At least we now know who is behind the movement to have these books banned from the school curriculum. I hope that people who value educational freedom will also attend these important meetings and let their voices be heard.

Wow. While I agree with the elimination of dirty dancing and the enforcing of dress codes, I am not on board with the baning of books. We are talking literature, well-written stories with educational substance. High school students should be mature enough to handle "Beloved", and to view it as pornography?!?! I do not believe that either of the books in question are being used for shock value but instead for their ltierary contributions. We are also talking AP English, students in a college-prep advanced course. If he or she cannot handle this, I highly recommend not going to college and living with mom and dad safely in the basement for the rest of his or her life.

Emily,
When these kids attend college, they will be ADULTS. Now, they are MINOR CHILDREN and as such, should not be exposed to sexually explicit material by an adult. That's called child abuse in every other part of society. Any literature teacher who can't find non-explicit works to demonstrate the same literary techniques isn't much of a teacher in my opinion.

Should public schools ought to be sponsoring dances in the first place?? Shortly after arriving to middle school, students as young as 11 may feel pressure to attend a dance, find a date, a group of friends; this doesn't come easy for all kids and dances can be come an exclusive social event. What does this have to do with learning?

Are there other social events available that promote learning/skill development?

If parents are not comfortable with a novel their student is reading in AP English or feel their son/daughter is not mature enough to handle it have them drop the class... It's not required. Although, they will be reading these stories in less than a year (more than likely). How much maturation will occur in this time?

The extreme nature and pervasiveness of obscenity in these books renders the entire texts unsuitable for public schools whose mission is to cultivate the best behavior in students. If the author is justified in using this language to portray authentically adolescent culture and the emotional experiences of adolescents, then surely students are justified in using this language in school, to express themselves with their clothing, and on dance floor with acts of sex, again to “be authentic.” Every parent should be able to send their child to school confident that their beliefs regarding decency and morality will not be challenged by educators or curricula, especially since this confidence can be secured without compromising the academic endeavor. It is even more important today in a culture in which profanity, obscenity, and sexual imagery relentlessly bombard our youth, that schools stand as one of the last bastions of integrity, civility, and temperance. If objections to, for example, the use of obscenity, acts of sex, rape, represented the imposition of religious belief, then why do virtually all school districts have policies against its use by students and administrators in school? Isn't it the mark of a civilized society to honor the concerns and values of people of diverse faiths and to aspire to decency. Schools should teach those texts that students will likely not read on their own, not merely pandering to the tastes of adolescents.

You make some great points, sd. My first semester of college we were asked to read a book entitled "Makes Me Wanna Holler" by Nathan McCall. I was 18 and this was a class I had to take. There was obsenity and sexual imagery throughout. My only point is that AP English is not a required class, it is an elective. There is no shame in dropping a class you (or your parents) deem innapropriate. Thoughts?

But equally important is the issue of whether taxpayers, even those of us who have no children in school, should be required to fund the teaching of offensive material.

Kathryn Thompson...it is not just a "dance style" that is in question but THE actual act on the dance floor. And because it is popular does not mean we should allow.

sd:

The problem is that what is offensive to you may not be offensive to someone else, or, in the case of these books, the educational value outweighs the few parts that you might find offensive. And something that is taught may not be offensive to you, but might be to someone else. If we banned everything that might be offensive to someone there would much less available to teach. If we follow what you want to do we will all have to abide by your beliefs, whether we agree with them or not. The best a school district can do is try to offer the most knowledge it can while still be respectful of individual differences. These texts may challenge your ideas about decency and morality, but no one is forcing you to read them. Your beliefs should not have a veto power over what is taught or over what I choose to have my children read in school. Finally, I pay taxes, too, and I believe these books should be left in the curriculum. Don't my beliefs count?

Taxpayers do not have a line-item veto on every cent of their money. They benefit from the groups they support, whether it be local schools, libraries, road crews, colleges, medical or other government services. Their representatives vote on their behalf. The place to participate in these decisions is at local school board meetings, town halls, letters to editors and office holders, voting on legislation, and contacting your local representatives to voice your concerns. The book committees are the way to investigate the context and validity of these course books.

They're worried about a 17 year old reading some offensive words or bumping and grinding at a school dance? Yeah, that's definitely the worst thing that their 17 year old is doing.

