Below is a letter posted on Morganton.com. It mentions banning more books, specifically Harry Potter. Hope it is not on Tracy Norman's radar. She has proven she is above following policy.
Tracy Norman doesn't have the children's best interest in mind. She is a politician and this was a political move. I think she (or Tim) underestimated the back lash they would receive.
And yes, I had heard of the book before this event. It was, and still is a New York Times best seller.
Check out this post at the Right to Say It, The Right to Read It.
From what I read 90 percent of the people in Burke County think they can do a better job and make "better" decisions than the people they elected on the school board.
I wouldn't want their job, and I can't see how they would because just about every move they make someone is complaining.
How would most people like to work under these circumstances if your boss was telling you, "you should have done this, you should have done that."
We have a group of people who are honestly trying to make the best decisions for the sake of all of our children. People need to remember you can't make everyone happy all of the time.
I have a daughter at one of the high schools. Would I want her to read "The Kite Runner"? Not particularly, nor do I have an opinion on whether to keep it or ban it but, I do however think this book needs to be "monitored."
I don't feel that most of the freshman, sophomores and a lot of the juniors have the maturity to get the deeper meaning of a book like this.
The parents need to sit down with their children, talk about it and make a decision together about whether or not they should read this book at this time. I am thankful that Ms. Norman has the best interest of our children at hand and isn't afraid to voice her opinion. Kudos to her.
I am particularly in favor of removing the "Harry Potter" books from the schools, but I don't hear anyone screaming about this group of books. I cannot figure out why in a community of so many Christians we are allowing our kids to read and watch movies about witchcraft, levitating and drinking blood to sustain life.
Because this book is considered a children's book we close our eyes and say it's OK. We take them to church and then let them read and watch these movies about witchcraft at home. Satan is having a party with our children. I don't get it myself.
My daughter attended Ray Childers Elementary School and my son still goes there. When a Harry Potter movie was going to be shown as a reward the school sent home a letter asking parents for permission to let them see it.
I was glad to see there were other parents who felt as I do about this series when our children were offered a different movie to watch.
I am thankful that our principal had given us a choice as to what we wanted our children to see.
I am happy with being able to make the decision about what my children read and don't read.
There is always going to be controversial books, but the school board should let the parents know what books are offered at the schools (kind of like the rating they give movies).
How hard would it be to put a certain color tag on it to let you know it may have some sexual content, rape or extreme violence.
If parents would do their job and talk with their kids about what they could get out of reading a certain book, I would hope that this should satisfy most people.
By the way, I didn't know anything about this book before Tracy Norman brought it up. Did you?
Theresa Whitson Moore
Connelly Springs
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14 comments:
I disagree. I haven't heard 90% of people saying they could do a better job. They are not pompous or arrogant enough to profess that they could tell persons with much more education and experience than themselves how to do their jobs, I know I'm not.
I think the reason so many people are complaining is because many of the newly elected and some of the returning members are not following through with some of the issues on which they were elected. Instead of getting rid of a good ole' boy system, they seem to have created a new one. I'm sure this comment will get negative reactions, but when the three big decisions they have made thus far are explained repeatedly by phrases like "we felt" and "we believe", they have left themselves open for criticism. Many people did vote for them because they promised to make objective decisions, not decisions made through a good ole' boy network, and when there is no evidence of that, people will speak out.
I agree that most people wouldn't want their "boss" telling them constantly what they would/could have done. But imagine this scenario: someone admitting that you are doing a good job but you're "just not the best person" for a job due to reasons that are only privy to the board. In other words, yes, you are doing a great job, don't change, but we're not giving you a job you are admittedly qualified for. Don 't get me wrong, I'm sure the person they actually decided upon is qualified also, but the problem with the rationale used by the board (feelings, beliefs) have made many people question that decision, probably unfairly for the new principal.
Some of the people that voted for Buff/Norman did want changes, but not at the expense of people they know to be doing a good job. People wanted a change, but not if it means ignoring policies, one of the main criticisms of the old board. It seems hypocritical.
