What is on your list of forbidden books?

[pnewton]

Mystery5:

Dear Newton,
But what about this book?

http://www.frogsintexas.com/images/book_on_green2.gif

Just asking…

I found it ribbeting.

 

[Mystery5]

pnewton:

I found it ribbeting.

Just wondering what an esteemed Texan such as yourself, a senior member of this venerable site, thought of such a provacative title…

(men are so dense)

 

[Karin]

pnewton:

Becuase she found the cuss words in the book objectionable. I see no point in trying to destroy innocence faster than it already is. I thought its portrayal of Catholicism stereotypical, but bear in mind I only read excerpts from the book. I am also not a fan of mysticism. The book had religious overtones that tried to combine catholic faith with native faith.

So are books like this out of the question then???
images.amazon.com/images/P/0553210793.01.BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ.jpg

 

[pnewton]

Karin:

So are books like this out of the question then???
images.amazon.com/images/P/0553210793.01.BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ.jpg

If you are referring to foul language, then for some people and ages, it is not appropriate. I am sure my daughter sould have also been offended by it.

I find it a fascinating double standard that at the workplace there is all sort of protection in place for adults who find foul language to be offensive and harassing. Should we not offer at least the same courtesy to our dhildren?

 

[jkatpc]

pnewton:

The topic of the book dealt with Indian mysticism mixed with a bizarre form of Catholicism (the only religion it is PC to offend today). My daughter was offended by the language, which the teacher thought was okay for HS freshmen. Obviously if I would have walked in and used the same language with her, I would have been kicked out or arrested.

Kinda like the gentleman I saw on Fox News yesterday who faces a court date (for criminal trespassing) because he didn’t want his five-year old taught from a book that purportedly teaches that gay marriage families are normal.

 

[Karin]

pnewton:

If you are referring to foul language, then for some people and ages, it is not appropriate. I am sure my daughter sould have also been offended by it.

I find it a fascinating double standard that at the workplace there is all sort of protection in place for adults who find foul language to be offensive and harassing. Should we not offer at least the same courtesy to our dhildren?

The kids are given that courtesy…their parents can request that the material not be given to their kids or an alternative book etc. be given…heck in higher grades the kids themselves do this. I know that they do this in our schools.

 

[Karin]

jkatpc:

book that purportedly teaches that gay marriage families are normal.

They may not be “normal” but they do exist…you can not shield a child from that forever. I agree that Kindergarten was a bit young to teach kids about this though.

 

[jkatpc]

Karin:

They may not be “normal” but they do exist…you can not shield a child from that forever. I agree that Kindergarten was a bit young to teach kids about this though.

The parents, and not the school, should decide when and how to explain “different” family structures. I can’t see how a public school that wants to teach kindergarteners about alternative mommies and daddies can’t help but teach them that those arrangements are okay.

 

[pnewton]

Karin:

They may not be “normal” but they do exist…you can not shield a child from that forever. I agree that Kindergarten was a bit young to teach kids about this though.

Admittedly we will not all agree on what lines need to be drawn where. Even a husband and wife do not always agree. I give kudos to those teachers (like the one I cited above) who give alternatives so that parents can have an active role in shaping the values of **their **children. It is what we do, that and threaten boyfriends.

 

[pnewton]

Mystery5:

Just wondering what an esteemed Texan such as yourself, a senior member of this venerable site, thought of such a provacative title…

(men are so dense)

I liked the title when I first saw it a couple of days ago.(and loved it) I can not however resist a good punch line and know of no man that can. That and we are dense.

 

[Karin]

jkatpc:

The parents, and not the school, should decide when and how to explain “different” family structures. Parents should also teach their kids about sex but many dont I can’t see how a public school that wants to teach kindergarteners about alternative mommies and daddies can’t help but teach them that those arrangements are okay. Perhaps as long as these things are LEGAL you cant teach it any other way in a public school??..so perhaps homeschooling or a Catholic school are better options.

 

[Karin]

pnewton:

Admittedly we will not all agree on what lines need to be drawn where. Even a husband and wife do not always agree. I give kudos to those teachers (like the one I cited above) who give alternatives so that parents can have an active role in shaping the values of **their **children. It is what we do, that and threaten boyfriends.

So true…and yes I think the teacher you mentioned provided a wonderful service. Perhaps more teachers can follow that lead!

 

[Mystery5]

pnewton:

I liked the title when I first saw it a couple of days ago.(and loved it) I can not however resist a good punch line and know of no man that can. That and we are dense.

Oh man, do I have to PM you newton???

 

[didymus]

When I used to have a bookstore we participated in Banned Books Week which is a joint effort of the American Library Association and the Amer. Bookselller’s Assn.

Here’s a website about it giving lists of the authors & books most often “challenged” at public libraries.

Someare obivous candidates like J.K. Rowling & Judy Blume, but apparently a lot of folks hate the “Captain Underpants” books too.

 

[yellowlablover]

jkatpc wrote
Makes me wonder why, if the teacher anticipated objections, he or she didn’t just assign the non-objectionable book?

