Two New Letters

We can find two new letters in the local paper today. Pastor Scott Evans makes a good point when he writes the following:

We live by a double standard. We don't want our children reading "smut," as this has been called, but we allow them to watch movies and listen to music that are worse than anything that you'll find in the library.

Doesn't make you wonder what Tracy and her kids are watching tonight?

Joy Beck is the author of the other letter, Corrected Misconceptions. The following is an excerpt from her letter:

Lastly, at the risk of being politically incorrect, it is not necessary to read a book from cover to cover to ascertain its appropriateness for use in the public schools.

You can guess my opinion about that statement.

The New Testament

Mr. Walker has every right to his own opinion; however, the rest of us have the right to disagree. I don't think God wants my children growing up in ignorance of people whom they may be able/asked to help someday.

Other Voices

Not Worst Thing in the World

Don't Follow the Crowd

The Rest of the World

Wouldn't Have Read It Otherwise

The Committee Has Made a Decision

Well, the committee has made its decision, and I don't think it's one that either Norman or Dobson will like. Barnard seems to have forgotten his "whacko" comments made a month ago. Does anyone actually think the school board is going to accept the committee's findings?

The committee made a smart decision. As long as parents are notified and an alternative assignment can be offered, no one should object to this novel being taught at the high school level.

A Student's Perspective

Selfish Fuss

Learn from Debate

Not Clones


Other opinions:

Simmer Down
Bigger Trouble

The Latest Installment

Book broadens view

Morganton News Herald
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

As a native of Burke County, I was disappointed to read the recent letter to The News Herald from Margaret Hedrick in which she compared "The Kite Runner" to an X-rated movie and a pile of dog poop.

Most people who have read that book would recognize those comparisons as unjust and inaccurate.

At its best, this book is about redemption and forgiveness.

At its least, it informs our perspective on a country and culture with which the U.S. is actively engaged.

Perspective-taking of other cultures is an important part of understanding the world around us.
I am 38 years old, have lived in several states, traveled in most of the U.S. and a handful of other countries, so my world view is probably a little broader than that of the average 10th grader.
Reading "The Kite Runner" several years ago simply helped to broaden that view; it gave me a tiny bit of understanding of Afghani culture and the Islamic religion.

This book put a human face on the news reports of suicide and roadside bombings.
An understanding of another person's beliefs and culture is never a bad thing.
Without question there are some graphic scenes in this book and it is difficult to read about the horrific things one person is willing to do to another, but it is not in anyway a book full of gratuitous sex and violence.

The scene so often objected to in "The Kite Runner" may make you uncomfortable and it may make your soul ache, but this book is not about sex or rape.
It is about two boys who grow up together flying kites in their beautiful city and get caught up in war and terror and petty human jealousy in the worst ways, but survive it and forgive themselves and each other.

Laura Brown
Greensboro

Today's Opinions

One again, we find letters concerning TKR on the opinion page of the local paper. One, by Else Gottlieb, is well-thought and well-written even if I don't agree with her.

The other letter falls on the side of sheer ridiculousness. Mr. Mike Higgins actually calls TKR a stupid book, and tells everyone that it isn't necessary to actually read the book for ourselves. We should just trust others to tell us about it and to take excerpts out of context! What a lesson for our children!!!! Don't actually educate yourself about any issues, kids! Let's let the politicians and pundits do your thinking for you. If we are raising future leaders, should we encourage them to think for themselves and to gather as much information as possible before making decisions and forming opinions? I'm sure Hilter would have flourished in a world where people are complacent and gullible enough to think that one can make an informed decision without knowing all the facts. Thankfully, back in the 1940s, there were some folks out there who did think for themselves; otherwise, we'd all be speaking German.

Alexander Pope wrote that "A little learning is a dangerous thing." The key word there is "little."

Next, the comparison of reading a novel to trying crack cocaine is ludicrous, and I am not going to spend any more time on that statement.

