catapult magazine

One more thought pertaining to your comment from your first posting….at what point do we pull books for one student or from the library shelves?
For one student?….not if you’re already in it…see my other posting for compromise in this matter. For consideration to be pulled for next year?…definitely considerable if there is a replacement of equal worth and if it won’t compromise requirements or set a precedence. Sometimes it pays to lose a battle for strategy’s sake…send this set of parents off happy and prevent an all out public jumping on the bandwagon. Wisdom my dear!
Now a library…that’s another matter altogether. It is a rare, rare book that I would ever want pulled from a library shelf. Are there some I might choose to never put on our Reformed Christian library shelves? yes. Do I practice wisdom in book selection guidance and purchasing? I try to…prevention sometimes applies here, especially at the elementary library. I discuss openly with the elementary students about books they ask about us not having on the shelves and why…I try to teach respect for different points of view and why I choose to not purchase some popular titles. I also point out that with their parents permission they can visit a public library where the selection may include these books for checkout.

I think what you just wrote is a very good articulation of your side of things. And I think if you’re going to use the Bible in reasoning with these parents, it’s better to point out examples like Rahab and the like than to blindly throw lewd passages at them. I’d take what you just wrote and go from there. Well said, el butto de pumpkino.

Thanks stinky.

i have to apologize for “opening a can of worms” with my post and then abandoning the thread. i should clarify that i wasn’t realistically suggesting that throwing the Ezekiel verse in the face of the parents would be a good idea. i agree that it would be inappropriate, so please don’t let a misunderstanding of my intent cause you to question the foundation of *cino.

i wanted to make the point that the Bible shows human beings at their worst and, because it is God-breathed, we trust that it will represent sin truthfully. of course we have to be discerning, but i believe literature can do the same thing, showing our sin in the context of pain and ultimate dissatisfaction.

in Snow Falling on Cedars, one sex scene takes place between a married couple that is passionately in love. the other scene takes place between two young unmarried children and it takes them both half a lifetime to reconcile themselves to the act of having given themselves so fully to one another without a social context in which they had or could make a commitment to one another. sin and the consequences of sin (as well as praise of obedience) are all present in the book. these passages, which affirm the same values as the Ezekiel passage, can be abused as easily as a Bible verse.

i think the tendency to take books off the shelves speaks to more than just bad decision-making. i think it speaks to a misunderstanding of the death and resurrection of Christ, the acceptance of which frees us from the fear that we will be overcome by evil because Christ was already victorious. i think you’re right, Anne, that the best thing for these parents to do would be to read the book with their daughter and discuss it, to confront whatever element of sin they may see in the book with the light of the truth.

I wanted to update you on the challenge I’ve had with The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Three high school students (young men reading!) have/are reading it…one on the recommendation of the other who read it last year. He has since come back for Beyond the Chocolate War. I’m looking forward to discussing it with them—hopes of a book discussion group among high schoolers—what more could we ask?! I am thrilled!
Anyway, I was able to meet and talk with the father of the middle school student who objected to the C.W. in the first place….he and the teacher came to the library to get a book re-evaluation request form. (My form asks if they’ve read the book they are objecting to) Most importantly, I was able to meet the father, shake his hand, introduce myself, thank him for his concern about and interest in what his child was reading, and reassure him that I had taken steps to honor his concerns. He was taken aback at my friendliness and respect for his concern and probably will not even follow through on the re-evalutation form. He wanted to know I understood his concern, that he was heard and honored as a parent.
Annie, I like the suggestion of reading the book with their children…we continue to recommend that parents do that with their children re: Harry Potter series…I think this suggestion is the most Christian response and opens up a world of opportunity for communication of a parent’s values which is what we want with our children…and then to enable them to be ‘salt and light’…excellent!

