Feb '04 - BOE nullifies their own challenge process |
Click here to read how the book assigned to freshmen, This Boy's Life was taken through the arduous reconsideration process by concerned parents, only to be told by the Board of Education (BOE) that there was nothing they could do about it -- that a vague legal ruling tied their hands from removing a book from the required curriculum. | |
Jan '05 -- BOE chastises 500 concerned citizens... |
...for petitioning the BOE to replace 14 vulgar and low quality textbooks with higher quality literature. Click here to sign the petition. BOE tells parents they should have used the challenge process. (Never mind the SAME BOE invalidated the challenge process itself -- explaining to concerned patrons that they legally couldn't remove a book from the curriculum -- less than a year ago.) | |
To Date... |
At least thirty novels that contain the f-word are used as textbooks within Blue Valley. No progress has been made on standards of decency used to select required textbooks as promised by BOE President John Fuller in February 2004. | |
CURRENT NEWS follows... | ||
- Oct 10, 2005
- The monthly Blue Valley Board of Education (BOE) meeting is usually held the second Monday of the month. It starts at 7:00 pm with an awards ceremony. Patrons are able to address the Board with a presentation limit of 3 minutes following the awards ceremony. The BOE meetings are held at the Blue Valley Administration building at 151st and Metcalf.
- Aug 25, 2005
- Kan. parents challenge school reading list -- Columbia Missourian
- Aug 9, 2005
- Blue Valley School District Drops 2 Controversial Books -- Channel 9 news video
- Aug 9, 2005
- Schools drop two disputed books, KC Star
- Aug 8, 2005
- 7 Blue Valley policies under revision -- Note that the Board no longer has to act "in accordance with the expressed will of the electorate." (Policy 1100)
- Jun 4, 2005
- ClassKC.org recognized on "Phyllis Schlafly Live" radio show, 6/4/05, as one of several resources parents need in order to understand the content of objectionable reading assignments.
- May 9, 2005
- The May Blue Valley Board of Education (BOE) meeting heard several new patrons voice disgust over the profanity, sex, and other adult content in required reading materials in high school Communication Arts classes. Patrons continued to voice concerns over the lack of adherence to textbook selection policy 4600 and the punitive nature of alternatives. Proposed policy changes to limit patron complaints by modifying open forum policy 1684 and challenge policy 4610 were passed. What's good for the kids is NOT what's good for the Board of Education. These two policy changes took immediate effect following the Board's vote. The September 2004 policy change to policy 4600 that governs the selection of learning resources has yet to be implemented.
- Apr 25, 2005
- Special Board of Education meeting held at 4:00 pm to approve sale of 2005 bonds.
- Apr 11, 2005
- The April Blue Valley BOE introduced proposed changes to policy 4610 (challenges to learning resources) and 1684 (open forum), to be voted on at the May meeting. Challenge policy 4610, although invoked by Blue Valley patrons only three times in the past ten years, was significantly changed to limit what can be challenged, as well as who and when learning resources (textbooks, movies, plays, short stories), can be challenged. Policy 1684 was changed to limit the time that patrons may address the BOE from 5 to 3 minutes, and also includes new guidelines on what can be said at Open Forum. It appears that patrons reading directly from Blue Valley Communication Arts textbooks at Open Forums has become just a bit too much for the BOE to take! What's good for the kids is NOT good for the Blue Valley BOE.
- March
- National article on classkc.org, Kansas Parents Organize to Improve High School Reading Lists, as featured by the Education Reporter.
- Mar 21, 2005
- The March Blue Valley Board of Education (BOE) meeting was moved from March 14th to March 21, 2005. President John Fuller, for the second month in a row, cautioned patrons to 'watch their language' when addressing the BOE. Four patrons voiced various concerns about the books. One raised the question of whether requiring minors to read about explicit sex scenes constituted sexual harassment. Another asked the BOE how the school intended to address ALL portions of the textbook selection policy, including the promises that the books shall be absent of gratuitous sex, violence, and profanity as well as be age appropriate, when the school's history shows that these aspects of the selection policy have never been addressed. Another patron read from Lords of Discipline which includes several sexually-explicit passages involving sex between teens and a great deal of f-word profanity. A fourth educated the BOE on the role and influence of public school on the minds of children, citing examples of the decay of common decency and character.