Finally, while I am sure that he was trying to be witty, stating that the teacher should be jailed just makes his opinions sound even more absurd. If teachers should be jailed for teaching novels that include people committing crimes, then I guess students could never read the following:

Oliver Twist--He steals.
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer-- Both novels include theft and slavery (both of which are against the law).
Of Mice and Men--murder
The Scarlet Letter--Adultery is illegal is some states.
The works of Henry David Thoreau--It's illegal to refuse to pay your taxes.
The Great Gatsby--adultery and murder
The Canterbury Tales--Members of the traveling party (The Miller/The Pardoner) commit fraud.

I sure we could make this a lengthy list; however, I am going to end it now so that I can go read a book that someone told me was pretty good. I'm going to read it for myself so that I can form my own opinion. Shocking thought, isn't it?

If your worried about cussing . . .

Dr. Timothy Jay, author of Cursing in America and Why We Curse, has been studying swearing since the seventies. The following is an excerpt from an article by Melanie B. Glover of McClatchy Newpapers:

Cussing is a natural behavior learned from family members, according to Jay.

"It starts as soon as they learn how to talk," Jay says. "At a young age, they're attentive to emotions. When you're swearing to be funny or when you're angry that just draws them right to it."

Jay notes that the Internet, television and other media may be making adolescents more comfortable with swearing, but it is their parents' own language habits that are the biggest influence.

The solution, says Jay, is for parents to teach the etiquette of swearing.
-----
By the time they're in tenth grade, their language patterns have already be instilled.

More letters . . .

Thank you Patti Lail for writing to the News Herald. Your letter addresses many concerns shared by the people of Burke County.

Ms. Dean and Ms. Hedrick,

I am so glad that you exercised your constitutional right to express your opinions supporting Ms. Norman and her misguided, ill-informed attempt to keep our children from learning. You do have that right; however, you must realize that the students of Burke County have the right to ask for and receive an education that will prepare them for a future in a world-wide community that extends far beyond this county, state, and country.

Ms. Hedrick, your hyperbolic example leads me to reiterate what many have already stated: TKR is not trash. The term "pornography" does not apply in definition or intent; therefore, it can not be compared to an X-rated film. The greatest book of all, the Bible, has not been censored from classrooms. In fact, you'll probably find one in most classrooms in the county, and when I recently saw the course offering list from the high schools, it included an English class that studies the Bible.

News Herald Letters

Thanks to the author's of the following letters:


Movie Rated PG-13

Think For Yourself

Where Does It End?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if people made an effort to truly educate themselves about the facts and were also brave enough to think for themselves?


Also, thanks to the authors of Praises For Jeff Link for pointing out what a great job Jeff Link has done as AP/AD at EBHS. He is a hard-working, caring professional who doesn't get enough recognition for the tremendous job he does.

Please actually read the book . . .

I am once again astounded at the lack of insight people seem to have concerning the children of this county. In her letter to The News Herald, Elaine Harmon writes “a 15- or 16-year-old child is hardly ready for the events in this book, let alone the language” concerning TKR. Obviously, she hasn’t been to a movie lately, nor played a video game aimed at kids that age and younger. I agree that we need to protect our community, but we can't protect our children if we don't warn them about what lurks out there.

In response to the other letter in the newspaper, Lydia Daniel stated that a movie version of TKR would be rated R. Actually, the movie has been made. It’s PG-13. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, all those tenth graders could purchase a ticket to the movie without an adult present. Ms. Daniel accuses this book of “nurturing the darker side of human nature.” Anyone who has actually read the book, knows that it does the exact opposite. The novel isn’t meant to seduce children into aberrant behavior. It is a warning.

Support School Board article

Protect the Community article

People Are Reading

I never thought I'd say this, but, "Thank you Tracy." You've actually inspired people to read. Now, I know you didn't mean to do that. But it has happened. By trying to keep TKR from 10th graders, you've exposed people both older and younger to this wonderful novel.

We'll Read It Now
Lift Minds Out of the Gutter

Here's a challenge for everyone:

Research books that have been banned in various places for various reasons. It's not hard to find one. Just google "banned books." Choose one, read it, and tell others about it. Let us know if you enjoyed it and learned from it. Tracy and her BFFs, don't just skim looking for "dirty" words. Actually read a book.



"Fear of corrupting the mind of the younger generation is the loftiest form of cowardice." Holbrook Jackson

Last night's board meeting . . .

