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Vol. 37, No. 11
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Battle continues over English curriculum at MSD
by Eric Stearley eric@thepaperofwabash.com Tensions ran high at the Metropolitan School District’s May 13 board meeting as a packed room full of parents and concerned citizens voiced their objections to the list of reading materials proposed for high school students. The contentious debate grew out of a board policy reform last year, which requires teachers to submit supplementary book selections for approval by the board. As part of the new procedure, parents were given the opportunity to review the selections and submit objections to books that they didn’t think should be included. In total, teachers from both district high schools submitted more than 90 books for review. Books will be approved for a six-year period, similar to textbook adoption. The board policy requires teachers to submit titles for review that some people may find objectionable. “We tossed it around, and we said, ‘how would we know what someone might object to?’ So, the teachers decided to vet all 90-100 books,” Superintendent Sandra Weaver said during the meeting. Parents were given 30 days to review the list and submit objections. In the end, three families objected to a total of eight books: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Meyers, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. The last three books on that list were quickly removed. After submitting five objections, Carmen Fleck received an email from submitting teacher and Northfield High School English depart-
Early deadline for Memorial Day On Monday, May 26, schools and businesses will take a day off to honor those who died while serving our country. The Paper will join in this remembrance. Because of this important national holiday, our deadlines for news to appear in the May 28 edition have been moved up. The deadline for news and press releases is Thursday, May 22 at 5 p.m. The deadline for advertisements is Friday, May 23 at noon. As we remember those who have fallen, The Paper’s staff would like to thank all veterans for their service to our country.
BRAD FLECK VOICES HIS CONCERNS regarding the books proposed for the Metropolitan School District of Wabash County’s English curriculum. Fleck was one of eight parents who voiced their opinions during the meeting. (photo by Eric Stearley) ment head Erin Sapusek. “She said, ‘I have decided to rescind Perks of Being a Wallflower, Thirteen Reasons Why, and Warm Bodies. These are selections that I value as great books and good reads, but they are best served as recreational reading at the choice of the student,’” Fleck said, quoting the email from Sapusek. “I had asked for more time, and she wanted to save me the hassle, because she figured Warm Bodies would be one that I would object to as well.” A fourth selection, Fallen Angels, was later removed from the list. “We vetted classroom sets that were there,” Weaver said during the board meeting. “No one has any intention of teaching it, but they decided to vet what was there. I talked with the board the other day, and that is going to be removed from the list. We decided that since no one has any intent of teaching it, we would remove it.” “I don’t like the books that were on there, especially the Fallen Angels,” said School Board President Matt Driscoll. “Besides it being on there, it’s fiction. It’s one thing to have a true story where you can get some value out of somebody growing up and learning something from bad things happening to them. A true story is a lot different when there’s a positive end to it versus make believe. I’m not a big fan of fiction in the classroom like that.” With four books left on the objection list, the focus turned to The Glass Castle, an autobiographical memoir. During the current school year, the book was taught
in junior English classes, as well as a freshman honors English class. Teresa Sears was the first to speak out during the public comments section of the board meeting. “I wonder if the board has read the books on the list,” said Sears. “As a Christian, I don’t take God’s name in vain, and I don’t want my children reading that, but it wasn’t only God’s name in vain, it was the filth. Absolute filth. I wish you brought your kids here so I could read it to them.” Sears read a list of objectionable words to the board after clarifying, with those in attendance, which book the words were taken from. She was visibly upset. “My children will not sit in a class with that vulgar language,” said Sears. “Some day they can choose to read it on their own, and that time will come when they answer to God.” Sears was not the only parent to voice an opinion. In total, eight parents presented their concerns. “There are a lot of words that I wouldn’t want my children or grandchildren reading,” said Doug Friedersdorf. “There’s a lot of profanity, graphic violence, kissing, sexuality, homosexuality…” Friedersdorf then read a synopsis of the plot that several members of the audience and school board found objectionable. “It won the YALSA Alex Award in 2006 for adult books, not children,” said Friedersdorf. “This is pathetic. Whoever’s giving you your 90 books to
choose from needs to be raked over the coals.” Friedersdorf was correct in stating that The Glass Castle won the award, however, YALSA stands for Young Adult Library Services Association, which is a division of the American Library Association. The Alex Awards, in particular, are given to 10 titles each year that “have a special appeal to young adults, ages 12-18.” The book spent a total of 261 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. It received three objections, the most of any book on the list. “The Glass Castle is [a] great read,” Fleck said in an interview prior to the meeting, “but I have trouble thinking that a ninth grader can separate…the sexuality that’s in there, that content, to find the value of the book.” “There are a lot of kids (in our schools) that are sexually abused,” concerned parent Sandi Kirtlan said in an interview. “They’re in years of therapy.” “Some of them haven’t even come out that they’ve been sexually abused,” her husband Scott added. “Some kids have experienced this and have just been holding it in for all of these years.” “They’re wanting to bring these kids into a classroom and teach something that the parents don’t even know they’re bringing in, and by the time the parent realizes that their kid is reading this book, all that therapy is gone,” Sandi continued. “That could be a great book, but in a therapeutic setting for these kids,” added Scott. “There are kids that, that would (continued on page 5)