- Feb 14, 2005
- The February Blue Valley Board of Education (BOE) meeting marked the one-year anniversary of public debate on these Board failures:
- the 7-0 vote by the Board of Education (BOE) to retain This Boy's Life in the approved freshman Communication Arts curriculum using a vague legal ruling as the primary reason for the vote -- a legal ruling that we learned months later had nothing to do with textbooks or novels assigned for a grade
- the refusal of the Blue Valley BOE to explain the circumstances under which challenge policy 4610 could actually be used to replace an inferior textbook with a higher quality choice
- the refusal of Blue Valley to explain how each book on the approved reading list passed their entire selection policy 4600 in the first place, or is "age appropriate" for the specific class to which it is assigned
- the use of at least 15 novels over a period of several years (such as the very low quality choices of Bless Me Ultima and House on Mango Street), which were injected into the curriculum in a process that completely bypassed internal selection policy 4600. During the summer of 2004, these books were retroactively added to the approved curriculum, but the documentation still did not have one word as to WHY the books were deemed age appropriate, a promise the policy has always made to patrons.
- the refusal of the Blue Valley BOE to address the public concern of whether or not the assignment of explicit and deviant sexual content constitutes sexual harassment for the student being asked to read, study, discuss, and write about the material
- the refusal of the Blue Valley BOE to address the hypocrisy inherent in the required reading assignments which contain content that could not be otherwise be spoken, written, e-mailed, or viewed from a Web page on school property
- the refusal of the Blue Valley BOE to see the need for or acknowledge the responsibility to proactively inform the parents about the adult content in these books
- the refusal of Blue Valley administration to develop a clear, fair, non-punitive, non-socially-ostracizing, and academically equitable alternative process
- the refusal of Blue Valley BOE to hold any individual or group of individuals responsible for the selection of the approved novels (none of their internal documentation is signed by the individuals who wrote the glowing rationales to support the book selections)
- Jan 13, 2005
- Talk show host Jerry Agar on 980 KMBZ News Radio has challenged the Star, both on air and in print, to publish some of the controversial material found in these books. The Star has refused to print the material because it is a "family newspaper."
Jerry writes, "I would also like to know why 500 parents are “self-appointed censors” not to be listened to, while one atheist can shut down a Christmas display at school."
Mr. Agar's show is broadcast from 8:40 am to 11:00 on News Radio 980 KMBZ. - Jan 10, 2005
- A petition of over 500 Blue Valley parents, patrons, and taxpayers was presented to Board President John Fuller asking the BOE to replace 14 district-approved books with higher quality literature. Click here to sign the petition or provide feedback to classkc.org.
Click here to read a report from the Kansas City Star.
Click here to read a second report from KMBC-TV
Click here to read a report from KCTV5 (including a video clip from the Blue Valley Board meeting).
Click here to read a report from nbcactionnews.com including a video clip. (Note, however, that classkc.org has never asked to "ban" any book as reported in this segment.) - Jan 6, 2005
- Click here to read a report from KMBC-TV.
Click here to view a video clip from KMBC-TV. - Dec 13, 2004
- The December Blue Valley Board of Education meeting included two parents voicing concerns over the textbook choices for Communication Arts. One parent was particularly concerned about Stotan and the other depressing selections for freshmen. The other provided a one-page handout of the most offensive titles by grade level, asking the BOE if they felt that these titles met either the letter or spirit of the internal selection policy 4600 that states that books shall be absent of gratuitous sex, violence, and profanity as well as that the books shall be age appropriate. The BOE indicated that they will formally respond to these questions.
- Sep 13, 2004
- At the September Blue Valley Board meeting, a concerned patron continued to read aloud vulgar excerpts from the books the kids are assigned, and continued to ask the Board WHY? such crude material was used as required reading in our schools.