First of all, thank you to those speakers who supported TKR. Thank you for pointing out that our children need to be armed with knowledge in order to make the world a better place. Thank you, Sam and Buddy, for your comments. The book does have a tremendous redeeming value. Thanks for pointing out that the rape scenes were not in graphic detail, nor is the book pornographic.

Other board member comments: The brain doesn't mature until the mid-twenties.
Oh dear, the brain doesn't mature until the mid-twenties? Therefore, teachers can't assign TKR? Well, if the brain doesn't mature until the mid-twenties, then let's make sure that teens can't get a driver's license until they are 25. Also, maybe a person shouldn't be able to vote until he/she is 25??? We can use that argument for many, many things.


Hey, Tracy, I guess our kids can't read ROMEO AND JULIET. They may know someone who has committed suicide, and Shakespeare will encourage them to do it themselves. I guess they can't read THE SCARLET LETTER. They may have parents who have committed adultery, and the book might make them feel bad. I could go on. I guess the kids just can't read anything, because, heaven forbid, they might find some relevancy in a piece of literature. Tracy, where did you get your degree in child psychology?

Education with Tracy in charge sounds like an old song I know:

What did you learn in school today?
by Tom Paxton

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that Washington never told a lie,
I learned that soldiers seldom die,
I learned that everybody's free,
That's what the teacher said to me,
And that's what I learned in school today,
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that policemen are my friends,
I learned that justice never ends,
I learned that murderers die for their crimes,
Even if we make a mistake sometimes,
And that's what I learned in school today,
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned our government must be strong
It's always right and never wrong
Our leaders are the finest men
That's why we elect them again and again
And that's what I learned in school today,
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that war is not so bad,
I learned about the great ones we have had,
We fought in Germany and in France,
And someday I might get my chance,
And that's what I learned in school today,
That's what I learned in school

Amnesty International

According to the Amnesty International Website:


Human rights education is both a lens through which to observe the world and a methodology for teaching and leading others.

Amnesty International believes that learning about human rights is the first step toward respecting, promoting and defending those rights.

Why would we want the shield Burke County's children from this lesson?

Amnesty International's initial response to banning The Kite Runner:

You will see from our websiite (www.amnestyusa.org -- click on WHAT YOU CAN DO, then on EDUCATE) that Amnesty International USA has used this book/movie as a way to talk to young people about human rights issues.

Betsy, my contact at Amnesty International, has forwarded our issue to their human rights education department.



Something interesting from the curriculum guide:


“Hope is knowing that people, like kites, are made to be lifted up.”
- Afghanistan Relief Organization

Kite-running (Gudiparan Bazi) has been a favorite pastime in Afghanistan for the last 100 years, but there are few on the streets of Kabul that can forget the terror of living under the Taliban regime for so many years. Under Taliban rule, if you were caught with a kite, many times you would be beaten and the spool would be destroyed. However, since the fall of the Taliban regime, kite-running has again resurfaced tenfold.

Our children have so many freedoms that other children are denied. They need to know that many children go to bed hungry, get beaten for standing in the wrong place, and suffer horribly simply because of where they were born. I bet most of our kids would never dream that there are places where they might be beaten for the simple act of flying a kite. How can our children appreciate what they have or grow up to help change the world if we don't let them learn about what the world is really like?

News Herald's Coverage of NCAC Letter

The News Herald has published an article about the NCAC's letter.

If Norman and her buddy Dobson are so worried about the effect of words on our children, they should choose their's more carefully. Norman insensitively used the word "lynch" when discussing the teacher whose class read the book. Now look what Dobson has said:

"To me, this teacher raped their minds with no parental consent," Dobson said.

"Rape," like "lynch" is a powerful word. How can anyone compare educating children to such a vile act? It makes it sound as if our children were violated by this teacher. When, in reality, the school board is violating the rights and trust of all the county's children.

My karma ran over your dogma.

Where suspicion fills the air and holds scholars in line for fear of their jobs, there can be no exercise of the free intellect. . . . A problem can no longer be pursued with impunity to its edges. Fear stalks the classroom. The teacher is no longer a stimulant to adventurous thinking; she becomes instead a pipe line for safe and sound information. A deadening dogma takes the place of free inquiry. Instruction tends to become sterile; pursuit of knowledge is discouraged; discussion often leaves off where it should begin.

