AlimNassor
Banned
You supported it. You're going on a crusade because it's required reading. Why should it not be required reading? Why should;d kids only be forced to read Joyce or Fedor?
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Mom gets Neil Gaiman Book banned In New Mexico (bonus not the one you think...)
- Thread starter Zippedpinhead
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You supported it. You're going on a crusade because it's required reading. Why should it not be required reading? Why should;d kids only be forced to read Joyce or Fedor?
DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
meh the kids can read it on their own time if they want to......
That's true, but something shouldn't be taken off the required reading list because it's offensive. Neverwhere should be removed because it's not even required reading for a fan of Gaiman.
David Incorporated Esq.
Member
I supported it? Cool, tell me what else I did that never happened.
It shouldn't be required reading because it's the literary equivalent of watching prime-time TV. Required reading should be teachable and it should have topics worthy of discussion for young adults. Neverwhere does neither.
General Choomin
Banned
95% of the people who want to ban books in school are the same people who want to reintroduce the bible and prayer into school. This kind of anti-intellectualism goes hand in hand.
A book that gets children interested in reading is, honestly, more important in the long run than a book that will be forgotten in a semester.
I don't buy the "it gets kids reading" argument. It was used for Harry Potter before this as well, and with eight or nine or however many books, those kids just learned how to read Harry Potter.
Vermillion
Banned
I honestly don't see her problem. How about you talk to your kid and allow them to read the books? She probably sees herself as a good parent after this, when in fact her actions suggest the exact opposite.
But who am I to criticize parenting...?
But who am I to criticize parenting...?
I think Harry Potter had a not insignificant impact on the YA boom, the momentum from which was furthered by Twilight. Granted, it's YA, but what can you do? Children will read stuff that's interesting to them, and maybe, with time, they'll develop taste and expand their horizons. I think those kids have a better chance of becoming dedicated readers in the future than kids who only read the standard American high school curriculum.
The most important part of becoming a reader is learning to read for personal entertainment, especially when there's so much other more popular and mainstream forms of media around. And it's very unlikely that love of reading will develop from Great Expectations.
If you look at the ReadingGAF thread, and other such topics, you'll see lots of readers started with Sanderson or King. Some of them have make a point of going beyond sci-fi-fantasy and exploring other genres, while others are content with where they are. These are people who really love reading, and with the possible exception of Mumei, most of them didn't start with "American classics". At least, not that I can see.
Mistake
Member
If she didn't read it, I say they keep it. I got a book taken off a required reading list while I was in middle school after I read it. Turned out the author was an ex KKK Grand Wizard. I can't remember the name of the book now. It started off innocent enough, but by the end this boy
-had dead parents and lived with an uncle
-uncle died
-Native American neighbor was pretty cool
-Neighbor died
-The kid goes off to live life on his own with his dogs
-One dog gets shot and the other attacked by bees. Both die.
-The kid walks off and you don't know what happens then, but he probably died too.
-had dead parents and lived with an uncle
-uncle died
-Native American neighbor was pretty cool
-Neighbor died
-The kid goes off to live life on his own with his dogs
-One dog gets shot and the other attacked by bees. Both die.
-The kid walks off and you don't know what happens then, but he probably died too.
^Sounds pretty cool, sucks that you had it placed off the required reading. Was it a metaphor about America or something?
Not true at all. I started reading the Animorphs during those Scholastic booksales in Elementary school and till this day I read for fun. Most so a lot of classics and books on history though. Newest fiction book may have been "How to Sell", which I make a face if it was on the required reading list.
Not true at all. I started reading the Animorphs during those Scholastic booksales in Elementary school and till this day I read for fun. Most so a lot of classics and books on history though. Newest fiction book may have been "How to Sell", which I make a face if it was on the required reading list.
Zippedpinhead
Member
is a kid who has read seven books better off than a kid who has read none?
I think you would be hard pressed to answer that the kid who has read none is better off.
Is having read a book the goal, or is continued reading the goal?
policies like this are just dumb and always seem to foster the opposite effect.
I mean, I'm no longer a child/high school student. But, if I hear of a book that is banned, it is the next read on my list if I haven't done so already. It was the same back when I was younger with books, movies, albums, whatever.
I think if a kid is going to read controversial material, it would be far better to experience it in a structured learning environment with intelligent discussion rather than alone.
I mean, I'm no longer a child/high school student. But, if I hear of a book that is banned, it is the next read on my list if I haven't done so already. It was the same back when I was younger with books, movies, albums, whatever.
I think if a kid is going to read controversial material, it would be far better to experience it in a structured learning environment with intelligent discussion rather than alone.
Zippedpinhead
Member
getting the child to read any book should be the goal.
You can never have continued reading if they never start, and how will you know if they will continue to read until after they read that first book?
Just to continue with the theme, if Great Expectations was a required book when I was in Middle School it probably would have turned me off to reading entirely from that point on. Luckily I came into reading long before that point and found out about how awful it was on my own...
I'm fine with Harry Potter being taught in class, because most people won't give some classics any more than a Wiki read and if they're industrious, Spark Notes.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...uds-munros-nobel-win-furtive-canadian-writers
... In particular, she objected to a passage that begins, "The man has his hand inside the woman's sweater and was moving it around enthusiastically, a lone traveler discovering an unexplored continent." ...
