Mr. King, too hot for Campbell High School to handle
English classes at Campbell High School in Litchfield, New Hampshire won't be featuring certain short stories from authors like Ernest Hemingway, David Sedaris, Stephen King, and Laura Lippman after approximately 25 parents and community members demanded the school board remove the stories from the curriculum.
What was the offending material? The usual -- sex, drugs, and naughty language. In short, nothing that isn't eagerly watched by millions on "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos" and practically every television show and movie, on every channel after 7 p.m., every day of the week.
Some of the stories targeted were one by Ernest Hemingway featuring statutory rape and a frank discussion about abortion; 'I Like Guys' by David Sedaris in which he discusses his homosexuality; 'Survivor Type' by Stephen King, which I can only assume was tagged for drug use and language; and 'The Crack Cocaine Diet' by Laura Lippman which has got all of the above in spades -- sex, murder, rape, and drug use.
At their meeting with the school board, the upset parents made clear that they were disturbed by the sexually explicit content and flagrant drug use in the material, as well as by the overt depiction of homosexuality in Mr. Sedaris' 'I Like Guys.' According to one parent, "My children are being forced to accept homosexuality when this is something I don't agree with," (oops, there goes her bid for Miss California), "When did acceptance of homosexuality become part of my child's education?"
The school's superintendant, Elaine Cutler, backed down right quick after the school board meeting:
Some of these stories contained explicit, vulgar, and gratuitous language and school administrators have determined that these stories are not appropriate for a high school curriculum. We regret and apologize for the use of this inappropriate material in our schools and we will redouble our efforts to insure that staffs at all schools comply with adopted policies and procedures.
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Mr. David Sedaris likes guys -- is that appropriate fodder for a high school English class?
The only portion of this story that will be bandied about the newspapers (the few remaining ones, that is), the talk shows, and the literary blogs and websites will be whether or not parents should have the right to have literature that does not line up with their personal belief systems banned from high school classes.
However, it seems to me that wasting time arguing this point (which should be fairly obvious -- of course: parents, on either side of the policial spectrum, should have that right. Huzzah to these ones for paying attention: most wouldn't know if their child was reading The Joy of Sex in class. And some wouldn't care) diverts the spotlight away from the real issue -- what is the purpose of high school English classes? And are the works chosen for those classes even remotely accomplishing that "stated" purpose? Or are they actually pursuing some other purpose?
For all the wishy-washy, touchy-feely gobbeldy-gook that gets thrown about when discussing books, the business of writing quality literature -- or writing anything worth reading, period -- is governed by the same rock-solid, no-nonsense rules that govern the mastery of any art form:
1. Expose yourself to the masters.
2. Learn what they did to achieve their effects.
3. Learn how to do it yourself.
4. Practice.
5. Repeat.
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO BECOME PROFICIENT IN YOUR ART, whether you're talking about becoming a musician or a painter or a sculptor or a macrame expert. We all wish there were some other, magical, ShamWow way of short-cutting to mastery, but there just isn't. What many of us are unwilling to accept is that reading and writing well is an ART and that, without training and practice, proficiency is damn hard to come by.
Ms. Laura Lippman -- drugs, rape, sex, oh my
We all know how important writing well and being able to read with critical understanding is today -- it can mean the difference between this job and that job, between being fooled by this news story or seeing it for the smoke and mirrors it is, between making this much money per year and that much money per year. Now, you tell me -- do you honestly think that a high school English class that is focusing its attention on the emotional ramifications of drug use or how tough life is as a homosexual in a heterosexual world is going to produce more proficient readers and writers?
No.
The purpose of a high school English class should be this, and this alone: to produce young readers that are familiar with Western civilization's major authors and their works, to aquaint them with the main aspects of the various literary movements throughout literary history, and to teach them the specific techniques these authors used to produce their greatest works.
ANY English class that is diluted by a political or social science agenda is going to suffer, and, I guarantee you, it isn't going to be the social science aspect that suffers. The end result will be high school graduates that go tripping off to college lacking the English literature foundation they sorely need. This isn't just a shameful failure of the public school system -- it's a travesty.
