FROM THE FRONT LINE: Protests Hold Steady; Millie Davis To Work With Anti-Censorship Cases

Charles Suhor, NCTE/SLATE Field Representative

Censorship reports have held steady recently. Thirty-three reports came to NCTE since my April column—the same number as the comparable period last year. For the full 2003-04 school session, the count was down to 84 from the previous 90. Banned books declined, dropping from 14% to 10% for the session.

This is my final column for the SLATE Newsletter. Millie Davis at NCTE Headquarters, who has worked ably and creatively with censorship problems over the years, will be responding to censorship calls. I will miss the great contacts I’ve had with teachers as an anti-censorship activist over the years. It’s time, though, to move on to some writing and family projects. The “CODA” item at the end of this column gives thanks to but a few of the colleagues who have been part of this rewarding work.

All who contact NCTE receive prompt e-mail, telephone, or fax, responses, followed by other action when requested. Our CENSORSHIP PACKET is sent to all callers who haven't visited the Anti-Censorship website. Listed alphabetically below are some of the cases that deal with challenges to particular works. Actions taken are italicized. "Rationale(s) sent. . ." indicates that NCTE sent the teachers one or more rationales for the protested work. Letters of support are offered in all cases; they typically go to the review committee, school board president, or superintendent. OUTCOMES (when known at press time) are capitalized.

Overwhelmingly, schools and districts that call NCTE have two policies or practices in place—provisions for a substitute work when a student or parent objects, and an established process for orderly review of challenges that arise. Increasingly, schools also have in place formal or informal procedures through which English language arts teachers collegially select works to be studied.

If you are experiencing a challenge to materials or methods, or if you know someone who is, call Millie Davis at 217-278-3634 or visit http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/censorship and click on the "Report a Censorship Incident" option.

To receive regular reports on K-12 censorship cases and other intellectual freedom issues, join SLATE by sending $15 to SLATE at NCTE, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096.

SOME RECENT CASES

ATHLETIC SHORTS Chris Crutcher (grade 8, GA) “Jesus” used as interjection; reference to homosexuality. Rationale sent. RETAINED

BLESS ME, ULTIMA Rudolfo Anaya (grade 9, AZ) profanity, sexual content, “anti-Hispanic.” Rationale and letter of support sent. BANNED

Addendum: This district had no process for review of challenged books in place, so the protest was successful, despite the fact that the book had been in use for 11 years.

CATCHER IN THE RYE J. D. Salinger (grade 10, PA) profanity. Rationale sent. RETAINED.

DEAR JOHN WAYNE Sherman Alexie (grade 10, ME) sexual content. No Rationale available. RETAINED

DOUBLE DATE R.L. Stine and EXTREME ELVIN Chris Lynch (grades 6-8, GA) Stine book: sexual content, glorifies crime, degrades women; Lynch book: sexual content, profanity. Rationale sent for Lynch, unavailable for Stine. Stine book LIMITED to high school, Lynch to grade 8.

THE DROWNING OF STEPHAN JONES Bette Greene (grade 10, OH) gay theme. Rationale sent. RETAINED

Addendum: The teacher “in a very conservative community” was doing a unit on tolerance of diversity and carefully gathered materials in anticipation of a problem. She writes, “Things went very well with my unit. Students and community responded well to the literature and the discussions.”

FALLEN ANGELS Walter Dean Myers (grade 8, NJ) profanity. Rationale sent. RETAINED

Addendum: The teacher writes: “The parent backed off. He was contacted several times by telephone, and the message indicated when he could meet with the principal, curriculum supervisor, and the two teachers, including me (we were armed to the teeth with literary WMDs, such as the material you sent us). He never returned our calls, and did not show up for a meeting at any of the scheduled times.”

FORGED BY FIRE Sharon Draper (grade 9, DE, part of class special education) sexual content, drugs. Rationale sent. RETAINED

HAMLET William Shakespeare (grade 12 honors, OH) verbal abuse of Ophelia, discussion of sexual innuendo. Rationale sent. RETAINED, but teacher was reprimanded.

