Crow writes “There’s an interesting discussion on fark about a school library that has banned a book on censorship because of a parental complaint.”
The book that started the flap, “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress,” is a novel about censorship. Author and filmmaker Dai Sijie wrote the story about two youths who find a suitcase filled with banned books during the Cultural Revolution in China.
Superintendent Tom Murphy pulling it from the ninth-grade reading list and instituting major policy changes on reading material.
I’m incredulous
Both of my teens and I have read this wonderful book. I find it difficult to believe that it would be removed from the curriculum. Maybe this kid wanted a bit of publicity?
Not just about a book…
It also involves classroom environment:
“She read a passage about a virgin having sex. Making matters worse, she said, Brandon told her that a student drew an explicit picture of a boy and girl having sex as part of a class drawing exercise on the book. The drawing was displayed with others in the classroom.”
The teacher said it wasn’t explicit but she didn’t argue about the subject of the drawing.
Banned Book
I don’t understand why it is necessary to assign explicit books. If the school wants to teach about censorship there are other ways. Political materials published underground in totaliterian states is one way perhaps. If we wanted to teach about the evils of murder would we have a crime committed in the classroom for an illustration?
There are so many blatant sexual materials and references in society, the high school students don’t need word pictures. Once again we have the old idea of age appropriate gone mad.