So what do I have against Mr. Sedaris or Mr. King or Ms. Lippman, you may ask? Absolutely nothing. I read all of them (Mr. Hemingway is a given), in all of their drug-infested, filthy-mouthed, sexually-charged glory. And I love them.
But do I think the short stories used in the Chapman High School curriculum were the most appropriate examples to use from these talented authors? No. Do I think that there should be much MORE attention paid to classic authors in a high school English class? Yes. Do I think that the Chapman High School English classes were being hijacked by an agenda that did NOT include proficiency in English literature? Oh, hell, yes.
There's plenty of time for drugs and sex and what-have-you. That period of time in a young person's life is officially known as College. Until they get there though, and are out from under the sheltering umbrella of the coeerced taxpayer, their training should be 100% agenda-free: the math class should be just math; the music class, just music; and the English class? Just the writing, ma'am. Just the writing. And if you're reading the right stuff, that's all you need.
Comments
Interesting article. I sat on a challenged books review committee five years ago, so I know these debates continue. The thing that always interests me is how few of the objecting adults actually read what they object to. I also found, in leading teen-aged banned books clubs for years, that teenagers buy in to difficult reading more fully if they think adults are trying to hide something from them. I cannot believe I read Lolita with a group of fifteen year olds. But they read it and that is a difficult book to get through, for many reasons. Every kid in that group busted the roof off the SATs, though, and they are doing great in college. They had years experience debating hot topics, on their own time. Thanks for reporting this. Take a look at some of the banned book club kits I have posted at examiner.com:)
From my own kids' experiences, they read books in class just for the critical analysis of characters, theme, conflict, etc., not to learn the techniques of writing, unfortunately. I don't mind good pop culture books amidst the classics, but don't like requiring kids to read books that many parents would object to - esp as the parents are paying taxes to support what their kids are made to read. Granted, high school kids have probably heard it all, but, come on, can we not provoke parents with red hot poker books.
-Linda (St.Louis Lit Examiner)
Ok, so I hate the way public schools teach English classes. I can tell you exactly what they are trying to teach them: how to pass AP exams and state tests. We didn't read things for the sake of being familiar with them, we read them because they were on the list or had something to do with the test. Which makes it very frustrating when you go to college and discover that you're the only one in your class who HASN'T read a Shakespeare comedy.Or Dante. Or anyone else important to the literature world. Oh, I also think you should do a post on novelizations of movies. That would be extremely interesting. Love your articles!
Thanks for posting this. I agree that English class should be about learning the ideas and writing of those who have shaped Western culture (throw in a little Eastern if you have time as well). Have you any suggestions on how to show all those students who just don't care how great Dante is, when all they would ever consider reading is Danielle Steele?
Hmmm. I'm a teacher and I have used Sedaris' essay "Me Talk Pretty One Day" (from the same titled autobiographical book) in order to guide students in the art of writing about resilience via insightful humor. I also stick to the classics: Camus, Shakespeare, Dante, Morrison. I enjoy giving the students a mix of quality writing, but it is very important that when veering from the curriculum, that the supplemented content be appropriate and that traditions and belief systems of the students and their families be taken into consideration. Thanks for this article!
This article is oddly detached from the current reality of schools. We don't teach lit so that students can write lit; we do it so they can read critically. We don't teach "agenda-free" because it simply isn't possible. Every reading list represents an agenda of some kind, even if it's a Bloomian western canon. And finally no, it is not a given that parents should be able to dictate the curriculum just because they pay taxes. We try not to let them tell us which science is right. We leave that to the expertise of the science teachers. To carry the analogy farther, when taxes are used to build a road, we don't let future drivers debate with the builders over the best methods. It's the same with English. Our democracy is representative, and we elect, appoint, or hire people with the best skills (hopefully) to make leadership decisions. This works best when voters and taxpayers don't micromanage decisions. Book banning is a crude and ultimately futile attempt to placate everyone's fears.
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