Book-ban fights are far from over
Book-ban fights are far from over
Reading lists face scrutiny across state
By John Keilman and Jaime Francisco, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Kayce Ataiyero contributed to this report
Published May 28, 2006
Copyright by The Chicago Tribune
Books by Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut and others are safe for now in an Arlington Heights-based school district, but the debate over classroom material that includes sex, violence or profanity may well widen in the months ahead.
Peter LaBarbera of the Illinois Family Institute, a conservative group that supported an attempt to remove nine books from Township High School District 214's curriculum, said the group was going to examine the reading lists of other schools.
"It was a Pyrrhic victory for the other side," he said of the District 214 school board's 6-1 decision early Friday to keep the titles in the curriculum. "They got the vote and preserved their books, but thousands of parents, not just in Arlington Heights but statewide, have been alerted that there are some pretty racy books out there that are required reading."
The skirmish is part of a nationwide struggle pitting ideas of literary merit against notions of parental rights. Between 2000 and 2004, the American Library Association heard about 1,150 challenges to books in school libraries, and 812 pleas to remove books from school curriculums.
Association spokeswoman Larra Clark said those figures probably account for only a fourth or a fifth of the true total. The group does not track the fate of the challenges, but Clark said they appear to fail more often than not.
Though book bans have a long history, many of today's attempts are being fueled by the Internet. Some groups have posted summaries and graphic excerpts of books they find objectionable.
That is how District 214 board member Leslie Pinney assembled a list of nine books she deemed inappropriate, including Morrison's "Beloved," Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried."
She said she created the list after looking into unfamiliar titles that administrators wanted to use. Her research took her to Wikipedia, an Internet encyclopedia edited by users, and Classkc.org, a Web site produced by Kansas parents who have sought to remove some books from their curriculum.
Pinney acknowledged that she had read only two of the books in their entirety but argued that the passages she found online were evidence enough that the other titles were unsuitable. "Regardless of what words are surrounding any other words, within a classroom context, would the information in these books be appropriate?" she said.
Parents and students in District 214, which serves 13,000 youths in its six high schools, debated the issue at a school board meeting that attracted 200 speakers and lasted until 1:30 a.m. Friday.
Some said it was unfair to judge a book on isolated passages. "You cannot ban an entire book if you take things out of context, if you're not looking at a literary whole," said Christine Fish, a member of the Hersey High School debate team. The group passed out fliers reading "Fahrenheit 214," a play on the title of the Ray Bradbury novel about book burning.
Others argued plenty of books deal with war, sex and other emotional issues without gratuitous and explicit passages.
"I would encourage the board to choose literature that exemplifies the best of human nature," said Tom Morrison, a former teacher who owns a cleanup business in Elk Grove Village. "Yes, there are horrible things in the world, but we don't have to dwell on them."
Some of Pinney's colleagues pointed out that parents already have the right to ask for alternate materials if they find books or films objectionable, but Pinney said that system didn't work. Parents don't always get a list of their children's book titles, and when they do, they rarely know what those books contain, she said.
She wanted the district to beef up its "opt-out" policy, giving parents more information on their children's classroom materials and whether they might contain anything offensive.
But Audrey Lane, 16, a Prospect High sophomore, said the system doesn't need fixing.
"If our parents don't want us to read the books, they can say so," she said Friday at school. "I think it should be up to our parents and not some woman who hasn't even read the books."
School board president Bill Dussling said officials would examine the raft of comments made by parents and students at the meeting, and would be willing to adjust the opt-out policy.
But he added that no tweaking of the guidelines was likely to end the friction. Though some have called the books on Pinney's list pornographic, Dussling said all were recommended by national education groups.
"It's in the eye of the beholder," he said. "What is controversial to one person might not be to another."
----------
jkeilman@tribune.com
jfrancisco@tribune.com
Reading lists face scrutiny across state
By John Keilman and Jaime Francisco, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Kayce Ataiyero contributed to this report
Published May 28, 2006
Copyright by The Chicago Tribune
Books by Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut and others are safe for now in an Arlington Heights-based school district, but the debate over classroom material that includes sex, violence or profanity may well widen in the months ahead.
Peter LaBarbera of the Illinois Family Institute, a conservative group that supported an attempt to remove nine books from Township High School District 214's curriculum, said the group was going to examine the reading lists of other schools.
"It was a Pyrrhic victory for the other side," he said of the District 214 school board's 6-1 decision early Friday to keep the titles in the curriculum. "They got the vote and preserved their books, but thousands of parents, not just in Arlington Heights but statewide, have been alerted that there are some pretty racy books out there that are required reading."
The skirmish is part of a nationwide struggle pitting ideas of literary merit against notions of parental rights. Between 2000 and 2004, the American Library Association heard about 1,150 challenges to books in school libraries, and 812 pleas to remove books from school curriculums.
Association spokeswoman Larra Clark said those figures probably account for only a fourth or a fifth of the true total. The group does not track the fate of the challenges, but Clark said they appear to fail more often than not.
Though book bans have a long history, many of today's attempts are being fueled by the Internet. Some groups have posted summaries and graphic excerpts of books they find objectionable.
That is how District 214 board member Leslie Pinney assembled a list of nine books she deemed inappropriate, including Morrison's "Beloved," Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried."
She said she created the list after looking into unfamiliar titles that administrators wanted to use. Her research took her to Wikipedia, an Internet encyclopedia edited by users, and Classkc.org, a Web site produced by Kansas parents who have sought to remove some books from their curriculum.
Pinney acknowledged that she had read only two of the books in their entirety but argued that the passages she found online were evidence enough that the other titles were unsuitable. "Regardless of what words are surrounding any other words, within a classroom context, would the information in these books be appropriate?" she said.
Parents and students in District 214, which serves 13,000 youths in its six high schools, debated the issue at a school board meeting that attracted 200 speakers and lasted until 1:30 a.m. Friday.
Some said it was unfair to judge a book on isolated passages. "You cannot ban an entire book if you take things out of context, if you're not looking at a literary whole," said Christine Fish, a member of the Hersey High School debate team. The group passed out fliers reading "Fahrenheit 214," a play on the title of the Ray Bradbury novel about book burning.
Others argued plenty of books deal with war, sex and other emotional issues without gratuitous and explicit passages.
"I would encourage the board to choose literature that exemplifies the best of human nature," said Tom Morrison, a former teacher who owns a cleanup business in Elk Grove Village. "Yes, there are horrible things in the world, but we don't have to dwell on them."
Some of Pinney's colleagues pointed out that parents already have the right to ask for alternate materials if they find books or films objectionable, but Pinney said that system didn't work. Parents don't always get a list of their children's book titles, and when they do, they rarely know what those books contain, she said.
She wanted the district to beef up its "opt-out" policy, giving parents more information on their children's classroom materials and whether they might contain anything offensive.
But Audrey Lane, 16, a Prospect High sophomore, said the system doesn't need fixing.
"If our parents don't want us to read the books, they can say so," she said Friday at school. "I think it should be up to our parents and not some woman who hasn't even read the books."
School board president Bill Dussling said officials would examine the raft of comments made by parents and students at the meeting, and would be willing to adjust the opt-out policy.
But he added that no tweaking of the guidelines was likely to end the friction. Though some have called the books on Pinney's list pornographic, Dussling said all were recommended by national education groups.
"It's in the eye of the beholder," he said. "What is controversial to one person might not be to another."
----------
jkeilman@tribune.com
jfrancisco@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:58 AM
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