Book banned in Fort Cherry

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 11/29/03 | Jane Elizabeth

[ishabibble]

Indeed! Last fall, THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD was banned for being "gender specific". As a 2nd grade girl in a very poor Catholic school, I cannot tell you how much that story, that spirit, that resolve, inspired me. Truthfully, I never even saw the "gender". That story was used by the nuns to teach the lesson of achievement; it is simply a child's version of "Act as if.." which, of course was extended into polite society, being a good citizen, etc.
The good Sisters didn't give a thought to my "self-esteem issues" or any other buzz word BS, it was about teaching and learning.

THE LITTLE ENGINE...All-American Kid!

[SeaDragon]

Brings back ugly memories.......

[Cicero]

I'm a fan of Ellison's Invisible Man, which I think is one of the few great modern American novels. As you say, the real controversy seems to have been about the other stories, which I never heard of before, but they probably wanted the protestor to look like a bigoted Christian racist.

If one of the stories is about a young girl being fondled by an old man on a train, then I think that is indeed very questionable. Better to read The Great Gatsby.

[Darksheare]

Cripes.
Sounds like someone I know personally.
She wouldn't happen to be married to a younger man now, if you know, would she?

[wideminded]

In the boxing scene in Invisible Man, one of the black boxers cannot help getting an erection when he sees the naked white woman. This is the part that Mr. Fanning was probably trying to keep from his daughter.

Invisible Man is a great piece of literature. If I was going to pick one chapter for a high school anthology, I might not have picked this one if I wanted to avoid controversy. Nevertheless as I recall the scene from reading it many years ago, the overall feeling is not a focus on sex, but the fact that the teenage boxers are being exploited for the entertainment of the white audience. And maybe this is a scene that young male readers can relate to.

[sourcery]

Let me ammend my statement to satisfy your inner pedant: When the country was founded, publicly-funded schools for the poor existed in Massachussets, but no where else. Pennsylvania established free public education, but only for the poor, in 1790 (note: not 1785.) Private businessmen in New York set up a Society to provide free public eduction for the poor in 1805. The first public High School in the country was opened in Massachussets in 1820.

Nevertheless, I stand by my original statement, since there were no public schools as we understand the term today, when the country was founded--since the Massachussets publicly-funded schools for the poor definitely do not satisfy the modern definition of the term 'public school.' And the universal availability of publicly-funded education for all citizens was not fully in place until the late 19th century.

But the main point I wish to make is that as universal public education has become more prevalent, and as the amount of public money allocated to education, as a percentage of GDP, has increased, the average educational achievement and proficiency levels of the students have decreased. Most college graduates could not pass the High School graduation tests of 100 years ago.

[Pedantic_Lady]

Cripes. Sounds like someone I know personally. She wouldn't happen to be married to a younger man now, if you know, would she?

I have no idea; her first name is Sarah, though.

[Darksheare]

Wouldn't know her then.
*Sighs relief*

[Pedantic_Lady]

Wouldn't know her then. *Sighs relief*

Good; she probably has a record with the Department of Health by now. *cough*slut*cough*

[Darksheare]

Of course, I've known a few girls in my area that have said such nice things as, "For *name dollar amount* I'll do *name perversion*."
REAL moral area I live in.
Heck, I've run into men that have said the same thing.
It's gotta be the curriculum, or the water.

[Pedantic_Lady]

Heck, I've run into men that have said the same thing. It's gotta be the curriculum, or the water.

It's the world's oldest profession. It won't ever go away.

[Darksheare]

Scares teh crap outta me.
And these weren't the usual 'side walk workers'.
Some of these were middle and high schoolers, all under age, and all of them just doing this for money.
*ugh*

[Pedantic_Lady]

Some of these were middle and high schoolers, all under age, and all of them just doing this for money.

EW. Where do you live so I can NEVER move there?

[Darksheare]

Orange County NY.
Cow country USA east coast.

[gcruse]

[The Great Gatsby] by F. Scott Fitzgerald is on the American Library
Association's list of most frequently banned or challenged works.

The dumbing down of America is beginning to parallel Winston Smith's
job of putting information down the memory hole to be lost forever. I'd
mention the book I am referencing, but the young ones might get jittery.
If ignorance is truly bliss, we should be getting happier by the year.

[gcruse]

And Catch 22... Ugh!!

?????   What are you favorite titles, then?
Just curious to see what my polar opposites have read.

[Scenic Sounds]

But it's "Wild Swans" that seems to have caused the most consternation. Published in 1996, the story contains a description of a young girl who apparently is fondled during a train ride by an older man who says he is a minister.

I don't understand why they have to ban the whole work. Can't they just tear out the page about the fondling or maybe just cover that part with a black magic marker so that it can't be read? ;-)

[gcruse]

I never heard of Wild Swans. My high school days were leavened by such thrillers as Scarlet Letter and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I don't think we read anything contemporary at all. Probably too many Commie writers. This was Texas in the fifties, after all.

[freedumb2003]

I had to go to the library to get my hands on Asimov

I had it at home -- I read the Foundation Trilogy at 10 years old. And pretty much everything the Good Doctor wrote. Also Heinlein. Also Ellison (Harlan).

I also very much enjoyed the books you listed -- "Catch 22" and "Lord of the Flies" being particularly interesting and worthy of thought (to this day).

Some books need to be read since they affected the millieu in which we live (at least until this generation). It used to be everyone knew what "catch 22" meant and had read the book that created the term. Nowadays if it didn't come out of the holes of Brittany or Tupac they have no idea.

We are a nation of illiterates.

[Scenic Sounds]

I never heard of Wild Swans. My high school days were leavened by such thrillers as Scarlet Letter and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I don't think we read anything contemporary at all. Probably too many Commie writers. This was Texas in the fifties, after all.

Well, if you ask me, Gary, The Scarlett Letter is itself probably on the wrong side of the line for high school kids. There must be some way to tell that story without using the "A" word. ;-)