Emily's Response Paper #2 Prompt #2

Response Paper #2 Prompt #2

Dear Concerned Parents,

I as well as the rest of the faculty in Anoka-Hennepin High Schools understand your concerns regarding this book. We have come to the conclusion that while this book does contain some extreme language and sexual content, it can be very valuable. Yet, its value is based on the way it is taught and the discussions that come up in a classroom setting. Therefore, we will have it removed from the summer reading program. There will be a list of alternative books that the young adults in this program can read emailed to you within the next few days.

We would like to directly address your concerns, and let you know why this book will remain in the curriculum for our high schools. One of the first things that you bring up is that you entrust us as your child’s educators to teach your child not only academic fundamentals, but also moral norms. We would like you to trust us when we tell you that this book is extremely valuable for these students, and gives us as educators an opening to tell students the problems in this book. There is a reason that this book was accepted into our curriculum, it allows us to show students the difference in times from 1986 to now.

We understand your concern with the language that comes up often in this book, it is foul language. Yet, this language is something that children come across everyday in high school. It is hard to walk down the hallway in high school and not hear the f word 10 times. I agree that this is not a good thing, but it is reality. And part of our lesson that is to be taught with this book is that Park is surrounded by this language. But, even though Park is surrounded by this foul language, like your children, he doesn’t use it. This is a valuable lesson that we can give kids, that even though they are surrounded by this language, they don’t need to use it.

There are quite a few phrases you have brought up and we would like to address one in particular. One sentence that you found inappropriate was “He’d even wondered - seriously, while he was kissing her, he’d wondered this – whether he might be gay. (Rowell 71)” While we understand that you might not agree with homosexuality, it is still something that is occurring, and must be addressed. This particular sentence allows us to begin a conversation on homosexuality. A conversation that could help some children that are questioning their sexuality: like Park.

You also brought up sex, underage drinking, and drug use allow me to address these points. As far as sex is concerned, yes there is some content of a sexual nature but there is no actual sex in this book. The two characters decide not to have sex; this shows that in a relationship you don’t have to have sex. And yes sex is not a topic that we like to discuss, but it is something that must be addressed. The times have changed and these days most high school students have sex while in school, therefore it is a topic that should be addressed and discussed in class. There is a very small portion of this book in which underage drinking and drug use comes up. Once again this is a topic that should be discussed because it is occurring more and more often with young adults. If we don’t address these problems we can’t help our students. These sections also allow us a way to discuss these problems, and why they are not what children should be doing.

The last of your problems with this book that I would like to address are porn and sexual abuse. As well as, the “insensitive and denigrating” way the book handles the Christian faith and how “the instances of profanity are the disparagement of their God and Savior through the irreverent and the derogatory use of his name(s) as curse words. (Holmes 7)” I understand that you don’t like your daughter hearing about porn, but part of this book is in a young boy’s point of view as well. You would be hard pressed to find a high school boy that had never seen porn, in some fashion. Since this is something that young girls and boys (especially) have seen it is important to talk about. I have known some high schoolers that thought they were terrible people because they had seen porn. Therefore this is something that should be addressed. Onto sexual abuse, I understand also not wanting your child to hear about this, but it happens. And all children should be told that there are guidance counselors that can help, and there is help out there for them if they are going through this. This allows the subject to be breached and we can discuss that it is no longer the 1980’s and there are people that can help now. Lastly, I understand your religious concerns, I am also religious. And I know that it’s never fun to hear these “derogatory uses of His name(s) (Holmes 7)” unfortunately these will be thing that children will hear daily and they can’t hide from it, so we have to deal with it.

We appreciate the fact that you took the time to write up some general guidelines, and we will read them over. If we believe that there are some good points we will look into revising our current guidelines. We did notice that your one source was rather dated and from a case in 1975. While we agree that these are not very nice words they are also words used by high schoolers daily and can every once in a while come up in our texts. We are sorry that you don’t approve of this book, and that it offends you. Yet, we will be keeping this book in our high school curriculum and hope that you can understand why. Thank you

Works Cited

Holmes, Linda. "True Love, Book Fights, And Why Ugly Stories Matter." NPR. NPR, 18 Sept.

2013. Web. 02 June 2016.

"Parent Findings & Additional Proposed Guidelines for the Review and Approval of High

School Reading Materials." Parentsactionleague.org. Anoka - Hennepin High Schools, n.d. Web. 2 June 2016.

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. 1st ed. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013. Print.