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.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
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.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
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 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
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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
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
Monday, March 17, 2008
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?
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?
Friday, March 14, 2008
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.
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.
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