As a teacher I always have a back up assignment prepared. As Catholics, our beliefs are quite well known because they’ve been around for so long. However, there are new “religions” that pop up all the time. People create their own now. Look at Scientology. It was created by a science fiction writer. We have had parents object to reading assignments for ALL kinds of reasons. When I was teaching 3rd to 4th graders a few years ago, (now I teach 5th-6th), a parent of a kindergarten student objected to the book “Where the Wild Things Are” because it had a line about how kids can behave wildly… I think. I have read it many times to students before and since. Some Jehovah’s witnesses objected in a district I taught in because a book just mentioned children in Halloween costumes. In today’s society teachers can never predict what people will object too. So it’s best to be prepared.

A book that was required reading in a Catholic high School was Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five. All I remember about it was how foul it was. So where was the literary value in it.

 

[jkatpc]

yellowlablover:

jkatpc wrote
Makes me wonder why, if the teacher anticipated objections, he or she didn’t just assign the non-objectionable book?

As a teacher I always have a back up assignment prepared. As Catholics, our beliefs are quite well known because they’ve been around for so long. However, there are new “religions” that pop up all the time. People create their own now. Look at Scientology. It was created by a science fiction writer. We have had parents object to reading assignments for ALL kinds of reasons. When I was teaching 3rd to 4th graders a few years ago, (now I teach 5th-6th), a parent of a kindergarten student objected to the book “Where the Wild Things Are” because it had a line about how kids can behave wildly… I think. I have read it many times to students before and since. Some Jehovah’s witnesses objected in a district I taught in because a book just mentioned children in Halloween costumes. In today’s society teachers can never predict what people will object too. So it’s best to be prepared.

A book that was required reading in a Catholic high School was Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five. All I remember about it was how foul it was. So where was the literary value in it.

Ha! I remember the adventures of Billy Pilgrim–made me dread the thought of extraterrestrial life, and I never thought of mushrooms the same after that.

 

[pnewton]

The list above, like all list of “banned” books are the biggest bunch of hogwash and lies around. Any adult in this county can aquire and read these books and any printer can print them. I believe that covers our constitutional issues.

What irritates me about people that bewail the “banning” of books is when thay want to dictate what my child must read or what my taxes must pay for.

God forbid that anyone here actual live in a real dictatorship and learn the real meaning of banning books.

 

[didymus]

yellowlablover:

jkatpc wrote
Makes me wonder why, if the teacher anticipated objections, he or she didn’t just assign the non-objectionable book?

As a teacher I always have a back up assignment prepared. As Catholics, our beliefs are quite well known because they’ve been around for so long. However, there are new “religions” that pop up all the time. People create their own now. Look at Scientology. It was created by a science fiction writer. We have had parents object to reading assignments for ALL kinds of reasons. When I was teaching 3rd to 4th graders a few years ago, (now I teach 5th-6th), a parent of a kindergarten student objected to the book “Where the Wild Things Are” because it had a line about how kids can behave wildly… I think. I have read it many times to students before and since.

First of all, Welcome to CA Forms! Hope you enjoy it here!

Boy, you bring back memories – I read “Where the Wild Things Are” to my son umpty-zillion times and he loved it. But when he got ot Head Start and they were making a “reading tree” with the names of the kids’ favorite books the teacher told him it was a horrible book and refused to put it on their tree.

 

[Dolores49]

pnewton:

The list above, like all list of “banned” books are the biggest bunch of hogwash and lies around. Any adult in this county can aquire and read these books and any printer can print them. I believe that covers our constitutional issues.

What irritates me about people that bewail the “banning” of books is when thay want to dictate what my child must read or what my taxes must pay for.

God forbid that anyone here actual live in a real dictatorship and learn the real meaning of banning books.

I started this Thread. My original query was, What books would you like to burn?

My reply to “pnewton”:

Can you further explain what you mean when you say the list of banned books is hogwash? Is it hogwash to have the list in the first place, or hogwash to protect our children.

Sorry for being dense.

I hope you will read about the Distorted Meaning of Censorship perpetuated by the liberals at the American Library Association.

Here is the link again: “THE SEDUCTION OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY” by Helen Chaffee Biehle here: eagleforum.org/educate/1996/feb96/focus.html

 

[pnewton]

Dolores49:

My reply to “pnewton”:

Can you further explain what you mean when you say the list of banned books is hogwash? Is it hogwash to have the list in the first place, or hogwash to protect our children.

Sorry for being dense.

No, I apologize for being unclear. Lists of banned books in America (including one on this forum), it always decry the banning of books and label it censorship and a violation of the first amendment free speech and free press guarantees.

In reality, if you look at the limited scope of book bans, they really aren’t bans at all but a decision of a business or single local entity not to carry a specific book. Tax payers and book dealers have the right to decide what is best for them. They are under no obligation to promote every piece of trash every writer publishes.

Yet when the citizens whose money buys the books and runs the library (school or civic) decide they do not want their dollars spen on certain items, librarians cry “censorship” and compare this to Nazi’s. This is a lie. Any book may still be purchased by an individual and anyone with a press can print what they want. No one, however is obligated to buy.