-slavery! He is precisely a denunciation of slavery in all its forms and says that those who dream of finding slaves in one of these hideous and monstrous markets will not find them. Women, like slaves, no longer allow themselves to be locked up. The incriminated poem is therefore the complete opposite of a racist and nostalgic text in favour of slavery! To analyze a text and extract its meaning, you have to take it in its entirety and not focus on isolated words. A quotation out of context and without considering the author's work can be completely diverted from its meaning.” (read the full letter in French here)

In an article commenting on this case in Le Devoir, Normand Baillargeon stated (I am translating from French): “That a young person is unable to understand a text, especially if it is from a culture other than hers is understandable: she is there to learn. But that adults occupying leadership positions in education are unable to do so is terrifying. For a journalist to make a just as bad a job is just as bad. Basic ignorance, intellectual laziness, inability to simply read, no research on a subject before deciding or making waves: this is the cocktail we were served and which tends to make Prévert the anti-racist ("Racism and hatred are not included in the seven deadly sins. Yet they are the worst” [Prévert said]), a racist, even a slave owner. Behind this ignorance mixed with cowardice, dangerous for the very idea of education, there is also this tendency to give immense credit to offended sensibilities from the outset.”

I agree with Baillargeon. This case, as other similar situations in universities and schools, is not only revealing ignorance and the inability of learned people to read and understand the meaning of a text. It also shows a lack of leadership and good governance motivated by a feeling of panic. With the decision of taking disciplinary measures against Mrs. Couvreux because she asked her students to read a poem, the TDSB members are fragilizing more a new generation of already fragilized pupils subjected to the perversions of cancel culture. This does not look good for university professors who will have to teach these new graduates from high school.