Two district professional staff employees (librarians) spoke against the proposed policy revision for selection of learning resources policy 4600, citing their professional training in knowing what is best for children (as if parents do not?). (Note also, that policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources has never been used as a tool to select library books. Rather, the debate at classkc.org and selection policy 4600 addresses the much smaller number of books that are singled out and assigned as required reading assignments within Communication Arts classes.)
The Board voted to revise the selection of learning resources policy 4600 to include criterion to assure that required books are absent of "...vulgar language, sexual explicitness, or violent imagery that is gratuitously employed." The new policy also includes a provision to require that the books are appropriate for the age of the children being asked to read them (this criterion was present in the previous policy as well). The Board also inserted a last minute phrase "by the professional staff" in regard to the party responsible for selecting the learning resource. "Learning resources shall be selected by the professional staff to help schools meet curricular, instructional, and assessment objectives." The policy was then approved 6-0. (President John Fuller was absent.)
While the wording of the new policy does help clarify selection policy 4600, and for that step forward, classkc.org congratulates the Board, any policy is of no value if it is not enforced. To date, selection policy 4600, and in particular, the provision that learning resources be age appropriate, has never been objectively nor publicly addressed by those who are selecting the books. In addition, the Board gave no time frame by which the school would be responsible for reviewing the books our children are currently being assigned for a grade. In other words, they gave no timetable for enforcing policy 4600.
Furthermore, the new policy 4600 contains a provision to request an alternative novel. While this is also a step in the right direction, there is currently no official documentation to explain how the alternative process is supposed to work nor are any alternative novels identified. In the past, alternative requests have been time consuming, difficult, and punitive for everyone involved -- students, parents, and teachers.
Many of the Board members praised the hard work of the teachers who were instructed to write retroactive book rationales over the summer (to purportedly bring books into compliance with the OLD selection policy). Amazingly, however, after a schoolyear's worth of public debate on the subject of what type of material is appropriate as a required reading assignment for a minor, these summer rationales still made NO mention of the adult content (sex, violence, vulgarity, occultism, and so forth) within each book -- the material most parents want and need to know about BEFORE their child is assigned such a book, and the central issue of the discussions on this topic over the past school year.
In conclusion, our children are still being assigned the same books, many of which contain an excessive number of vulgarities including the f-word, graphic descriptions of sex including incest, extreme violence, and extremely depressing "life has no meaning" messages. Furthermore, this situation is happening within the full knowledge and acceptance by the Blue Valley Board.
- Sep 9, 2004
- SUNFLOWER REPUBLICAN WOMEN’S CLUB
At a standing-room-only meeting, invited speaker Janet Harmon discussed the concerns she and many other Blue Valley parents and patrons share about the controversial novels being required in the Blue Valley school system. Janet noted that many of the books assigned as required reading in Communication Arts classes contain a great deal of profanity, sex, and other adult content. She further pointed out that while some of the books were placed on the required reading list to support AP (Advanced Placement) exams, yet many other books, more frequently used on the AP exams, are not currently being taught at Blue Valley. Janet read a few excerpts from some of the books. In summary, she again asked WHY an adult would think that f-words and graphic descriptions of sex, rape, and incest were appropriate or healthy material to require minor children to read for a grade.
Cheryl Spalding, Blue Valley Board member, was also invited to speak and answer questions. Accompanying Cheryl were Tom Trigg, Blue Valley Superintendent, and Lisa Wilson, a CA teacher at Blue Valley West High School. Spalding began by explaining that the Board did not remove one of the controversial books, This Boy’s Life from the curriculum by referencing a lawsuit in the Olathe school district several years ago which would have “put it back in.”
(The book This Boy’s Life had been challenged in the 2003-2004 school year. Even though Blue Valley’s challenge process states that the Board does have the ability to remove a book from the required curriculum, and even though the Olathe lawsuit revolved around the removal of a library book rather than from a required reading assignment, the Olathe lawsuit is the reason Spalding gave for the Board’s actions.)
