David
McKee's book, Tusk Tusk, is a fairly short and simple book, yet it raises many complex issues. It serves as an excellent departure
point for philosophical discussion with elementary aged students about prejudice, discrimination, and
violence.
In the story, two groups of elephants - black and white - hate
each other so much that they wage war against one another. The peace-loving
elephants go deep into the jungle and are not seen again. In the
meantime, all of the other black and white elephants kill each other.
For many years there are no elephants in the world, until the grandchildren
of the peace-loving elephants emerge from the jungle. These elephants
are all the same color: they are grey. However, the book ends on
an ironic note: "...the little ears and the big ears have been giving
each other strange looks." The reader is left to predict what will
happen next. Will the grey elephants uphold their grandparents' peace-loving
ideals? Or will they wage war against each other as their ancestors
had done over the color of their skin? These questions may be an
excellent way to start a discussion of the book. A discussion beginning
with questions about the nature of the "peace-loving" elephants could
result in a more broad philosophical discussion on the nature of
humans. If the grey elephants were peace-loving, why were they still
finding fault with one another's appearance? Would you still consider
the elephants to be peace-loving even though they were prejudiced
towards each other? Do you think it is possible to not be prejudiced
at all and to never judge someone based on a character trait? Some
would argue that humans are inherently prejudiced and will never
escape this cycle of discrimination. Some would argue otherwise.
See what your students have to say!
Facilitators may also choose several other departure
points to begin a philosophical discussion with students based on Tusk
Tusk. The topic of prejudice is perhaps one of the most prevalent
throughout this story, however different approaches to the topic
may be taken. A slightly different approach to the topic from that
mentioned above is the notion of moral implications of prejudice.
Is discrimination wrong independently of the context within which
it occurs? Some philosphers believe that not all prejudice is equal.
For example, it would not be as equally wrong to prefer certain breeds
of dogs to others as it would be to prejudge someone based on their
skin color. Others would argue that all types of prejudice are equally
morally wrong. Using these question sets, facilitators can delve
into the issues of morality and prejudice with students. The elephants
in the story did not like each other because of the color of their
skin. Is this a fair judgement? Do you think it is as okay to judge
someone because they look different than you as it is to not like
someone because they were mean to you? These types of questions can
guide the students towards a discussion about the larger issue of
the morality of prejudice and whether, or not all prejudices are equally
wrong. Another point of departure for discussion about Tusk
Tusk may be the theme of judging someone's character based
on their outer appearance. What is the relationship between a person's
outer characteristics and their inner qualities? Does one's appearance
or physical characteristics reflect one's inner characteristics?
Are they two separate things? The elephants in the story did
not like each other because they looked different from one another.
Do you think that is fair? Do you think that the elephants' skin
color means that they are bad?
Lastly, Tusk Tusk raises the issue of the
morality of violence. Upon first thought, most would say that violence
is not a good way to solve problems. However, some philosophers have
argued that in our world today, non-violence doesn't always work
to solve problems. The black and white elephants kill each other
because they do not like each other. Is it good to hurt someone because
you don't like them? Is it always wrong, or do you think
that it is acceptable to use violence to solve problems sometimes?
Should the peace-loving elephants have run away, or could they have
done something to help solve the elephants' problems?
Educators and parents alike may choose any, or all
of these issues to discuss with their students and facilitate powerful
philosophic inquiry regarding prejudice, violence, and human nature.
Continue
to question set for this story
