P. S., these books are sick!

New York Daily News ^ | 12/7/06 | BY RACHEL SCHEIER and CARRIE MELAGO

[pinkpanther111]

WHAT? But if she is self declared lesbian... Am I missing something here?

[beezdotcom]

Saturday Night Live.

[metmom]

The principal operates on the assumption that the librarian is a licensed professional who takes his job seriously - that there is no need to examine every book the librarian purchases or keeps in the library.

And you know what happens when you *assume* something. And here we have a sterling example.

[exhaustguy]

Check out Amazon.com reviews of this book. The ALA gives a highly positive review (why am I surprised). To the ALA's credit (ha ha) they do limit the age to 7th to 12th grade. I can't even believe some of the words from the book that are used in the review.
I could see this book being appropriate for independent reading for 16+ year olds, but how could it be recommended for 6th graders. Are they out of their minds?

Here is an exerpt sanitized for Free Republic readers -

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. With more urgency than many YA novels, the poems and brief prose pieces in this fine anthology speak directly in teen voices about boys coming of age. They talk about love and anger ("I woke up p___ed this morning"); about sex ("some good p___y") and jealousy ("You fell for gelboy and his hair"); about the "monster" drugs, family warmth, rejection; conformity, and bullying; about being gay ("queer is more than / c__ks and A.I.D.S.") and accepting that your father is gay. The poetry is rooted in a wide range of neighborhoods, families, and classrooms, and the language is direct and frank, with a rhythm ("I'm / not a / hip hop / Dred / retro / 4-pierced brother") and a physical immediacy in the imagery. Some voices are more private, about secrets, sadness, the weariness of the blues, and the loneliness when a girlfriend leaves ("the photograph torn in half"). In one of the best pieces, a boy thinks about his birth mother ("What if . . . ?"). There are no intrusive illustrations, just the images and music of the words, and lots of white space that makes it easy to browse. Many teens will recognize their search for themselves. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

[SantosLHalper]

Three blind mice,
See how they run.
Where the f**k are they goin'

[Tired of Taxes]

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL PING!

This ping list is for the "other" articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. If you want on/off this list, please freepmail me. The main Homeschool Ping List by DaveLoneRanger handles the homeschool-specific articles.

[Riverman94610]

Oh,Saturday Night Live.
Ha,I should have known.

[RobRoy]

I don't know if anybody has said this yet, but this is a very black and white concept:

THIS IS NOT A CENSORSHIP ISSUE!

Parents should have the right to remove any book they so choose from public schools libraries, even if it means closing down the public school libraries.

The reason is simple, they are public SCHOOL libraries. The parents DO NOT have the right to remove books from PUBLIC libraries. And if a parent really, REALLY wants their child exposed to the stuff of this article, thay can bloody well get it at the PUBLIC library, where banning such books WOULD be a censorship issue.

There. Censorship rant over.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Homeschooling your kids will not stop you from paying that $1,000 per.

Actually it will. The extra $1000 per kid per year are fees due to activities at school.

Since the school district can't get any of their new debt schemes passed into law, they just started creating user fees for everything; field trips, athletics, music, theater, random school activities, etc.

[jmcenanly]

I don't know about you, but he looks strangely familiar.

[wintertime]

One more point: Homeschooling (which is often promoted here) may be a superior way to educate children, but it is not practical for all families. For instance, as one poster has already pointed out, a single parent may not have the luxury of staying home to educate his or her children.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Homeschooling is the superior way to raise a child.

Yes, there are some children who must be institutionalized for their education. That is a shame. We need orphanages too, but no one is claiming that orphanages are the best place to raise a child.

[Logophile]

Yes, there are some children who must be institutionalized for their education. That is a shame. We need orphanages too, but no one is claiming that orphanages are the best place to raise a child.

I do not disagree with you about orphanages. It would undoubtedly be best for children to be raised by loving parents in stable homes. But if orphanages are necessary, it is entirely right to insist that they be operated in the best possible way for the children they serve.

The same is true of the public schools. Perhaps someday all parents will homeschool their children. However, that day has not yet arrived. So long as we continue to spend money on the public schools, we taxpayers have every right to insist that the schools be operated in the best possible way for the children they serve.

[wintertime]

we taxpayers have every right to insist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You have every right to insist. Then see how much good it will do.

[Logophile]

You have every right to insist. Then see how much good it will do.

Please see my Post #49.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Statement: "There has to be a backlash against this craziness. There just has to be.'

Response: I HAVE BEEN WAITING SINCE ABOUT 1964! The backlash hasn't happened. It probably will not. It is only now being dimly seen as to the full nature and extent of the collapse which occurred in the 1960's.