Spalding continued to defend the use of these novels with other excuses. For example, she referenced the “ham-handed decision” by the state Board of Education on the teaching of evolution as a reason not to rush into changing what the district is doing with novels. She further stated that on average, “only five parents a year” formally complain about controversial books. She also said they have put a system in place to gather information on which books are being complained about.
In a “how did we get here” explanation, Spalding said Board oversight of curriculum hasn’t happened because of the district’s growth and the Board’s attention to the “Three Bs: Boundaries, Buildings and Budgets.” She said staff had narrowed the number of books on the new list and will look at all of them “over time.” It was further stated that only five parents had complained about the books even though twenty or more people at this meeting alone openly voiced disgust at the content in the offensive novels.
Tom Trigg then told the audience that the Board always listens to patrons. Due to the book challenge last year, they had taken a “hard look” at whether there had been negligence. He said there is an “opt-out” policy to allow alternative selections, but when questioned, said nothing was available in writing to make the opt-out policy standardized and consistent across the district. Trigg also stated that a new “letter to parents” was distributed by teachers this year to notify families of books to be studied in each class. (Note: At least two variations of this "standard" letter were used, as well as, in some cases, no letter at all. Notably lacking in all cases is the information parents want to know -- a heads up on the sex, violence, profanity, and other adult content that the students will study when they read the assigned books.)
Lisa Wilson attributed her teaching of controversial novels to College Board (AP Advanced Placement) guidelines. However, The College Board emphasizes in their English documentation that there is not a list of required reading – that many books could adequately prepare students for taking AP English exams. The AP Website provides a list of over 100 potential authors whose works would help prepare students for their English exams. She did not address the point made earlier that the controversial books that many parents opposed were actually used much less frequently on AP exams than many other books that Blue Valley does not currently use in their curriculum.
Two audience members voiced their support for specific Communication Arts teachers, but all of the other comments (20-30) were to voice deep disappointment, concern, and even shock in a school system that would assign books with the f-word, graphic violence, or explicit sex for a grade. For example, one audience member, a law enforcement officer, shared deep concern over the influence of the book This Boy's Life, on young people. He cited a specific passage from the book that describes how the lead character practices being a sniper...an activity which gives the young boy a rush of pleasure.
Several audience members requested that the Board and staff
- apply common-sense community standards of decency to their required reading assignments
- respect the role and input of parents
- be accountable for their decisions
The meeting concluded with no clear answers as to WHY these books were selected in the first place nor WHEN they would be reviewed against the current selection policy that states that the books should be age appropriate and absent of “vulgar language, sexual explicitness, or violent imagery that is gratuitously employed.” - Sep, 2004
- Rationales written to retroactively bring current novels into compliance with the existing selection policy 4600 are now available for review in school libraries. However, they do not contain any mention of the adult content (sex, profanity, violence and so forth) contained within the book nor do they address how the book is age appropriate for the age of the student being required to read the book.
- July, 2004
- The Blue Valley Board met to review and improve policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources. A copy of the proposed policy can be found by clicking here. The Board will vote on this revised policy at the September 13th Board meeting.
- June, 2004
- The Blue Valley Communication Arts teachers met privately during the first part of June to review the current novels used in the Blue Valley School system. Although many rationales were written to tie novels back to official course objectives, these rationales are not yet available for public review. In addition, a list of "approved" books for each grade level is still not available for public review.
- June 14, 2004
- The June Blue Valley Board meeting heard five Blue Valley parents speak during Open Forum on the novels selected for the Communication Arts program. Each parent had serious concerns and questions about the morally repugnant content found in many of the books currently assigned as required reading.
- One parent researched the books that several universities recommend for incoming freshmen to read prior to college. The schools that were researched included Kansas University, Kansas State University, Harvard, and others. This parent found that none of these universities required or even encouraged students read many of the books that are currently assigned by our Blue Valley School system. A few of those that are most concerning are the books by Morrison, Crutcher, Kingsolver, and Conroy.
