I just read that third year teacher Kaleb Tierce has been put on paid leave in Texas because the parents of one of his ninth grade students filed a police report alleging that Tierce distributed harmful material. The alleged harmful material? Cormac McCarthy’s 1974 novel titled "Child of God." Here is the book’s description from Amazon.com:
In this taut, chilling novel, Lester Ballard — a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape — haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.
The student, whose parents filed the police report, chose the book from a book list compiled by all of the school’s English teachers for a pre-Advanced Placement class. According to Superintendent Kent LeFevre, the parents did complain to the teacher and the principal before filing the police report. It is still unclear how the issue got so far as to require law enforcement.
Situations like this are always difficult to see with a neutral viewpoint; I side with the teacher on principle. I might not agree with the student’s parents, but I can see how the they might feel. I can understand parents not wanting to expose their children to inappropriate material, but this whole scenario smells funny. There is something not being revealed about this mess. If the book’s content disturbed the parents, couldn’t the student have chosen a different book from the list and let things be?
It surprises me that this still happens, but I am glad that it is reported when it does happen and things get blown out of proportion. It prompts discussion. Has anyone read this book? Is it inappropriate for a ninth grader? Can that even be universally declared by anyone? While I would be comfortable declaring what is appropriate for my children, I am not sure I could say that to others about their children. Hopefully I won’t make an ass out of myself in the future and tell someone how to raise his kids.
This is right on target with the class topic for my Intellectual Freedom in Youth Services class, this past week… The fact that it *did* make it to the law enforcement level indicates a failure to defuse the issue at the meeting the parents had with the teacher and principal and/or an agenda that the parents are part of pushing (like by one of those national groups, like PABBIS or something). It is pretty weird that it’s a student-selected title… :/
I liked the parental/teen responses the article recorded - it’s nice to see support for the teacher.
Also from the Amazon listing: “suspenseful, rich with detail, and yet restrained, even delicate, in its images of Lester’s activities”.
Yeah…this smells funny because it stinks to high heaven. The truth is that the father of the girl who read the book is a law enforcement officer. The parents went straight to law enforcement before they went to the school. Mr. Tierce had not read the book in question but had loaned it from his personal library when the school approved “all” Cormic McCarthy books to be included on the reading list. The 14 y.o. girl just happened to pick this book off the shelf and it had Mr. Tierce’s name in it. The student had the book for approximately 6 weeks before the mother either found it or found out about it and went crazy. The school leadership is this situation is extraordinarily weak and has allowed this situation to take on a life of it’s own. Unfortunately, a great teacher and good man has his career on the line. The good folks in Tuscola need to fire the school superintendent, tell those parents to sit down and shut up, and get on with life. Mr Tierce should leave and go somewhere where the community at least has a library and/or a movie theatre…then he won’t be the hottest ticket in town.
I do not think you can say what is appropriate for a certain age person. A pre-advanced English student could be extremetly intelligent while also being not very mature. I support Mr. Tierce because of a two major reasons and one that is just a question on my part.
1. The book was on an approved list, the list was approved by all the AP english teachers as well as the librarian
2. He did not force the student to read the book, it was chosen by her. He merely opened up his personal library to the students to get approved books that were not in he schools library.
3. Does this child watch television or movies aimed at high school aged children. If so she gets a heavy dose of sexual content, vuglar language, and graphic violence just from that. If her parents pay for the movie tickes or rentals and a cable bill then they to are supplying innapropriate material to their child and should be charged as well.