Is there still value in reading 'Huck Finn' and 'To Kill A Mockingbird'?

Which books should be required reading in middle and high schools?

That question has bubbled to the surface in Minnesota, after the Duluth school district announced recently that it's cutting "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "To Kill A Mockingbird" from required reading lists. School administrators say the racial slurs in those two classic books can make students uncomfortable.

But as school districts like Duluth push to update the literary canon, which books should students read instead? And are there better ways to teach Huck Finn?

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Jocelyn Chadwick about the issue. Chadwick is president of the National Council of Teachers of English and a guest lecturer at Harvard University.

Hear the talk by using the audio player above.