Polar Bear Gives Kids Grown-up Lesson

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 9 September 2017)


Today's lesson: what goes around comes around.

A cartoon included in the new 6th grade lessons book, which was
approved by the National Education Ministry's Council on Education
Policy, has sparked negative reactions.  The cartoon, drawn by Selçuk
Erdem but included in the book without his permission, depicts a
polar bear on a small iceberg 'giving the finger' (Turkish version)
to a stranded human and saying threateningly 'take my hand'.

In the lesson book students are asked to share their thoughts on the
meaning of the cartoon with their classmates (!).  As for artist Erdem,
he stated that "if you use a cartoon without permission you get what
you deserve.  If they had asked me I would have told them that the
cartoon was not appropriate for a school lessons book."


Kids no doubt shared their thoughts enthusiastically.