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Another book stirs suitability debate
By John J. Hopkins Times
For the second time in less than two months, the content of a "young adult" book has stirred emotions in a local school district where the book is part of the curriculum.
The Depew Board of Education heard a complaint Tuesday from Gabrielle Miller, a parent who frequently attends its meetings, about the 2006 John Green book Looking for Alaska.
The book is among "coming of age" genre choices to read in the district's second semester 11th grade English classes.
Miller, who has a freshman daughter, expressed her displeasure that the book was among the choices, citing its excessive use of coarse language and sexual content. She voiced her concerns during the board's meeting in the Depew High School auditorium.
Miller said there was debate over the book two years ago, indicating the district in 2006 considered making it available to eighth grade students.
"I don't understand where the logic of purchasing this book is coming from," Miller said. "This school, I would think, should be more interested in buying calculators than it would in buying this pornographic book."
Board President Steve Carmina suggested that the discussion should not take place at a board of education meeting, and recommended that Miller talk to Superintendent Kimberly A. Mueller about her concerns.
Carmina also noted that Miller requested to speak in the "public forum" about safety issues.
"This is in regards to safety," Miller responded. "You don't feel that this should be made public, that the parents should know?"
The district requires residents who wish to address the board about items not listed on its meeting agenda to submit their requests in writing by 1 p.m. the day before a scheduled meeting.
Board Trustee Diane Benczkowski continued the discussion, stating that she received "several" calls from parents about a letter mailed to them by the district advising them of the book's "controversial" material. The letter included a permission slip for parents to sign to allow their child to read the book.
"A lot of students got wind of the letter, and they intercepted the mail," Benczkowski said, "they signed the letter and sent it back."
The letter, from ELA Chairperson Beth Latko and 11th grade English teachers Paul Endres and Christine Ferreri indicate that Looking for Alaska "may be considered controversial."
According to the letter, the book addresses topics such as friendship, drinking and driving, coping with death and peer pressure.
"There is also some explicit sexual content in the book," the letter states. "It is our belief that this book addresses very pertinent and relevant issues that young adults deal with."
The letter also indicates that Looking for Alaska will be discussed and analyzed "in a safe setting" under supervision and instruction of English 11 instructors.
According to safelibraries.org, a conservative Web site, Looking for Alaska includes 34 instances in which a particular four-letter vulgar word is used and has 11 references to oral sex. One passage features a 16-year-old girl using a tube of toothpaste to demonstrate a sex act.
The Web site amazon.com lists another four-letter word as one of the top 100 most frequent words in the book, with 49.
Looking for Alaska's main character has been compared by some book critics as a modern Holden Caufield, the central character in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, another oft-criticized novel for its liberal use of vulgar words.
Published in 2005, Looking for Alaska won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and is highly recommended as a "young adult" novel by the American Library Association.
The library association considers persons between 12-18 years old as "young adults."
The book is narrated from the perspective of the 16-year-old protagonist, Miles "Pudge" Halter, who leaves his family's home in Florida, where he has no friends, to attend a boarding school in Alabama.
At the school, Halter builds strong friendships for the first time in his life. Among the friends is Alaska, a 16-year-old girl on whom he develops a crush.
Alaska later dies in an automobile accident, and the characters try to understand the circumstances that led to her death.
After the meeting, Trustee John Spencer asked Miller if she had read the book, stating he found it "a good coming of age story" adding, he read it cover to cover.
"You have to read it in context," Spencer told Miller. "Don't underestimate what your kids are going through."
A parent in the Cleveland Hill School District complained at a December school board meeting about the district's handling of two other "young adult" books, The Misfits, and its sequel, Totally Joe.
A character in The Misfits believes that he is gay. The sequel focuses on his character.
Both books are part of Cleveland Hill's sixth grade curriculum.
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