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Good, Old-Fashioned Censorship
My blog is apparently all about sex, sex, sex today.
The New Rochelle (NY) School District has bowdlerized Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen, which is being taught in an upper-level English class. Pages 64 through 70 were physically removed from each student's copy due to sexual content.
While Thomas Bowdler would surely approve, I do not. I hear these stories all the time but still can't quite believe they're real. I mean, the pages about contraception in our 7th grade health textbooks were glued together, but they were from the 70s. As a teacher quoted in the article says, you should "teach a book or not teach a book"! Ripping pages out is so... so... 21st century, apparently.
(Different question altogether: why, in the age of AIDS, was my 7th grade class using health textbooks from the 70s? Fortunately, they weren't our only source material. We also watched The Ryan White Story!)
First of all, I agree with the teach it or don't theory. Second, I'm pretty basically against censorship. Putting that aside, if a handfull of pages were cut from my book (when I was a student), I'd be plotting to get my hands on the complete copy. Truth be known, pp 64-70 might have been the only pages I read, but you can bet I would find a way.
I know! I hope there's a run at the local bookstore.
I remember in 6th grade, my language arts teacher was reading a book to the class when she stopped abruptly, scanned through the next few pages, and then announced we'd have to read another book instead. I sneaked that book off her desk and read the forbidden pages next chance I got!
The original post by Diana Abu Jaber seems to no longer be on her site, but I found it through another blog; it's a great piece. (I also love love love Crescent, so I may be biased.)
http://asifnews.blogspot.com/2007/10/four-paragraphs.html
I guess I don't understand this need for censorship--isn't it better that kids are learning about this in a safe and supportive (one assumes) environment like a classroom, rather than through heaven only knows where? Yes, eight grade health class was supremely awkward, but I'm glad we went over everything, seeing as it was indeed the age of AIDS. Thankfully, I was not subjected to the Ryan White movie! I just watched the Real World with Pedro instead. ;)
V. tired, so sorry if I ramble.
Oh, I remember reading about that Crescent incident! I bet the teachers got high inhaling all those black marker fumes.
The Ryan White Story was actually pretty decent and educational, and I think it was worth knowing about. But Ryan White contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, and many of my classmates were already having sex, so...