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Parents complain about books
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Published: October 22, 2008
MORGANTON - Concerned parents took turns at the microphone Monday during the Burke County Board of Education meeting to blast school officials for allowing certain books with mature content and profane language to be assigned reading.
Elaine Harmon said she moved to Burke County from New York to find moral comfort deep within the Southern Bible Belt. Harmon said it appalled her to find books with a variety of questionable themes – including homosexuality, rape and incest – are required reading for some students.
Harmon singled out "The Color Purple," a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker. She said the main father figure in the book takes indecent liberties with his 11-year-old daughter.
"Why are such books being given to children?" Harmon asked the school board. "Such literature will warp the morals of our children."
Carol Snow, dressed in 1960s-era hippy attire, said, "Isn't it ironic that we have a bunch of parents today questioning the reverse of the '60s' mission and challenging the liberals? My 15-year-old daughter came to me on the evening of Jan. 28 to discuss the rape scene in 'The Kite Runner.' I had a tough time discussing what rectal bleeding is with her; she wanted to know what that meant. Why wasn't I notified regarding the nature of this reading?"
Snow said excerpts from books such as "Beloved" and "The Kite Runner" couldn't be read aloud in the boardroom.
"What does it tell us all here tonight, when excerpts from these books can't even be read aloud in this public forum?" Snow asked.
This is not the first time "The Kite Runner" created controversy. In February, Vicki Dobson challenged the school board regarding the use of author Khaled Hosseini's book in high school classrooms. School board Vice Chair Tracy Norman said vulgar language and graphic descriptions of a sodomy rape made the book inappropriate for a 10th-grade honors English class at Freedom High School. The school district's Media and Technology Committee eventually voted not to ban use of "The Kite Runner." Dobson dropped her challenge.
Speaking at this week's board meeting, Mark Gordon said it upset him when his third-grade son asked about several curse words he had been exposed to in reading class.
Dewayne Riddle said, "We don't ask any of our young people to go to war under the age of 18 or allow them to drink alcohol under the age of 21. So why are we subjecting our children to this kind of material without parental oversight? At least give parents the rights to oversee what their children are reading."
Following the parents' comments, school board Chairman Tim Buff said there is no policy in place regarding usage of written works in the classroom or requiring that parents be notified about reading lists. He said there are legal issues involving what can and can't be done.
"We have been working with administration and our legal council to address this issue," Buff said. "We are working on a new policy and procedure and hopefully we will have something for review before next semester."
Superintendent David Burleson said school officials are seeking ways to properly notify parents about assigned reading, especially works that contain what could be considered offensive or sensitive material.
"I have instructed our English department teachers, even though there is no formal policy on the books at this time, to utilize all efforts moving forward to notify parents," Burleson said.
Board member David Barnard said, "I am against banning books. If we start with books, where will it end?" But he assured the parents, "Bear with us a little longer and we will have a policy put in place."
Norman closed out the discussion with an apology.
"I'm sorry that it has taken us so long to address this issue," she said. "Please don't blame the teachers or principals. They don't write policy. This board does.
"No one wants to ban or pull books, but we do need a policy which will afford proper notification to parents and we will get it done."
Other books the parents challenged Monday included "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison and "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger.
Buff said he hopes the board will be prepared to address the issue at the next school board meeting, which is set for 6 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Parker Road school administration building.
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