Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/07/band-offers-to-send-students-c.html
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Woah woah woah - a Local Alaska school board.
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Indeed. And not even a proper ban, really. Nobody’s taking the books out of the school library, or bookstores. This is barely worth even a little internet shame.
Also one of the titles is wrong. “Invisible Man”, by Ralph Ellison was on the list, not “The Invisible Man”, by H. G. Wells.
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"In 1967 ‘I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream’ was first published. It won the coveted Hugo award as the best short story of the year.
Over the next nine years it was reprinted and lauded. hundreds of times. This book, in which that story appears, became a classroom standard in colleges all over America. The story was translated into sixteen languages.
In 1976, Kathryn Merrick, a high school teacher in Winifred, Montana, gave ‘I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream’ as an assignment to her students. The Winifred School Board fired her. Kathy Merrick was forced to leave town.
Buy a copy of this book and send it to a needy child in Winifred, Montana. And find out what raised the demon of censorship in that cold, far place where certain dreams and ideas are not permitted. A place where no screams are heard."
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Endle told board members. “It’s time the board looked into getting the Bible back into English elective curriculum and reading lists.”
I’m wondering if Mr. Endle has ever read the Bible. It contains a fair bit of rape and murder, among other nastiness from what I remember.
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Kind of surprised they banned The Great Gatsby. I was required to read it in high school. Makes me wonder if they’re playing 4-dimensional chess.
“The test run worked. People will send us free copies of whatever we ban. We have another funding shortfall, so tell them we banned Introduction to Algebra and AP Calculus Prep.”
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Yeah, that one is weird. I can kinda see how you would say Catch-22 is unsuitable for smaller children (there are a lot of guys dropping to the floor in that one! Also, sex. Which I guess is more scandalous to an American school board than violence). But the Great Gatsby? That is mostly psychological cruelty that will go right over the heads of most children.
It’s a HS class, not kindergarten.
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Fair. Next time I’ll read the whole article
Things like this happen in Palin country…
Yeah, but that is godly rape and murder.
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If there is one way to guarantee a book will be read by intelligent and adventurous students is to ban it. Personal experience with Cuckoo’s Nest.
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Banned books
Band books
Banned band books
Band’s banned books
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AND reverse psychology!
“I read Introduction to Algebra THREE TIMES and I still can’t figure out why the banned it. I guess I better try resolving all the equations again”
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