Students within our department are required to read during the summer. My students (seniors) are required to read three texts...one required, two chosen from a list. So far I've had no complaints.
The freshmen read Lord of the Flies, and the juniors read The Giver and The Good Earth. These were chosen by the teachers and were pulled from our curriculum as well as the national curriculum list (although The Giver is quite young (as far as the reading level) for juniors.
So I was approached today by admin to choose new books that were less controversial... that there have been parental complaints this summer. I immediately answered "okay", but less than 2 seconds later I said..."no, not okay."
This is a slippery slope I'm not willing to slide down. Our teachers have valid reasons for choosing the literature they chose and they plan to utilize the themes in these books with discussion and writing within their own classrooms...(at least I'm hoping these teachers chose these books for some valuable educational reason.) If we change books, who's to say someone else won't complain? Can we please everyone? If we do that, will we please no one?
It's a rough way to start the school year and a definite downer for teachers who are excited about the year getting underway. What do you guys think?
Are there alternatives? Can we put a list out there and allow the students to choose from the list? Does that defeat the purpose of having classroom discussion on a specific piece of literature? What are the purposes for reading. The New York Times ran an article last week that promoted summer reading for kids in order to keep their minds engaged with something academic over the break. And Ive found, for the most part, students enjoy having the reading to do over the summer.
Is it truly possible to say "Read whatever you want" and students will be able to understand themes and realize emotional or intellectual development within the book's characters and/or possibly within themselves without discussion with others?
We'll see how this plays out. I've asked to meet with admin and the parents to find out what exactly the problem is with these three texts. I'm open for discussion, but I'm not open to change a classroom plan b/c one parent decides it would be better for her children. Options, or opportunity for options,I'm fine with.
By the way...it's one parent...the same parent of two children...one child is a freshman, the other a junior. And the junior apparently is now coming forward to say how disturbed he was as a 9th grader (two years ago) while reading The Lord of the Flies. We had no idea. (And that book is only for the College Prep class.)
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6 comments:
You are right, Casey, there is never going to be a list of books that pleases everyone, but pleasing students and their guardians is not the point of education. Learning is uncomfortable at times. Trying to put students into position to learn something far from what they already know is difficult and not without controversy. Learning is difficult. Learning to understand the world is difficult, but think about what can be accomplished if we, our students and their parents included, learn to think outside of our own belief systems and knowledge base. Wow! If we can understand others through reading, we can act out with understanding, sympathy and empathy to others we encounter who are not like us.
I have been involved in defending several texts and would be thrilled to help you out any way that I can.
NCTE.org is a wonderful resource for defending texts. If you do not have a membership, I will be happy to share my login info with you.
What would I do in your position? I would continue to choose books as wisely as you already have, then I would invite parents to check out these books and read them for themselves. Have a parent book club evening to talk about a book - make sure you give them homework, such as reader response questions, so they are prepared for discussion and so the discussion is about the text, not the issue of banning books.
Kelly
Thank you Kelly for these words. It's encouraging because I'm in the position to explain to my teachers this very thing, and help them defend their choices...and it's nice for someone to reiterate my thoughts.
I am a member of NCTE, but haven't had time to research just yet. A meeting is scheduled for Monday, and I look forward to sharing these and many ideas.
On an odd end of the spectrum, it's very hard for me to look through the eyes of a parent when things like this happen so I tend to be a little critical. I've stewed all day (in my mind) and because of that accomplished a great deal in my classroom today. Yay!! :)
I don't expect it to be a big deal. The parents are kind people and like I said, I think discussion with them with me personally will extinguish any flames.
And you know what...I am going to start that parent book club. I LOVE that idea! Thank you!
I think that the process for parental appeal should be as extensive and thorough as the process of selecting a valuable text that meets college and district academic expectations.
Does your district have a formal process outlined for the protest of texts? You might check with the librarian and see if she has a process in place?
A few library books were protested in the Queen City last school year, but the district has a protocol: The parent reads the book and outlines, in writing, specific sections that are offensive. A building (or district)committee of readers should be selected to include parents, teachers (not just English teachers), maybe a counselor, librarian, administrator. These representatives read and evaluate the text.
If the parent doesn't accept the findings of the committee then they could take it to the school board and repeat the process to include board members and community members.
When I asked a friend (counselor) who had participated in one of these committees, she said that most people take the form for protest but never turn it in. Those who do turn it in usually stop after the initial committee reaches its decision.
Casey, I know how you feel. My last year began the same way -- parents disagreeing with a novel I assigned AP seniors. These parents aired their complaints before the Board. The Board's response? "Let's let the professionals do their job."
My gut reaction is not to change your novels. Random reading assignments do not work. And I agree with the thematic start of the year. A reading list would not lend itself to this positive opening. What, exactly, do the parents disagree with in these novels?
I found last year that the dicy part was how to work with the students and the novel The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid, a book on MU's suggested high school reading list. My students had listened to their parents and were waiting to see what I had to say. We held an open forum, listing reactions to all three novels they had read. Thus all students got to hear what everyone, including myself, thought. Worked pretty well, but put more energy into those particualr summer readings than I had planned.
I hope that all turns out well. Keep us posted.
Susan
P.S. A short research unit on banned books (including, of course, Harry Potter) might be a good way to start the year.
Casey,
How was the issue resolved? Was the parent satisfied with the outcome? Or is the issue still hovering over your department's head??
Just Curious,
Laura
It hasn't died....but the light has dimmed. I think everything will be okay this year...but it will forever be in the mind of admin now.
And I'm the dept. chair, which is why I had to gather materials and speak on behalf of the other teachers. But now I'm giving the board a policy to look at and possibly adopt about this type of issue if it ever comes up again. And I used something from EVERYONE who commented...I LOVE this blog of networked colleagues!!!! :)
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