- Each of the five parent's comments were received with sincere support and applause from the rest of the public. To date, however, the Board has refused to take action to define a standard of common decency to guide the selection of learning resources nor to proactively alert parents to the offensive content in many of the required reading assignments.
- May 10, 2004
- The May Blue Valley Board meeting heard three Blue Valley parents speak during Open Forum on the Communication Arts program. Of the three parents that spoke, one did not want anyone to tell her what her child could and could not read. (In regard to how this parent's opinion relates to www.classkc.org, please refer to the home page which states that we are also not attempting to limit anyone's "right to read," but rather, attempting to provide information about required reading assignments -- information that formerly hasn't been readily available to parents. Moreover, we are encouraging genuine excellence in literary education. Because our children only have time to read a tiny sliver of the literature that is available, why wouldn't we want it to be the richest and most educational material available? To ask for anything less is to shortchange their education.
- The other two parents expressed deep concerns about the age-appropriateness of some of the content in the books. They also questioned how the books addressed district Communication Arts objectives.
- One parent requested that the Board of Directors develop a formal alternative policy that would provide everyone -- teachers, parents, and students -- with up-front alternatives to controversial books. He noted that right now, there is no formal policy on how alternatives should be offered or implemented, which means that requesting an alternative is a difficult and punitive process for everyone involved.
- Apr 30, 2004
- The Blue Valley Northwest Express ran an article titled, "Blue Valley area parents challenge the required literature in English classes". The article was well written and presented the viewpoints of a BV student, parent, and teacher.
- Apr 15, 2004
- The Sun newspaper ran an article titled, "BV book-selection policy upheld". While the article did report on the recommendations that the Blue Valley subcommittee planned to make to the Curriculum and Instruction committee -- which in turn makes recommendations to the Board -- the article did not address the fact that policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources, has not been followed for the books on the "approved" list and has been completely ignored for the books on the "nonapproved" list. In addition, a Blue Valley employee was quoted as saying that the reviews on this Web site are not "scholarly" nor a "valid resource." Read our response.
- Apr 15, 2004
- The Blue Valley Curriculum and Instruction committee met at 3:30 pm at the district office. During the Open Forum session, five parents addressed the committee with concerns about the Communication Arts curriculum. Some of the issues raised by the parents included these...
- ...that policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources has never been properly followed nor enforced in the Communication Arts curriculum.
- ...that the teacher reviews of the books, on file for parents to review, do not describe or in any way clarify that the book may contain adult-oriented content such as heterosexual, homosexual, oral, anal, or otherwise sexually-explicit content within the books, thereby not giving the parents the information they really want and need.
- ...that many books are being assigned that are not on the "approved" list as defined by the district
- ...that policy 4610 for the challenge of learning resources gives the students appointed to the review committee more power over the decision to keep or remove a learning resource than the parents themselves.
- ...that many of the books contain such foul language, it's extremely difficult for anyone to be willing to read the passages in public (copies of several passages from about 10 books on the "approved" list were handed out to the 31 members of the C&I committee).
- ...that nothing in the Communication Arts curriculum requires the study of foul language or sexually-explicit content which further begs the question of why such books were selected in the first place.
- ...that many classics and otherwise great literature are not being assigned that could satisfy course objectives.
- ...that the obscene and sexually-explicit books affect all four high school grades (freshman through senior), in both AP and non-AP courses
- ...that the district has a policy that requires advance parental consent to view videos when they are rated at a level higher than the age of the class (policy 4531.1), but that when the content is described in words rather than images, no such consideration for the age appropriateness of the content is made (even though policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources indicates that the material shall be age appropriate).
- ...that the Board has legal exposure in many areas: the fact that they cannot justify the current selections because they have not followed their own selection policies (in particular, policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources), that requiring children to read sexually-explicit content may be sexual harassment, that requiring children to read vulgar material may be providing them with content that is considered pornographic and obscene, and that the lack of an alternative policy that provides an equivalent education for students may be discriminatory.
- Apr 12, 2004
- The Blue Valley Board of Education held their April meeting, 6:45 pm. (151st and Metcalf). During the Open Forum session, two parents addressed the Board regarding concerns about the Communication Arts curriculum. The first raised issues regarding...