Justice William O. Douglas,United States Supreme Court:Adler v. Board of Education, 1951.

Hey Tracy, Did you know . . .

In 1987, a school system in Alaska banned the American Heritage Dictionary. Apparently, they thought their kids might learn some "bad words." Maybe you should find out who those people were and move to their town. I'll bake you a going-away cake.


***Note: Before someone accuses me of making a Barnard-like comment, Alaska is a beautiful state populated by many wonderful people. Unfortunately, like everywhere else in this great nation, they too have their Buffs, Barnards, and Normans.

Pornography, Witchcraft, and Other Issues

I am terrible saddened by some of the letters that I saw in today's News Herald. That anyone would write in support of banning a book that he/she admittedly has not read is astounding. Each person should educate himself/herself before making a statement. If you think the book is inappropriate, you're entitle to your opinion. But if you haven't even read the book, you have no business make comments that might affect others.


About filth/Playboy/pornography: According to the Oxford University Press and Brittannica Concise Encyclopedia, pornography is anthing that is meant to cause sexual arousal. If you have read The Kite Runner, you know that the disputed passage is no no way intended to arouse. If it does give you a thrill, then there's something wrong with you.

About the Harry Potter series: I can remember my mom reading a story to me when I was little, and I'm sure that folks who think Harry is a bad influence would want it banned. It had magic in it. It had a witch in it. It even included a character who was supposed to cut out another character's heart. Yep, folks. I'm sure many of you would be shocked if you knew that your five year-olds were reading such non-Christian filth. Why don't you get up a petition? I'm sure you'll find lots of people who will support you in banning the story my mom read to me when they realize that it's probably in every school in the county. Yes sirree, that "Snow White" might turn me into a Satan worshipper.

Click here to see the NCTE/NCAC letter

Here's some reading material for Barnard, Norman, and Buff.

Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned From the School Board????

Everything I Ever Needed to Know I learned From the School Board . . .

• My ABC’s—no, wait! That was from my mom.
• How to read—Oh, that was a teacher.
• How to do algebra—nah, another teacher
• Compassion—That was from a five year-old who was patted my hand while I cried.
• How to drive a stick shift—Nope, that was my daddy.
• How to tell time—my pre-school teacher.
• How to spell my name—My mommy, again.
• You can’t believe everything that you hear—That lesson came from my grandfather.
• The corner biscuit is always the best one—Gee, that was my uncle.
• You should always tell the truth—my parents.
• Not to take my freedoms for granted—my civics teacher.
• That sometimes the right thing isn’t the easy thing—Grandma taught me that one and how to bake a cake from scratch!
• Persistence—Wile E. Coyote
• Snakes aren’t slimy!—a difficult lesson from my big brother.
• That you should always share—My kindergarten teacher.
• That some kids didn’t have the advantages that I had—Mrs. B. in first grade.
• That Jesus loves the little children—My first Sunday school teacher
• You can’t get pregnant by just kissing—Some little fourth grader told me that one.
• All the “bad” words—I probably learned them from the previously mentioned fourth grader.
• Where babies come from—I picked that one up from a classmate too.
• If you swallow an orange seed a tree won’t grow in your belly—Big Bird and the rest of the Sesame Street gang.
• Squirrels like peanut butter—My uncle T.
  
  Gee Whiz! I guess I haven’t learned as much from the school board as I thought. Oh, wait! I have one:
  The rules don’t apply to the people in charge—That’s what the school board has taught me.

Dr. Hosseini's Page

If you would like more information on The Kite Runner, you should visit the above link to Dr. Hosseini's pages. Once there, you will find a link to his blog. You may want to comment and let him/his publishers know of the recent controversies. Your comment will not show up on the blog immediately, as it would on this one.

Another shocking book found in schools!

