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.