I began my AP class – and my teaching career – this year with a parent who was hopping mad because I had the students read a short story that included several sex scenes and the f-word. I may have actually set some sort of record for new teachers making parents mad – not something I’m exactly thrilled about, but that’s life. After discussing the story with my students, however, I had them read “The Fiction Writer and His Country” by Flannery O’Connor, an essay published in “Mystery and Manners”. Two quotes from that essay and the resulting discussion seem especially appropriate to this conversation:
First,
“In the introduction to a collection of his stories called Rotting Hill, Wyndham Lewis has written, “If I write about a hill that is rotting, it is because I despise rot.” The general accusation passed against writers now is that they write about rot because they love it. Some do, and their works may betray them, but it is impossible not to believe that some write about rot because they see it and recognize it for what it is."

and second,
“St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in instructing catechumens, wrote: “The dragon sits by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the Father of Souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon.” No matter what form the dragon may take, it is of this mysterious passage past him, or into his jaws, that stories of any depth will always be concerned to tell, and this being the case, it requires considerable courage at any time, in any country, not to turn away from the storyteller."

Fantastic quotes Kris. I appreciate them.
You wouldn’t happen to be the new English teacher at LWC would you?

Sure am, and loving every minute!

Well folks, I thank you kindly for your help. I had my committee meeting today with the concerned parent. Two and a half hours later we walked out of the school deciding to keep the book in the classroom (four committee members in favor and one against). The gentleman was not as aggressive as his letter was, which was both unexpected and very welcome.
Ultimately, the issue came down to a fundamental difference between reading a book and being guided through a book. After rereading it, there are some offensive parts that are iffy for a high school junior. But everyone in the room understood that just because something is offensive, does not always make it inappropriate provided that proper guidance is there to help students discern what is good and what is not. His biggest concern with the book (and to a certain extent, mine as well) was that we could not promise, nor can any school, to always have the proper guidance in place for every piece of literature. This is where trust comes in. Schools hire teachers to give guidance in their subject matter. To teach students how to think in addition to formulaic content. His decision to send his daughter to a public school plays into that trust issue. If you can’t trust a public school, trust a Christian school. If you can’t trust a Christian school, home school.
He appreciated our candor and we appreciated his. And I appreciate all of your help. This has been a week of the devil with grad classes, parent teacher conferences and this meeting, but the help I got through this posting helped me out quite a bit. And for that I bid you a thank you and a fond good night.
Norb

Rereading my last post I am sorry to have not kept you up to date. Despite the gentleman respecting our feelings on the book he continued his crusade to have the book banned.
It worked.
I just got back from a board meeting that decided to remove the book from the curriculum. Despite offering direct instruction of both Snow Falling on Cedars and Night by Wiesel and Julias Ceasar as alternates, and despite the support of several parents, we will no longer be allowed to teach the book in any context to any classes.
What really frosts my cookies is that several of the board members have students in the high school. Students of two of the seven board members told their teachers that their (in this case) fathers did not read the book but their mother’s did. What is stopping this child from refusing to read Macbeth next year under the grounds that her schoolboard-father was expected to read a book but didn’t so why should I have to read something?
I feel bad that parents who announced that they wanted their children to have the experience of reading Snow Falling on Cedars in Cedar Grove/Belgium High School will not have the chance for that to happen. I feel disappointed that our school board made a largely uninformed decision to remove a celebrated and well-written book. And I feel targeted that this decision was a vote of no-confidence for the English teachers in this district.
Is Steinbeck next? Hawthorne? Shakespeare? Twain? What should my next step be? Should there be a next step? I certainly don’t want to lay down and die, but I also don’t want to further jeopardize my job or the respect of my department.
Any advice?

Here’s what I’m thinking. In lieu of Snow Falling on Cedars, you have them read another book with similar themes … or whatever it is you English teachers look for in a book. THEN, offer extra credit (but not too much to get you into trouble) to students who wish to read the banned book on their own. Be upfront about the fact that it’s a banned book and why. Have their parents sign a permission slip allowing the extra credit. Ask them to write a short reaction paper to the themes, particularly the controversial ones.

Then, the next time this issue rears its ugly head, you might have some proof from your more ambitious students that this “banned book” didn’t hurt them.

Also, I’d get proactive right now before the next book gets set on the chopping block. Get some students and parents behind you, if possible … without creating too much uproar. Ask that the school board, with your input, develop some guidelines for determining if a book should be banned. Present them with a proposal, as they sound pretty stupid.