[IP] book banning -- yet another place to question living in
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post-gazette.com
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Washington Neighborhoods
Book banned in Fort Cherry
Removal of literature anthology in senior English class creates
controversy, debate
Saturday, November 29, 2003
By Jane Elizabeth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Battle Royal" is perhaps the most memorable chapter in Ralph Ellison's
acclaimed novel, "Invisible Man," published 51 years ago.
It likely will make an impression on the class of 2004 at Fort Cherry High
School, though not necessarily for its literary value.
The selection has helped provoke a battle of its own among parents and
school officials after a textbook containing Ellison's chapter was removed
from Fort Cherry's advanced English classes.
Though the "Bedford Introduction to Literature" has been used for a few
years at the school, officials pulled the 2,400-page book earlier this
month after a parent complained about some of its content.
"We got into class and the teacher said, 'Hand up your books,' " said Scott
Conklin, a senior from Midway who's enrolled in the advanced English
course. "She wouldn't tell us why."
But word gets around quickly at Fort Cherry in Washington County, Conklin
noted, and students soon learned that parent John Fanning had complained to
the board on behalf of his daughter, another student at the school.
Just before a Nov. 17 board meeting, board members were notified through a
letter from the superintendent that the book had been removed from the
classes and that the issue likely would be brought up by parents at the
meeting.
It was. Conklin's mother, Renee, and other parents complained about the
confiscation of the books. And more parents, both supporters of the action
and those who opposed it, spoke out at a board meeting earlier this week.
Fanning would not comment on his complaints about the book yesterday,
saying that the news media had taken his comments out of context.
"I said, 'My faith in Christ tells me to do this,' and that's all they
picked up," he said. "They made me look like some religious nut."
Scott Conklin, however, believes that it's parents and board members who
have taken the text readings out of context.
In the Ellison story, Conklin noted, "there was a naked woman dancing in
front of a group of men. But that wasn't the story ... There was so much
more to it."
The chapter details a scene in which several black schoolmates were
blindfolded and forced to punch each other in a pseudo-boxing match.
Besides the Ellison chapter, complaints centered on three short stories:
"Wild Swans" by Alice Munro; "Enough" by Alice McDermott; and "Lust" by
Susan Minot.
"Enough," published in 2000, was included in the textbook's chapter about
development of literary characters. The story follows a Catholic woman's
life in the World War II era.
"Lust," published in 1989, is an examination of a girl's relationships with
a succession of boys. It's included in the book's study of style, but
students in the advanced English class hadn't gotten to that chapter,
Conklin said.
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 think they took it out of context," Conklin said of those who complained
about the story. "If you read the story as a whole, you would see there's
more going on ... than a girl being molested on the train."
Conklin agreed that some of the words and images were initially shocking.
"You're like, wow, they're saying this in our book."
But he said no one was forced to read the material and that discussion
focused strictly on literary, not lascivious, qualities.
"Our teacher told us that 'some of this material could make you squirm in
your seat, so if you have a problem with it, let me know and I'll let you
do something else,' " he said.
Fort Cherry school board member Elmo Cecchetti, whose son also is an
advanced English student, said he read "Wild Swans" after requesting a copy
of his son's banned book.
"I didn't find it offensive," he said, and said he plans to read the other
selections.
He added, "I found the questions [included with the readings]
thought-provoking. Frankly, I thought kids would enjoy discussing the
questions in the back of the chapter."
Textbooks are examined and evaluated by teachers and administrators before
they're approved for use in the classroom, Cecchetti acknowledged. Can a
parental complaint supercede that process?
"That's a good question, and one that the board needs to address," he said.
The board's curriculum committee will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss
the matter, and the public is invited to comment at that meeting. However,
no decisions could be made by the board until its next voting meeting in
late January, Cecchetti said.
In the meantime, Scott Conklin's class is reading "The Great Gatsby."
The novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald is on the American Library Association's
list of most frequently banned or challenged works.
----------
(Post-Gazette education writer Jane Elizabeth can be reached at
<mailto:jelizabeth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>jelizabeth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or
412-263-1510.)
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