My child came home the other day and told me the most shocking things. She said she had been reading a book that several other students at her school are also reading. In fact, she said that she was sure there was a copy of it in her school library and many teachers had copies of it on their classroom shelves. I asked her what was so scandalous about this book. The following list contains many of the topics that she found discussed in the book:
· Sex/Lust
· Prostitution
· Adultery
· Lying
· Stealing
· Murder
· Witchcraft
· Demons
· People worshipping non-Christian gods
· Violence
· Words such as bastard and damn
· Animal sacrifice
· Fathers trying to kill their own children
· People being stoned to death
· People being left to be devoured by vicious animals
· People being beaten and tortured
· Polygamy
· Homosexuality
· Sodomy

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! How could all those serious subjects fit into one literary work? Who would think that reading it would be appropriate for my sixteen year-old? I asked her to let me see the book. I just knew that if I had a copy of it and bookmarked certain pages, I could email it to Ms. Norman, Mr. Buff, and Mr. Barnard. Surely they would see all this “obscenity” and do their best to keep it out of our schools! Then, when my daughter handed me the book, I realized that she had been reading the Bible.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I realize that the scenario above was trite and predictable. However, it does illustrate a point. For centuries, mankind has realized that in order to raise our children to be moral and just, we must arm them with the necessary knowledge. Sometimes that knowledge isn’t pretty. It won’t always come wrapped in pretty ribbons and tasting sugary sweet. There are times when it is necessary to taste the vile bitterness in order to understand and grow. The fact that a book is upsetting, has a little violence, or has a few words that you wouldn’t say yourself, doesn’t mean that it has no educational value. You should remember that Ms. Norman the next time you sit in Sunday School.

Bad Influences

For those of you who are worried that our children might be harmed by reading, think about this quote from former NY mayor James Walker:

"I never knew a girl who was ruined by a book."

With all the issues our teens are facing (drug abuse, pregnancy, physical abuse, etc.), why are some people upset that our children are actually reading? When a teacher finds a resource that makes students excited about learning, why would you want to take that away?

Censorship and Obscenity

The following paragraphs are taken from the American Library Association page about intellectual freedom. Using the Supreme Court's own guidelines, I don't see how anyone can find
The Kite Runner pornography and/or obscene.



What Are The Most Frequently Censored Materials?
Throughout history, books have been challenged for many reasons, including political content, sexual expression, or language offensive to some people’s racial, cultural, or ethnic background, gender or sexuality, or political or religious beliefs. Materials considered heretical, blasphemous, seditious, obscene or inappropriate for children have often been censored.
Since the dawn of recorded human expression, people have been burned at the stake, forced to drink poison, crucified, ostracized and vilified for what they wrote and believed.

Aren’t There Some Kinds Of Expression That Really Should Be Censored?
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that there are certain narrow categories of speech that are not protected by the First Amendment: obscenity, child pornography, defamation, and “fighting words,” or speech that incites immediate and imminent lawless action. The government is also allowed to enforce secrecy of some information when it is considered essential to national security, like troop movements in time of war, classified information about defense, etc.

What Is Obscenity?
Sexual expression is a frequent target of censorship. But the Supreme Court has told us that material is not obscene unless a judge or jury finds that an average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material appeals to the prurient (or morbid, shameful, and unhealthy) interest in sex (note that, by its definition, the Court implicitly recognized that there is such a thing as a healthy interest in sex!); that it depicts or describes certain sexual acts defined in state law in a patently offensive way; and that a reasonable person (community standards do not control this last element) would find that the material lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. All three elements must be present for material to be judged by a judge or jury as obscene and, therefore, illegal.

Some Commonly Banned Books

• Bible
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• Bridge to Teribithia
• Goosebumps (series)
• The Pigman
• The Outsiders
• Where's Waldo

First Post

I am greatly concerned by the events of the past few weeks. As many of you who know me know, two members of the Burke County Public Schools Board of Education are trying to ban The Kite Runner without following proper challenge procedures. Also, it is quite obvious that the members have neither truly read nor thought about this book. They see it as dangerous and morally corrupting. It is neither. I am encouraging any and all people to let these board members know that you are disgusted by their closeminded efforts to deny our children a proper education.

School board members' addresses can be found at www.burke.k12.nc.us.

Also, check out skoolbored.blogspot.com to learn more about the atrocities being enforced upon Burke County's children, parents, teachers, and communities.