The book is not really banned or been burned, anyone who wants it can by a copy for themselves...but, as I say, if it is being presented in a public school paid for by tax dollars, then they have every right to object and try and get enough support to get it removed. Apparently they did and that is how our Republic works at that level.
Good for them.
I agree and I disagree. I wouldn't begin to challenge the school district's right. The school district is obviously within its rights to remove the book from its shelves. As it would be within its rights to remove Shakespeare, the Holy Bible, or Dr. Suess if it so chose.
However, that doesn't put the district above criticism for its decisions, and this decision in strikes me as particularly myopic. I've read the volume in question, and the whole moral of the story can be summed up with a single word: Don't. Blume just had the guts to write her morality play from the perspective of a girl who did, but later wished she hadn't. IMHO, that kind of thing is much more effective than sinless Leave it to Beaver universes where such challenges are not only never failed, but never even tested.
That's pretty simple. It's representative government. They are not violating any rights, first or any others. Anyone who wants the book can buy it and read it to their children...but they do not have the right to make it a part of everyone's currculumn if they object to it.
That's not myopic, that's common decency and respect for the views and rights of others and their children. If you can't communicate "don't: without going into graphic detail on a matter such as this, then perhaps a different swriting style for this age group is in order, that's just my opinion.
...and if the people in that schoold district feel this way about it...then what we just witnessed IMHO is our government workiong the way it should work.