- inconsistencies between the required reading assignments and the Blue Valley virtues
- potential legal exposure when treating students who request alternative novels by removing them from the mainstream discussions of the classroom
- potential legal exposure with sexual harassment issues when requiring students to read sexually-explicit material
The Board offered no immediate response to this but deferred the issue of decency in literature to the subcommittee they previously appointed. Another parent noted that the subcommittee was not asked to tackle the issue of decency in school materials. The Board did not respond with a plan to address the issue of decency in learning resources.
A parent raised the following questions:- Why is the communication arts department not required to follow district policies for the selection of learning resources (policy 4600)?
- Why has no one been held accountable for the disregard for this important policy?
- When is the Board going to remove the books that are currently being used that have NOT passed the selection process that you said SHALL be followed?
- Mar 08, 2004
- The Blue Valley Board of Education appointed a subcommittee to review policy 4600 for the selection of learning resources. But, no action was taken to require schools or teachers to follow the current policy 4600 which states that 14 criteria 'shall' be used for the selection of learning resources. Also no action was taken to evaluate how the current list of "approved books" meets the existing selection criteria.
- A parent raised the following questions:
- Why is the Blue Valley school system able to ignore policy 4600 by assigning novels that have never been reviewed?
- Why is there so little documentation for the current "approved" book list when the policy clearly states that 14 criteria shall be used in the selection process?
- Why have Blue Valley schools been allowed to completely disregard criteria #12 of policy 4600 which states that learning resources shall be age-appropriate?
- Finally, no action was taken to address standards of common decency in learning resources as raised by President John Fuller in the February 9, 2004, meeting.
- In summary,
- No action is currently being taken to enforce policy 4600 for the selection of resources. Currently, teachers and schools may assign any book as part of a required reading assignment without being held accountable for their actions even though doing so is in blatant disregard to district policy 4600.
- No action is currently being taken by the district to communicate which books are on the "approved" book list and how to ask for an alternative should one be requested. This information is NOT available at the Blue Valley Web site nor currently made easily available by any Blue Valley school.
- No action is currently being taken to clarify how the legal opinion used to justify the 7-0 vote to retain This Boy's life which, if not clarified, makes policy 4610 (a parent's ability to challenge a learning resource) a sham.
- No action is currently being taken to address standards of common decency in the Blue Valley School system and to protect our kids from the sexual and mental harassment experienced by reading many of these books.
- Feb 20, 2004
- Fox News 4 did a brief story of the book controversy in the Blue Valley School District on the 10PM news.
- Feb 19, 2004
- The Blue Valley Sun printed an article titled "Read it and Blush", written by Jonna Lorenz in the 2/19/04 Sun which reported on the challenge to This Boy's Life. Sample excerpts from Blue Valley officials and parents follow. "It is a real good example of a contemporary memoir...This is one that students really like and find meaning in." (Susan Swift, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services) Copp (Nikki) said she would be comfortable allowing an eighth-grader to read the book. "It did not offend me. Quite truthfully I fell asleep reading it a couple of different times, ..." she said. "It's not pornographic. Yes, there's foul language used, but quite truthfully that is the way boys among boys will talk."(Nikki Copp, Blue Valley Board member) "If my daughter wanted to read that book or a book similar I am perfectly OK with that," he said.(John Fuller, Blue Valley Board President) Clint Robinson also said he thought the book was acceptable for his daughter to read in ninth grade. (Clint Robinson, Blue Valley Board member) "At the beginning of the book when he starts using bad language, that was a concern," she said. "And it has a very negative tone. But when within two pages they use the f-word 13 times. That was a serious concern. What in the world are they using this book for with this obscene language in it?" (Concerned Blue Valley parent)
- Feb 09, 2004
- Channel 5 covered the Blue Valley school board meeting, showing an excerpt of a parent asking why, with so many great books, the district chooses objectionable ones. At this meeting, the board voted 7-0 to retain This Boy's Life in the freshman communication arts curriculum in part due to a legal opinion questioning their ability to enforce their own policy 4610, Challenges to and Reconsideration of Learning Resources.
