Missouri public school bans Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five'.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Shoving it under the reference desk and requiring parental permission is slightly better than removing it entirely, but does still run into the "what if Susie wants to read it but her parents won't let her because of religious reasons" problem.

Ah, but the school doesn't want to get into the business of telling parents how to raise children. Until that child is considered an adult, the guardians are responsible for that child and can make decisions for that child.

[anamardoll]

I think what bothers a lot of readers is that the "age appropriateness" sounds like an after-the-fact justification for removing a book on religious grounds.

I think Shakespeare isn't age-appropriate for high schoolers. (ROMEO AND JULIET IS NOT A ROMANCE STORY, KIDS! PLEASE BELIEVE ME ON THIS.) You could argue that Huck Finn isn't really age appropriate either. Uncle Tom's Cabin may have important historical significance, but it's *not* a kid's book. And so on.

We don't teach books in high school because they are "age appropriate" -- if we did, half the curriculum would be VERY different. I'd day that 90% of high school literature was originally written towards an adult audience.

We teach those books because they raise (or raised) important issues and we want to teach those issues to our citizens. High school is pretty much the last chance to dispense mandatory knowledge in our country, so there you have it.

If the school board really went through and weeded out everything above The Babysitter's Club level, they might have... a consistent argument. A terrible one, but a CONSISTENT one. But saying oh, see this book that offends Christy McChristerson? It's...ah...not age appropriate. Yeah, that's it. Also, it attracts rats. Buh-bye. <--- That? That is censorship. It's not a reasoned, "here's what our budget will allow" or "gee, no one checks it out anyway because it's at a reading level higher than the students, so why keep dusting it once a year" decision. It's a "our religion doesn't like this book" decision. And THAT bothers me.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by queentess

Ah, but the school doesn't want to get into the business of telling parents how to raise children. Until that child is considered an adult, the guardians are responsible for that child and can make decisions for that child.

Which is precisely WHY a well-stocked school library is essential for students. Because since the kid is going to the school ANYWAY, they can read (on the sly) books that Mom and Dad might not find appropriate. And thus do we become individuals instead of carbon copies of our parents!

At least that's how it worked for me...

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Which is precisely WHY a well-stocked school library is essential for students. Because since the kid is going to the school ANYWAY, they can read (on the sly) books that Mom and Dad might not find appropriate. And thus do we become individuals instead of carbon copies of our parents!

At least that's how it worked for me...

On a semi-related side-note:

When I was a child (11 or 12), I had a run-in with an over-zealous librarian who wouldn't allow me to check-out books from the "adult" section and would constantly steer me back into juvenile kiddie-land. She became my arch-nemesis. I wasn't trying to be difficult... my reading level and comprehension skills just happened to be above most kids my age, so I was bored with juvenile books. I read a lot (don't worry, my reading and comprehension slowed down later to the point where kids my own age caught and passed me ). This went on for the better part of a year. Exasperated, I finally took it to my parents (as a last resort; fully expecting them to side with the establishment) who surprised me by promptly going to speak to that librarian. Both of my parents... without the slightest hesitation on their part. They informed her and all the others that I was not to be restricted in any way (with regard to what books I wanted to check out). I've never been more proud of my parents than at that moment. They had given me the keys to the kingdom!

At the time... the school library and the public library were one and the same (yeah, the town was THAT small).

Sorry, I know that was pretty much off-topic (not to mention tl;dr), but anamardoll's post jogged my memory.

[anamardoll]

Diap, you clearly have awesome (in that regard, anyway) parents.

[odiakkoh]

Funny to hear that a school has banned it while my 16yr old brother is being forced to read it this summer for summer homework.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Exasperated, I finally took it to my parents (as a last resort; fully expecting them to side with the establishment) who surprised me by promptly going to speak to that librarian. Both of my parents... without the slightest hesitation on their part. They informed her and all the others that I was not to be restricted in any way (with regard to what books I wanted to check out).

I can think of books I don't want my kids to read because they'd be not-age-appropriate and potentially harmful to my kids. None of those books are likely to be in public libraries.

I'm not sure I can think of anything I'd restrict from my older kid who's almost 16; she's able to decide for herself how to evaluate what she reads. And I trust her not to start a meth lab in her room because some book made it sound cool. The younger kid's a bit more impulsive; I've got a couple more years before I'm willing to give her free access to all the information in the world... but a small-town library wouldn't have anything I would object to her reading.

[taming]

Speak, is taught in one of our Red Deer high schools in grade 10 English. It was brought into the curriculum specifically because the guidance staff had seen a significant uptick in overly controlling behaviour by male students and increased incidents of date rape. Discussion with students reading the book involve the school guidance department as well as the English faculty. The book was a finalist for the National Book Awards. An on-line teacher and students guide can be found here.

Different communities will make different decisions. I'm glad that I am in one that has decided to include this book in the curriculum.

[Shimarenda]

Originally Posted by queentess

Curious... why has no one commented about the other banned book, Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer? I hadn't heard of that one before. I'm sure the title alone was enough for some to want it banned

One Amazon reviewer, who actually liked the book and gave it 4 stars, said this in his review:

TWENTY BOY SUMMER deals with some mature issues including teenage sexuality. In fact, one of the major story lines is about Anna's attempt to meet twenty boys over the summer and lose her virginity to one of them -- they actually refer to it as "Anna's Albatross." I felt as if losing one's virginity was taken very casually in this story, and I kept hoping that there would be a big moral lesson at the end of the book. I realize that this casual approach might be reflecting reality in today's society, but I don't want my daughter reading about these things until she's much more mature.

I do find it interesting that there's only been one [make that "two"] comment about the board retaining Speak. It would seem that if the complainant were dictating things here, it would be removed as well.

I also think it is not right that the books were removed, provided that the library also holds other books not directly related to the curriculum. Since I don't know their specific space restraints or collection policies, I can't be 100% sure of the library's situation.

[anamardoll]

I felt as if losing one's virginity was taken very casually in this story, and I kept hoping that there would be a big moral lesson at the end of the book.

Hmm. Whereas if I had a daughter (I wish I could, but can't), I would want her to read books that reinforce that virginity isn't that big a deal in and of itself. I'm tired of every book and movie out there having SUPER VIRGIN POWERS invoked as reasons for why the Smurfette in the plot is even nominally important.

Speaking of, I recommend Valenti's "The Purity Myth" for an engaging discussion of why there is no medical definition of "virginity".

[Ditchleyportrait]

slaughterhouse five is one of the books that should be read in high school, especially by all the kids enlisting.

[DiapDealer]

slaughterhouse five is one of the books that should be read in high school, especially by all the kids enlisting.

Damn skippy!

[pidgeon92]

I read Speak years ago, and it is a wonderful book. Since then I've read every book by the author, and I've purchased her novels for my nieces.

I picked up Slaughterhouse Five a few minute ago. I've never read it, and now is better than never.

Twenty Boy Summer has been on my wishlist for a while. I'll pick that up with my next swagbucks Amazon GC.

[Shimarenda]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Hmm. Whereas if I had a daughter (I wish I could, but can't), I would want her to read books that reinforce that virginity isn't that big a deal in and of itself.

Which would be your prerogative, but not the place of a general educational curriculum.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by frquixote

Sorry, but the First Amendment says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. "

I don't see anything that says Congress was involved in this decision. Further, the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right of local communities to establish and maintain community standards.

I really do wish people would READ the Bill of Rights.

Then they obviously need some new people to move into that community. Block-busting, anyone?