Imagine being so angry, miserable, and debased that the mental imagery of a Father reading joyfully with his children and bonding over Dr. Seuss’s books was enough of a trigger to cause you to say and post nasty personal attacks. That is what one Republican Senatorial candidate from Ohio is getting this week after he posted a brilliant idea.
“I want to collect unused Dr. Seuss books and in partnership with faith-based groups in Ohio, distribute them to children who need books. I loved Dr. Seuss as a kid, and some of my favorite times with my own kids is reading Dr. Seuss’s books. As a parent, that Bathtime/Bedtime tradition is powerful for bonding. It is these times when my kids ask questions, and they explore their creativity and learn to read,” Josh Mandel told me.
“Now that the left is pushing to have Seuss taken from us for being racist, I want to make sure people have access to these books,” he said. “These books are not racist, and I am asking people to donate their unwanted Dr. Seuss books to me so I can get them to people who need them.”
“You are useless,” one poster responded in reaction to the announcement. “You are a weasel,” another poster responded.
Yes, really got your thumb on the hot button of important things to address in the middle of a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/tgZRHbCRqK
— RBF Is My Hidden Talent (@tinky7391) March 11, 2021
“As a Dad, to spend time with my children being creative and reading those books is meaningful, and Fatherhood is an important part of our heritage from Western Civilization. These are important issues,” Mandel, a Marine Corp Veteran, and former US Representative said to me, telling me about his three children, agree 7,6 and 4.
Some online attacks, in reaction to his Dr. Seuss book drive for the children of Ohio, were about his Jewish faith:
Yikes!
— Say Yikes to Josh Mandel (@JewsWhoSayYikes) March 10, 2021
DEMOCRATS RECKLESSLY PULLED SEUSS BOOKS-A VALUABLE TOOL TO THE OHIO COMMUNITY- THAT IS THE ISSUE
In reaction to Democrat Joe Biden’s announcement that the Federal Government would be pulling beloved Dr. Seuss books from National “Read Across America Day,” stigmatizing the beloved author as a “racist,” Mandel recognized that the removal of the books was the “Woke left” being intolerant.
“I think America is sick and tired of the liberal’s ridiculousness calling everyone a racist because we have the audacity to disagree with them. They are the ones who are intolerant of people, especially people of faith,” Mandel told me.
After the publisher of the books made national news early in March for discontinuing several of Seuss’s titles over demands that the books were racist, Mandel decided to use his platform as a Senatorial candidate, to do something joyful, loving, and kind, and he is has annoyed the woke left while doing that.
“This stand I am making is about traditional values, and one of those values is that fatherhood is important. I love spending time with my children. I love reading to my children, so this is a stand for children who love Dr. Seuss’s books and for adults who love sharing Dr. Seuss’s books with their kids,” Mandel said.
“I have gotten attacked already over this idea of mine, called names already,” he told me.
I have to wonder who attacks a Dad who wants to read to his kids. And who attacks a Dad who loves that his children are learning to read. And who attacks a Dad, who is excited that his children are reading, and who thinks like Reading Specialists, and wants to give other kids free tools for future education success? And, who is talking about recycling books, at no cost to the US taxpayer?
Josh Mandel does.
In an effort to combat the crazy liberal cancel culture, I am proud to announce that I am kicking off a Dr. Seuss Book Drive!
Dust off your old Dr. Seuss books, mail them to me at address below, and we’ll get them distributed to children in need.https://t.co/eWw85whJLa
— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) March 10, 2021
CONSIDER THIS: MANDEL THINKS LIKE A READING SPECIALIST
In fact, Mandel, who told me he is concerned about the state of education as an issue and has many homeschoolers in his district, could possibly be saving one of the highest quality and affordable educational tools for early success in reading and overall educational success, that being Dr. Seuss books.
Homeschoolers, in particular, love Dr. Seuss books for teaching reading, and they are not alone. So did the public schools once and perhaps still do. According to public school educators, Dr. Seuss’s books are an invaluable tool, especially with the development of sight words. According to a reading specialist named Tamby Allman,Ed.D. Dr. Seuss’s books are important for helping deaf students learn to read.
What will happen when children hear that Dr. Seuss is a “racist” how much damage is going to be done to the state of education over this?
In her 2004 article, Allman wrote about her students:
“Most of the children knew the alphabet, could write their names, could read color words and number words, and were beginning to develop some sight words. During guided reading, they would readstage 1 level books such as I Like Green (Cartwright, 2000). These books have about 10 pages, and the sentences usually follow a pattern like this:
I like green, green peas and green grass where I play. I like
green, green frogs and green palm trees that sway. I like
green, green grapes and green leaves on a tree. But I wish
that green, green spinach wasn’t waiting on a plate for me.
the sign “see-him” or “see-me.” In English we use different pronouns, him and me, and the root of the verb see remains the same in both sentences. In class, we played with this language in the form of “Who do you see?” A student would choose someone and sign “I see-her” or “She see-me,” then we would write the English coding of what had been signed.
The rhyming words that had seemed so worrisome in the staff lunchroom integrated perfectly into lessons in word studies. The children sorted sight words like pink and wink and bed and red into “word families” (Morris, 1992). They enjoyed discovering the similar spelling patterns and began
fingerspelling certain words to one another more often. Their favorites, I soon learned, were “N-O” and “G-O!” and “S-O?”
They also began to show that they could generalize spelling rules: “If I know how to spell red, then I can figure out how to spell bed.” It was particularly easy when the sign sometimes provided a clue to the initial letter, as in red.
Dr. Seuss was also a great introduction to “making words” as suggested by Patricia Cunningham and Richard Allington (Cunningham & Allington, 2003; Cunningham & Cunningham, 1992). In a “making words” activity, students manipulate a small set of letters in order to discover similar letter patterns in different words. I found that Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop (1963) lent itself especially well to this activity, with
frequently recurring words like all, tall, small, ball, fall, and wall.
Who believes that any thought of those students with special needs, and poor school districts would be effective by randomly pulling a valuable tool from parents, teachers and students?
JOIN MANDEL- RECYCLING A SEUSS BOOK, HELP A KID OUT- HERE IS HOW
From Mandel’s campaign office:
Josh Mandel announces Dr. Seuss Book Drive
Ohioans are encouraged to donate used books and Team Mandel will bring them to children in need
Cleveland, Ohio – Today, Josh Mandel announced the kick-off of his Dr. Seuss book drive. He is asking supporters to send used Dr. Seuss books to his campaign headquarters, where he will compile and distribute them to children in need.
“The books of Dr. Seuss were an important part of my childhood and I enjoy reading them to my kids at bedtime. Unfortunately, these books are the next target of the far-left’s cancel culture and I won’t stand for it. I am determined to keep Dr. Seuss’ books around for future generations because they have brought joy to so many kids in every corner of America,” Mandel said. “Today, I am proud to announce the Dr. Seuss book drive. Send us your old Dr. Seuss books and we will distribute them to children in need throughout Ohio.”
Anyone who would like to support the drive can send their books to:
Defend Dr. Seuss
Attn: Josh Mandel
P.O. Box 24875
Mayfield Heights, OH 44124
DON’T BE LIKE THE WOKE LEFT- ACT JOYFULLY
“I want to encourage my children to explore the world that God created,” Mandel said. And in that world is Dr. Seuss.
If you want to participate with the Mandel for US Senate campaign, check out his site: Defend Dr. Seuss.
Kari is an ex-Community Organizer who writes about Cultural Marxism, grassroots activism, music, IndyCar racing and political campaigns. @Saorsa1776
