When I was a child, my mom would on occasion make us kids a special breakfast of green eggs and ham. It magically merged worlds for me. The imaginary food from my book became a reality, right there on the table.
But a few decades later, as a preschool teacher, I read the beloved children’s story, Green Eggs and Ham, to a class of 15 wide-eyed and openhearted children, and began to feel a just a little uncomfortable. In the era of #MeToo, this story sounded less like a paean to trying new things and more like the script of coercion: If I keep asking, maybe you’ll change your mind and actually really like what I want you to do.
Would you, could you on a boat? Would you, could you, in a moat?
I would not, could not, on a boat. I would not, could not, in a moat.
I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I Am!
[For more on this story by Stephanie Van Hook, go to https://www.yesmagazine.org/pe...out-consent-20181105]
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