Stop babying our children! The more you make an issue the more they will want to check it out! It all starts at home and teaching family values. As long as they know what is expected in their family then you should not worry. Be involved and ask questions and let them know they can ask you questions. Why are people so afraid of our children learning about sex? The more we shelter the worse off our kids will be! Leave the books alone! As far as the dancing, it has been happening for so many years! If you are a parent that is complaining about it then be at the dance!!!!!! Enforce the rules by being involved! I am so sick of hearing all of this!!!!!!!

I don't understand why we need to call this "Banning Books". Please read the material in question before having a "Knee-jerk reaction" and declaring Dr. Hughes and other concerned parents guilty of banning books. I am absolutely confident that these adults are not trying to rob our kids of the opportunity of becoming mature, educated and enlightened and adults. Are our literature choices so limited that we can only educate our students with books containing this kind of material? I know our culture is becoming more and more inundated with graphic sexual images, but i am completely confident that the intelligent teachers at the Park are capable of finding literature that is just as "Mature" without raping our students' minds. Perhaps Canton Patch readers are thinking, "An evening of watching TV or going to the movies or even walking down the hall and overhearing conversations among students at the Park will offer much more graphic depictions than these books. Perhaps. But i have the opinion that parents, teachers and administrators have the responsibility of providing a higher standard and exposing them to examples that inspire future world leaders toward excellence. Spending time reading of beastiality, incest, and detailed explanations of similar situations are unnecessary when there are so many other contemporary models of literature that can accomplish the same learning objectives for university bound high school students.

I absolutely agree with Michael Pare's comments. sd...rent the movie footloose and watch it. It is the PARENTS responsiblity to know what their children are reading! If it is something that you do not approve of, then do not allow your child to read it! However, just because your child cannot read it, doesn't meant that MY child should hot have the opportunity to read it. YOUR child and YOUR beliefs are NOT more important than MY child or MY beliefs. I would not be opposed to "labeling" more mature literature with "Parent approval needed" labels in the schools library. If a student wants to read or check them out a signed note must be provided with the parents signature. Even that would be a fair compromise...however removing books because there are some people who are offended by them simply is wrong. The act of censorship is actually iagainst the very freedoms our country stands for. Every parent and student should have a CHOICE, period.

I certainly don't believe in censorship, and that isn't what this is about. I do believe in using review processes in place for such controversial books...would you call that censorship? I also believe in parental consent with full disclosure of questionable reading material before a requirement is made for a grade. By making this required reading, it is forced onto all, including those who are uncomfortable with it. That doesn't mean they are immature. If a teacher forced one student to read sexually explicit material that made that student feel uncomfortable, wouldn't that qualify for sexual harassment? It would according to PCCS Board policies and by-laws. There are so many quality choices available, why opt for the controversy? What is the exceptional quality of the literary value of graphic description of a 15 year old girl's "hole" being digitally explored by a teen boy? If you are offended by this, then why would you want anyone's teen kids to be required to read it for a grade? If you haven't read this controversial material yet, please go to the p-cap.org website on the current issues page, where you may obtain the portions of Waterland and Beloved being debated so that you may make a truly informed decision of what you think.

with all due respect, i will repeat what others have said... this is NOT a required class. I will also repeat that IF your child is in AP English your student was required to be recommended by his/her current English teacher LAST year & you were, as a parent, given the opportunity to review all possible books at some point over the summer. this is a college level class available ONLY to upperclassmen.
& when a book that has been in the PCEP curriculum for 8 yrs is removed from the classroom without proper protocol being followed & not allowed to be read, yes, i call that censorship.
I also find it a shame most people opposing the book have only read the controversial sentences. I hope you don't ever take your almost adult child to a holocaust museum, or to an art museum if there are Michelangelo paintings there.

It is required reading for this class. A student should have the opportunity to take this class based on academic ability, not based on their moral comfort level. That would be discriminatory. Also, full disclosure of questionable material to parents should be provided, not just a book list. If you are concerned with protocol, it was not followed to begin with. The book never received vetting before being assigned. Lastly, just because something has been around for 8 years doesn't make it a good thing....like grinding.

Just curious. Was your son/daughter the one morally appalled by this book or was it you? What is he/she going to do without parents at college next year? Avoid every situation where someone talks about sex, drugs or drinking? Good luck!