Himynameischris
Member
Wait...those are banned?!? I read most of those because of school.....
Jedeye Sniv
Banned
Yes it is, we need to come into contact with 'objectionable' material, this way we can form our own opinions about what is and isn't offensive to us and how to act accordingly. Something this fucking idiot of a mother never did, because banning books is fucking stupid and wrong. This attitude of 'I don't agree with something therefore I must never come into contact with it again' is infuriating and shows just how small a mind this person has.
I think it's sad that the school didn't have more balls to stand up to a moronic parent like this.
That's no news though, I would rather have a nice diagram and quota of idiocy and countries. Who's at fault the most?
What exactly are you referencing here? Was this some sort of study?
Technosteve
Banned
When i was in highschool we had the pizza hut pizza reader program. I read alot of books for those personal pan pizzas. I got paid to read jurrasic park.
CyclopsRock
Member
To be fair, requesting that a book not be on the required reading list is far from making it a "banned book". Her judgement might be faulty, but as far as I can tell there's nothing stopping that kid - or any other - from reading the book.
QuantumDerp
Member
Now they should ban twilight books for required reading, you know it required in some school, it is required for some collegess
Is it possible she saw the word 'Gaiman' on the cover and figured it had to do with a homosexual and therefor was inappropriate content? I mean; it doesn't sound like she's read it and I can't think of any objectionable material in the book.
I am also guessing the people she complained to probably didn't read it either. So she just started ranting about some gay book the school was forcing her daughter to read and the whole thing snowballed from there.
That's all that makes sense in my mind as to what happened.
About as scientific of a study as the "it's getting kids reading" study.
Ice cold.
Pops Maellard
Member
Joke post?
Kitsunebaby
Member
Pretty much every book I read in high school had very adult themes, from slavery, to rape, to murder. You're supposed to be able to handle it by high school.
Come now Dave, the dude's written 5 books and only 2 of them could be remotely described as suicide girls fan-fiction.
Moral Panic
Member
No we don't. I don't need to watch child porn, for example.
People on GAF complain when parents don't care what their child does, and then they complain when the parent does care. She says the material would be R-rated, (haven't read the book personally) and therefore can be considered inappropriate for people of that age. She then was pro-active and voiced her beliefs to the school, which then reviewed the book and took action. I can't see anything she did wrong.
Gentleman Jack
Member
There is an incredibly naive presumption of harm visited upon her child if she reads a story where a guy is observed feeling up his girlfriend. This is stupid reactionary BS from the mom who lied about the content of the book and the school who lazily banned it (instead of removing it from required reading) out of fear rather than take a stand for their library. Stupidity all around.
Getting students to read an pay attention to young adult schlock>>>teaching overrated classics that they won't read and will just sparknotes/google shit from it.
NobleGundam
Banned
What! No Fahrenheit 451?! List is incomplete without this masterpiece.
David Incorporated Esq.
Member
I know I'm just so quick to judge!
Seriously when I read Anasazi boys after having read Neverwhere it was so obvious it hurt. I remember seeing interviews with him and Amanda Palmer together and they just made it worse.
He really comes off as his main characters in real life, except without the part at the end where they mature and gain loads of self confidence.
Man, is it "Shit on Neil Gaiman" day today or what? I even like some of his books!
Eh, required reading ruined excellent books for me. I went back years later and read all the required books I had always skimmed in school and loved them all. The act of making it required (along with annoying chapter summaries) killed my motivation to read, which I did tons of anyway (just different material).
I think that had I been forced to read the books I enjoyed anyway it would have put me off those as well.
Jedeye Sniv
Banned
You just compared an innocuous book to child porn? OK....
The problem for me especially comes when one errant parent with a bug up their arse can change school policy when there are, presumably, another 100 parents in the community who don't have a problem with the book.
People should not be protected from mild offense - rather, they should be exposed to it and encouraged to explore the feelings that the offending material generates. Like with you - you post 'offends' my sensibilities, but I don't want you banned for it, and I assume the case is the same likewise.
Chiaroscuro
Member
Neverwhere is an easy-to-read yould adult book, which was based on a previous tv mini-series by Gaiman. Neither the tv show or the book has questionable content in my view, it is more like a guy with a crush book. Twilight has tons of more questionable content.
But I cannot see why it is a required read. Anyway, lazy parents that do not read.
But I cannot see why it is a required read. Anyway, lazy parents that do not read.
Shakespeare can be pretty overtly "obscene" with his use puns. The people who complain about book are too dumb to realize it though.
dr3upmushroom
Banned
They can make you think and question... Aint nobody got time for that.
Yeah, I was going to say the same thing (hell I read those same books in HS). I don't know anything about this particular book but "Objectionable content" is pretty much the norm for HS-level readings.
VistraNorrez
Member
You really never know what book will make someone want to take up reading as a hobby. I do believe in the notion of "atleast they are reading something". Because then you know they have the attention span and interest to read text on a page. Then it becomes a matter of knowing the person and recommending them great books and expanding their horizons.
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