Schools scratch graphic reading requirements
by Bob Kellogg
A New Jersey school district has apologized to parents and deleted from its required summer reading list books that graphically describe homosexual and lesbian sex encounters.
Norwegian Wood and Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines were on a required reading list for high school students in the Monroe Township School District. The former includes a story of lesbian sex between a 31-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl, and the latter depicts drug usage and a homosexual orgy.
“Homosexual activists have been pushing for inclusion of more material with sort of homosexual themes, and they tend not to be very squeamish about very explicit sexual material being included in that,” reports Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council (FRC).
Though the books in question have been on the summer reading list, school officials are just now pulling them — when school is starting. So Sprigg says it is clear that officials were slow to react. “Apparently, the complaints did not come in in time. Either that, or they just delayed responding to them until they were made public and it became an embarrassment,” he reasons.
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Have these students read so many classics during the school year that their summer reading time is spent on these books?
Doubtful.
And, more importantly, since when have adults (who are teachers) been allowed to promote sexually explicit literature to their underaged students?
Tweak is an excellent memoir on the disease of addiction. It is NOT a book with “homosexual themes.” The only reference to homosexual acts in the book is when the author is talking about how he used to prostitute himself for drug money. The book is not “sexually explicit literature.” Please. It is a heartbreaking story that gives the reader a first-hand glimpse into the horrors of drug addiction. And yes, high school students (the most at risk for illegal drug experimentation and use) should absolutely read it. My own teenaged daughter has read it, thought it was an excellent and devastating story, and she didn’t even turn gay from reading it! Nor did she turn into a drug addict. She is the one who recommended the book to me, and I am glad that we were able to have a conversation about it in which I could again discuss with her the danger of drugs. I haven’t read the other book, so I will refrain from commenting on it.
But hey, let’s keep kids from the reality of life. That will surely serve them well when they move into the real world.
@Heidi
It shouldn’t take an explicit book to understand that addiction to drugs is devastating.
At the very least, the school should have given parents a “heads up” before considering putting it on the list.
Just goes to show that we have to be so vigilant about what schools are exposing to our kids.
Do you really believe that high school aged children should be completely sheltered from the real world? Do you really believe that your censorship is effective? I’ll bet you anything that kids will now want to read the books to see what the fuss is all about! Controversy always feeds curiosity in a teenager’s mind. If someone had tried to censor what I read as a teenager, I would have been even more inclined to read it. But thankfully, my mom didn’t try to keep great writing from me just because it might have contained some controversial themes. And for that, I am eternally grateful. I would have missed out on some fantastic literature otherwise.
@Heidi
Heidi, when did I say children should be sheltered from the “real world”? It should be up to the parents whether or not an explicit book is used to show the devastating effects of drugs… not the teachers or administration.
You repeatedly say you do not want people judging your family, so don’t judge others. If other parents wish to explain the effects of drug addiction without this book, that is their right. Who are you to say otherwise? That’s the point, the teachers, at the very minimum, should have given parents the heads up. The parents could then read it themselves, let their child read it or not.
I don’t think parents should keep their children from great literature either. High school aged children should be encouraged to read Melville, Twain, Austin, Dolstoyevsky, Thomas Hardy, James Fenmore Cooper to name a few. Unfortunately, most high schools rarely read all these authors and these are not all of literature’s greats.
Have you read much Thomas Hardy- talk about the “real world”!
Step 1.
Churches step forward and create low-cost schools using present classrooms.
For those who do not want their children educated by the church, there are many other buildings, including current schools, that may be used for education.
Step 2.
The federal government gets out of the education business except to test for standard academic progress, based on something similar to E.D. Hirsch’s “Cultural Literacy”.
Step 3.
No more taxes are taken for public education. Parents pay for their children to be educated, and low-cost options are available as churches take up education as ministry and other organizations create similar learning environments.
For those who do not want to open a Pandora’s box of every sinful behavior to their children, there will be low-cost schools that share their vision.
@Ruth
I agree, Ruth.