Tina:

These books are not "required" reading. A parent can ask to opt-out of some selections. The parent did not ask the teacher for a substitute. A compromise could have been worked out. Would you be OK with that or do you not want any student to read this material, not just the ones whose parents might be offended?

Mr. Andro:

All I know is what I have read in news reports about this on the Patch and Observer web-sites. It has been reported numerous times that parents could ask for another selection. It has also been reported that the parent never talked to the teacher, which common sense would seem to indicate would be the first thing a parent would do if they had concerns about a class and wanted them resolved. It's all part of the public domain.

Ann, my error in how I wrote that. My point was simply that these are kids taking the college equivalent, and I think this is ridiculous that these books are being scrutinzed. If the scenes in "beloved" are sexuallly arousing, these parents have more problems with their children than I am even able to address. How many of these parents have even READ these books? The students in these courses are supposedly mature, intellectual, and advanced academically. In a matter a months, many will be off to college. If you do not like the course selection, dances, or athletics offered at PCCS, I have a word for you: Homeschool.

Ann, I wish I could insert sarcasm into my comment. Please don't get me wrong, as I agree. That was my point...keep them sheltered forever because they are not going to be able to handle the real world if this is so upsetting to them. I think you and I would get along very well. I completely agree with your comments.

TM:

I don't understand where you get the idea that these are books written at the sixth-grade level. Beloved won a Pulitzer Prize. It is very challenging, college-level reading. Just because it has sex in does not make it adolescent.

mj- "raping our students' minds" .... "Spending time reading of beastiality, incest, and detailed explanations of similar situations are unnecessary". Who benefits from this kind of inflammatory comment? I assume your family Bible is in the trash or at least Genesis 19:30-36 is blacked out along with many other verses. Every one of the "unnecessary" acts you name are quite graphically portrayed in that book and presumably "rape" our minds as we read or study it. My point is that one can conjure fear and create divisiveness about a great many things: prize- winning college texts written by Nobel scholars, best-selling holy books, etc. If I am afraid that my son/daughter in AP Chemistry might choose to make an incendiary device, in AP Biology might use advanced knowledge to inflict pain on an animal, in AP History may come to admire excerpts from Mein Kampf, in AP Physics develop curiosity about construction of an atomic device, in AP Computing might create a virus to inflict serious damage, in AP French might come across the writing of the Marquis de Sade - then is the problem with the advanced nature of the studies and the world we live in OR is the problem with the fear we have encouraged in ourselves and the distrust we have in our own upbringing of our children. And if it is the latter, isn't that a private matter you and your family need to deal with instead of foisting your private fears on the rest of us who want our children to learn from the top scholars and texts?

I would find it embarrassing to challenge an AP History or AP Psych text/course because I personally was offended by the obscenity that IS Adolph Hitler being studied in the course. I might restrict my child from the course but to restrict the material from others studying it? Really? Because I can't handle it, study of him isn't of value? I completely support the district materials review process. It is built for incidents like this, when fear abounds and little real reading and sound judgment is being practiced. But much of what I read in PRO-removal comments are people regretting private choices they themselves made. And I hear private matters that should be handled within the family turned into blame of our best educators and blown into a public grievance in order to force the fears of a few onto the many. I understand that a Board member or 2 with this fear agenda have been elected? The organized group fanning the flames of this, equating it somehow with "dirty dancing" not only embarrasses themselves but the Plymouth-Canton community. We've seen these private matters taken public before. The strong community standards that are pro-education and learning are up to the challenge as they have been in the past.

Literature is complex and nuanced. From my admittedly permissive point of view, I had a good chuckle over the irony contained in the statement "We're Not Going Anywhere". Ever heard of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater"?

Why is is that the Parents Against Great Literature are using only initials to identify themselves? And as I read in the above article, why do they feel the need to "wear blue" so that they "will know who each other are and can sit together for support"? Those PCCS alumni certainly did not feel the need to hide their identity, neither did they all dress in a "team" color. Hmmm. Food for thought.

Now, the P-C community is shamed in the conservative Wall Street Journal.
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/18/books-a-banned-michigan-school-district-considers-waterland-beloved/?KEYWORDS=beloved+ban