Author shares experiences with Burlingame audience - Mathabane's book sparked controversy at intermediate school (Daily News)
The author of a book that caused an uproar in the Burlingame School District because of a controversial passage shared his experiences Monday night about growing up black in South Africa during the apartheid era. Mark Mathabane talked about his book, "Kaffir Boy," at Burlingame Intermediate School, where the original version of the work was yanked from the eighth-graders who were reading it after a parent complained about a sexually explicit passage involving child prostitution. Mathabane plans to address the students in another appearance at the school this afternoon.
Superintendent Sonny Da Marto replaced the book in April with an abridged edition that does not contain the controversial passage. Mathabane said he agreed with the district's actions, and he believes the toned-down version is more appropriate for eighth-graders. He decided to visit Burlingame to share his story directly with students after BIS Principal Ted Barone called him to order the abridged version. "I had to come because the story I wrote has its special audience," Mathabane said. "The special audience is kids. They must understand ours is a complicated world." Mathabane said he wrote "Kaffir Boy" so young people who may take things for granted - such as running water, having their own bedroom and other luxuries - can understand what the world is like for those who don't have such privileges. "What I had growing up were things that were desperately needed - food and shelter," Mathabane said. "There is freedom in knowing the truth. We need to learn how to get along and resolve our differences without resorting to violence ... and hate," he said. He said he wanted to provide children with "a texture of a different life."
Mathabane talked about having to make soccer balls out of rags as a boy, living in a shack with his family, not having toys, seeing his father attack his mother when she took money from him to pay for Mathabane's education, and how imagining a better life saved him from the ghettos of Alexandra. He managed to get an education and brought his mother Magdalene to the United States, where she learned to read and write. While he supports the district's decision to use the altered version of the book, he defended the controversial passage that prompted the switch. It was not about homosexuality, and only a few words were changed in the other version, he added.
Lisa Jaffe and her eighth-grade daughter, Alex, were among the people who listened and gave Mathabane a standing ovation. They are both reading the book. "I'm fascinated by it," Jaffe said. She said she agrees that kids are privileged in America and they take things for granted. "You should appreciate what you have," Alex said. As for the controversial passage, children are exposed to a lot worse things in the movies and elsewhere, Alex said. "I understand why he put it in," Jaffe said.
"I think adults are able to get a sense, just like the kids, that this is a story about a man who grew up and was able to survive and emerge from incredibly adverse conditions with his soul intact," Barone said. "It's an epic tale in many ways."
The author of a book that caused an uproar in the Burlingame School District because of a controversial passage shared his experiences Monday night about growing up black in South Africa during the apartheid era. Mark Mathabane talked about his book, "Kaffir Boy," at Burlingame Intermediate School, where the original version of the work was yanked from the eighth-graders who were reading it after a parent complained about a sexually explicit passage involving child prostitution. Mathabane plans to address the students in another appearance at the school this afternoon.
Superintendent Sonny Da Marto replaced the book in April with an abridged edition that does not contain the controversial passage. Mathabane said he agreed with the district's actions, and he believes the toned-down version is more appropriate for eighth-graders. He decided to visit Burlingame to share his story directly with students after BIS Principal Ted Barone called him to order the abridged version. "I had to come because the story I wrote has its special audience," Mathabane said. "The special audience is kids. They must understand ours is a complicated world." Mathabane said he wrote "Kaffir Boy" so young people who may take things for granted - such as running water, having their own bedroom and other luxuries - can understand what the world is like for those who don't have such privileges. "What I had growing up were things that were desperately needed - food and shelter," Mathabane said. "There is freedom in knowing the truth. We need to learn how to get along and resolve our differences without resorting to violence ... and hate," he said. He said he wanted to provide children with "a texture of a different life."
Mathabane talked about having to make soccer balls out of rags as a boy, living in a shack with his family, not having toys, seeing his father attack his mother when she took money from him to pay for Mathabane's education, and how imagining a better life saved him from the ghettos of Alexandra. He managed to get an education and brought his mother Magdalene to the United States, where she learned to read and write. While he supports the district's decision to use the altered version of the book, he defended the controversial passage that prompted the switch. It was not about homosexuality, and only a few words were changed in the other version, he added.
Lisa Jaffe and her eighth-grade daughter, Alex, were among the people who listened and gave Mathabane a standing ovation. They are both reading the book. "I'm fascinated by it," Jaffe said. She said she agrees that kids are privileged in America and they take things for granted. "You should appreciate what you have," Alex said. As for the controversial passage, children are exposed to a lot worse things in the movies and elsewhere, Alex said. "I understand why he put it in," Jaffe said.
"I think adults are able to get a sense, just like the kids, that this is a story about a man who grew up and was able to survive and emerge from incredibly adverse conditions with his soul intact," Barone said. "It's an epic tale in many ways."
- Written by Fiona
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