- Jan 19, 2004
- Kansas City Star writer, Maggie Hessel-Mial wrote an article entitled, "Board to review policy on books, Blue Valley parents challenge titles."
Chronology to the challenge of This Boys Life
- Currently...
- To date, no action has been taken regarding decency standards by the Blue Valley School System.
- Currently...
- To date, no clarification on the legal opinion used to justify the 7-0 vote to retain This Boy's Life has been provided which in effect, kills the rights of parents as described by the current policy for the challenge of learning resources, policy 4610.
- Feb 19, 2004
- The Blue Valley Sun printed an article titled "Read it and Blush", written by Jonna Lorenz in the 2/19/04 Sun which reported on the challenge to This Boy's Life. Sample excerpts from Blue Valley officials and parents follow. "It is a real good example of a contemporary memoir...This is one that students really like and find meaning in." (Susan Swift, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services) Copp (Nikki) said she would be comfortable allowing an eighth-grader to read the book. "It did not offend me. Quite truthfully I fell asleep reading it a couple of different times, ..." she said. "It's not pornographic. Yes, there's foul language used, but quite truthfully that is the way boys among boys will talk."(Nikki Copp, Blue Valley Board member) "If my daughter wanted to read that book or a book similar I am perfectly OK with that," he said.(John Fuller, Blue Valley Board President) Clint Robinson also said he thought the book was acceptable for his daughter to read in ninth grade. (Clint Robinson, Blue Valley Board member) "At the beginning of the book when he starts using bad language, that was a concern," she said. "And it has a very negative tone. But when within two pages they use the f-word 13 times. That was a serious concern. What in the world are they using this book for with this obscene language in it?" (Janet Harmon, Blue Valley parent)
- Feb 9, 2004
- Three parents spoke at the beginning of the board meeting, earnestly requesting that the members address the matter of decency in books the district requires their children to read. Each parent who spoke had a child attending a BV high school. Surprisingly, the school board was not sure if they could legally make a judgment on This Boy's Life and voted 7-0 to retain the book for the freshman communication arts curriculum. President John Fuller then passed the issue of decency standards to Asst. Supt. Tom Trigg, that he might "wrestle with this 10,000 lb. gorilla." For a partial transcript of the Board's discussion, click here.
- Jan 12, 2004
- The board held a specially-called meeting to address this matter. Not only was the particular memoir discussed, but also the offensive contents of other books the district requires students to read. Could the school establish a standard for decency? Could parents be informed by way of permission slip before their students read offensive/controversial literature? Could the board begin establishing the decency standard by replacing books that use the "f" word? The school board would give their decision at the February board meeting.
- Nov 10, 2003
- Our recourse was to meet with a district committee, and again question the use of a controversial book full of obscenities, when other memoirs exist that could achieve the course objectives. That committee of 11, chosen by the district, included district representatives, the Blue Valley Northwest principal, a librarian, parents and two students. They all voted to retain the book's use in the district. Disappointed but not daunted, we wrote John Fuller, school board president, to ask that the school board consider the appropriateness of This Boy's Life as required reading, as well as other books used in the district from freshman level to senior.
- Oct, 2003
- We filled out a form called "Request For Reconsideration Of Instructional Or Library Media Material-School Level", (following policy 4610 "Challenges to and Reconsideration of Learning Resources") and shortly thereafter met with a school committee selected by the school comprised of two teachers, two parents, two students, and the school librarian. This committee voted unanimously to retain the book in the freshman Honors Communication Arts class. However, our son's teacher decided not to use the book after all.
- Sep, 2003
- We met with our son's freshman Honor's Communication Arts teacher, the high school principal, and the chairman of the Comm. Arts department. We presented our concerns with the use of This Boy's Life as a required read for the whole class. At the time, the use of an alternative memoir for our son was suggested. Yet the question still remained, why should any freshman have to read this obscene material?