Gah, here we go. You and I are gonna go around on this one, I just know it. :D
If the parents of these children feel this book is not appropriate, then they should have more of a right than a committee to decide if it should be removed. Now at this point there isn't a legitimate call from a large number of parents, but if there are parents that are concerned, then the book should be brought to the attention of all the parents and they should have the ability to speak against or for it.
In a case like this where we're not talking about a lack of eligible material and we're not talking about basic facts that are a part of a curriculum (ie 1+1=2), parents should have the final word. In a case where a book contains sexual content, descriptive drug use, and even descriptive violence, the students should have a choice to read something that doesn't and the parents should have the opportunity to choose to not allow their kid to read a book with it.
And if a vast majority of parents in that school district feel that book is too mature for their teens, then they should have the ability to have it removed from the curriculum entirely. No kid is going to be deprived from the lack of reading it, but some kids could be adversely affected by being exposed to things like that too early. Every kid is different and while some can handle it and a lot *think* they can handle it, a lot are still too immature to properly process the information. The only people that can and should decide when their child is ready for that material is their parents.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-02-22 01:53 pm (UTC)If the parents of these children feel this book is not appropriate, then they should have more of a right than a committee to decide if it should be removed. Now at this point there isn't a legitimate call from a large number of parents, but if there are parents that are concerned, then the book should be brought to the attention of all the parents and they should have the ability to speak against or for it.
In a case like this where we're not talking about a lack of eligible material and we're not talking about basic facts that are a part of a curriculum (ie 1+1=2), parents should have the final word. In a case where a book contains sexual content, descriptive drug use, and even descriptive violence, the students should have a choice to read something that doesn't and the parents should have the opportunity to choose to not allow their kid to read a book with it.
And if a vast majority of parents in that school district feel that book is too mature for their teens, then they should have the ability to have it removed from the curriculum entirely. No kid is going to be deprived from the lack of reading it, but some kids could be adversely affected by being exposed to things like that too early. Every kid is different and while some can handle it and a lot *think* they can handle it, a lot are still too immature to properly process the information. The only people that can and should decide when their child is ready for that material is their parents.