Sioux Falls school board bans graphic novel

The Sioux Falls school board voted on Monday to remove the graphic novel, Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age from the student collection. It is the first time since 2001 that a book has been removed. The book, which has received praise from teachers and school counselors for the depictions of bullying, first loves, first zits, boy-girl awkwardness, and other challenges that middle school students face, will continue to be accessible to staff who want to use portions of the book with their classes. ??The move to remove the book was brought about by a complaint from a parent regarding foul language, sexual references, and teen smoking. The complaint was reviewed by committee comprised of two teachers, two parents, and an assistant principal. The committee questioned whether middle-school students possess the maturity to see beyond the "objectionable language" in two or three of the stories and be able to glean a positive message.
 

The committee passed on their recommendation to move the book to the staff collection, which was passed by the school board without comment. The parent who originally filed the complaint, Shelly Miller, the mother of a Patrick Henry sixth-grader, has not yet commented on the action taken by the board.

A 2007 anthology published by Penguin's Viking Children imprint, Stuck in the Middle was edited by Ariel Schrag and contains contributions by Gabrielle Bell, Daniel Clowes, Joe Matt, Dash Shaw, Lauren Weinstein and others. It was selected by the New York Public Library as one of its 2008 Books for the Teen Age.

In a statement provided to the Argus Leader, Schrag said:

"Every parent has the right to monitor his or her child's reading (or TV watching, or movie watching, etc.), and if this mother doesn't want her child reading 'Stuck in the Middle,' I completely respect that choice. But my intent in editing this book was to help children who might be experiencing some of the things the characters in the book experience - bullying, rejection, acne, depression, etc. - feel less alone. The goal was also to let kids who aren't experiencing these things, but who might be engaging in some of these negative behaviors (i.e., the bullies) read the book and think about how kids who are dealing with these problems might feel. These 'messages' are expressed through art and humor to make them more accessible and fun. I really believe there is something in 'Stuck in the Middle' for everyone. In terms of foul language, sexual content, and teen smoking in this book, all the authors strove to present the teens and pre-teens in a realistic light. We may not like all of the decisions teenagers make, but if we sanitize their speech and behavior in our stories, our characters won't be authentic. Real teens and pre-teens sometimes use these words and say and do these things. A book like this can present a good opportunity for dialogue between children and parents. Banning the book isn't going to change children's behavior or somehow save them from the hard truths of teenage life - I find it very hard to believe that a child would hear a swear word for the very first time in the book, or that he or she would be made aware that teenagers sometimes have sexual relationships or smoke cigarettes. The only thing that can make an impact in the way children act is communication, and this book provides a platform for that.?The bottom line, to me, is that it's good that this mother is aware of what her child is reading, but she should trust that other parents can make the same judgments about their children's readiness for such a book. There's a big difference in saying, 'This book isn't right for my child' and 'This book isn't right for any child.' I don't think it's up to any one individual parent to make that decision for all of the children in the students at this middle school."