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS Maya Angelou (grade 10 honors, NJ) sexual content. Rationale sent. REMOVED from summer reading list; APPROVED for whole-class study.

Addendum: This unusual compromise was a left-handed compliment to the teachers, implying that their guidance was important in dealing with the book. Nevertheless, the removal from the summer reading list had a chilling effect.

THE PRINCESS Jean Sasson (grade 10, CO) sexual content. No rationale available; letter of support sent. RETAINED

SELECTION/REVIEW PROCESSES (high school level, NC) Letter and NCTE documents sent. BUILDING-BASED PROCESS ESTABLISHED

Addendum: After a promising start when the district began exploring processes for selection of books and review of complaints, a weak system was approved. The principal in each building was given the authority to approve or disapprove works for classroom study. A building-based review committee will handle protests. “Results will vary,” the teacher reported, since principals and school cultures vary from deeply conservative to open-minded.

SONG OF SOLOMON Toni Morrison (grade 10 honors, GA) sexual content. Rationale sent. BANNED

Addendum: The teacher was taken by surprise here because parents and administration at this private school were very supportive when the challenge was made. But the administration, apparently bent upon defeat, “asked” her not to teach it next year, “apprehensive about future incidents and unwilling to take a chance.”

SPEAK Laurie Anderson (grade 8, OH) sexual content. Rationale sent. RETAINED

Addendum: The teacher writes, “Fortunately, we had done our homework and our process was sound. The Board voted to keep the book based on the recommendation of the review committee and the superintendent.

STUDENT POEMS (high school, NM) Anti-Iraq war content. Letter of support sent. POEMS REMOVED

Addendum: In two widely publicized Albuquerque cases, the posting of student poems and posters (some anti-war, some pro-war) resulted in removing the anti-war materials and the reprimand or suspension of English and art teachers. The English teacher reports that a year after the ACLU took the district to court, the Board removed the reprimand from his file but made no admission of wrongdoing and “no commitment to student or teacher, freedom to learn or teach without reprisal.”

WHEN DAD KILLED MOM Julius Lester (grade 8, IA) profanity, sexual content. No rationale available; letter of support sent. BANNED

Addendum: In this infuriating case, the administration violated its own policy by pulling the book from a first-year teacher’s classroom during the challenge then failing to form a review committee. The superintendent called me with the claim that the teacher had “voluntarily” pulled the book in accordance with the policy’s allowance for an “informal” solution.

WHIRLIGIG Paul Fleischman (grade 8, AZ) “guided imagery,” language, references to nudity. Rationale sent. RETAINED

CODA 1—VIDEO POLICY A protracted struggle in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, began with a controversy over using the video “O” for a comparative study with Shakespeare’s OTHELLO. A series of complex guidelines, all inappropriately taking the industry movie ratings as the criterion, was hammered out, despite the call by deeply concerned teachers, the Winston-Salem Journal, and NCTE for a straightforward policy that gives responsibility to teachers while allowing parents to opt out if they don’t want their children to see particular videos.

CODA 2—Kudos and Thanks to many NCTE stalwarts who have been key innovators and supporters in the battle for freedom to teach and learn. Among the early pioneers were Ed Gordon, Ed Jenkinson, Lee Burress, Ken Donelson, and Steve Dunning. A long succession of national and affiliate leaders advanced the tradition—to name but a few, Jim Davis, Diane Shugert, Nick Karolides, Robert Spencer Johnson, Gloria Pipkin, Beverly Chin, Jean Brown, Mary Moe, Margo Sacco, Sissy Lacks, Louann Reid, and the chairs and members of the SLATE Steering Committee and the Standing Committee Against Censorship. The NCTE Executive Directors were tireless advocates, with Jack Maxwell expanding the program aggressively. Millie Davis’s great insight and leadership will again energize the program, and the inestimably valuable secretarial support of Marcia Loeschen will continue.