Sometimes I think, "man, what a great place to live. . . people leave you alone and let you do what you want as long as you don't bother them." Then I read something like this:
October 09, 2007
Kanawha Board of Education considers book ban
Nitro High School pulled ‘Prince of Tides,’ one other Pat Conroy novel
By Davin White
Staff writer
Kanawha school board members Bill Raglin and Pete Thaw argued Monday against teaching two Pat Conroy books at Nitro High School. The books were suspended after some parents complained, prompting a student protest Friday and heated debate on both sides.
“Why would we press the issue and give [students] books like that?” Thaw asked.
During Monday’s special session, Raglin argued with Judy Gillian, who defended teachers’ rights to introduce controversial books in class and the school board’s policy behind suspending the books.
The Conroy novels “Beach Music” and “The Prince of Tides” were suspended from Steve Shamblin’s Advanced Placement literature class at Nitro. At least two parents complained about the books, citing graphic violence and scenes of sexual assault.
Why does my paradise have to be situated in the middle of a state iinhabited by backwoods slack jawed morons? Actually, this is taking place inside the capital city of West Virginia. These aren't some small group of rural ignorant inbred buffoons. This is the school board located within walking distance of the state capital complex.
Pat Conroy, some of the most fetching and relevant literature of the modern american era is being banned from an "Advanced Placement" high school literature class. This is so sickening it requires very little commentary.
I guess that's why I prefer the company of my farm animals.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I grew up in southern WV down near Princeton. We moved to Michigan in the late 60's. I still think it is a beautiful state with some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, but the politics sometime scare me.
Of course they don't scare me as much as the politics of Utah.
I was born & raised in SC & now I live in VA. I understand the dilemma of a beautiful area filled with dumbasses.
People need to realize that worse things are going on in their high schools than novels with some sex & violence. Maybe it’s the fact that we have high schoolers who can’t read above a middle school level, & we keep slipping further down the education ladder. Maybe they are right. Maybe censorship is the cure for our problems. Brilliant!
A decent documentary on censorship in the film industry is THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED.
growing up in the south, there were many dances with ignorance. the one that sticks out the most to me is when my highschool did "grease", and they picked the white girl to be the lead part, even though the hispanic girl sang way better because they didn't want to have an interacial couple. tsk tsk.
Dancing with ignorance is not limited to the south. I grew up in the north. There were just as many ignorant rednecked morons in rural upstate NY.
I've spent LOTS of time working in LA and traveling other parts of CA and man, what a crop of rednecked morons they have out there.
But yea, it somehow seems more pertinent down here for some reason.
It's only more pertinent here, because of the religious factor. Take out the narrow minded Jesus freaks than we would be like the rest of the country. We are also very slow to change. Why that seems to more of a Southern thing?
People are idiots all over. I live in Colorado, the place that spawned Focus on the Family. Sometimes it's scary being a thinking person.
Post a Comment