To some degree, I believe that the board members honestly believe they are doing things in the best interest of the children. But you hit the proverbial nail on the head when you said you can't make all the people happy all the time. That is why decisions (whether they be personnel decisions or media policy decisions) should be based on objective criteria, instead of "feelings".
One argument that I keep hearing that won't fly is that "The Kite Runner" must be okay since it was on the New York Times best seller list. Some of the vilest material ever printed has ended up on the NY Times best seller list. I'll just name a few before closing: Rush Limbaugh, Bill Oreily, and Sean Hannity. Besides when did Burke County need any help from the NY Times in deciding what's best for my children. Children develop at different ages. My child is a graduate of EBHS. He can barely read. I would not want him to read "The Kite Runner." Why? Because words are powerful and minds are weak. Children and adults alike should read at their level of comprehension.
Don't blame your child's lack of reading skills on the high school. Most kids don't enter high school until they're 14. How much time did you spend reading with him at home? People love to blame the school system, but they hate to admit the problem might be in their own living rooms.
Did 1:18 actually mean to say the her child is weak-minded? That's probably why he can't read. Is she implying that all the students in Burke are weak-minded?
Should the Bible be banned?? Sodom and Gomorrah is only one example of sexual references. Do the same people who want to ban The Kite Runner also want to ban the Bible?
Here's a novel idea. Why not submit the following books at the next board meeting for the forbidden reading list: The Bible, The Quran, The Torah, The Teachings of Confucious, and The Vedas.
I believe this covers most of the main religions on the planet, and all have reference to "gratuitous sex and violence" at one point or another in their discourse. Any and all of these sacred documents have been perverted at one point or another throughout their history for the purpose of some individual or group to espouse hatred toward others.
Whether one chooses to read The Kite Runner or The Bible, much can be left up to (sometimes improper) interpretation. This is where the teacher comes in. With proper guidance and consistent regard for logic and discussion of the topic being studied, the students' minds are trained to better understand the concepts of cause and effect. They can then reason more effectively the complex relationships between environment, culture and religion which shape the human condition, sometimes in ways we find horrifying or objectionable.
So many times throughout history we have had to deal with human arrogance in the form of censorhip "for the good of the people". As so many petty dictators have found, time and again, knowledge is power and education is the key to unleashing this power.
In my opinion, this board needs to spend less time with this senseless power struggle, and get down to the business of running these schools.
Bravo 2:33!
Ms. Moore,
They should put a tag on possibly offensive material? Everything would be tagged because there will always be someone who finds something inappropriate or distasteful in a literary work.
Also, the Germans liked tags. They put tags on all sorts of things, including people. The Jews had to wear stars. Homosexuals had to wear pink triangles. Jehovah's Witnesses had to wear a lilac triangle. Let's label everything and everybody! We can turn Burke County into a fascist state!
By the way, tagging the book will only make more kids pick it up and read it!
Ms. Norman is just trying to get noticed, she should be trying to get prayer back in the schools. Why can't people stand up for God instead of a stupid book. People better wake up.
I'm really tired of people saying that kids can't pray in school. Who said prayer ever left schools? Students can pray if they want to do so. I know for a fact that the high schools have groups that meet for prayer and fellowship. Teachers and administrators just can't force kids to pray.
To 3:02 I'll meet you at Freedom or East Burke at Lunch to have group prayer with everyone and you can lead the prayer. God Bless your soul.
To 3:02 Your really standing up for Jesus. What if he got tired of YOU.
I think you may have misunderstood 3:02’s complaint. Nor do I think the comment was meant to belittle people who see prayer as important. Perhaps he/she meant to point out that there is no law that says kids can’t pray in school. People keep saying that prayer has been taken out of school, but I’ve been to various functions at several schools in this county where people prayed. I know for a fact that FCA and Lyte Exposure meet at EBHS often to pray and discuss. In fact, Lyte Exposure meets daily. One teacher even has devotional for students after school in his classroom. Teachers meet together on Tuesdays to pray. When staff members have been sick, teachers have met as a group to pray for them. Our schools even offer a Bible as Literature class. Many of our schools have a daily moment of silence so the students can pray and/or reflect. When people make the broad statement that there is no prayer in school, it sounds like they think that it isn’t allowed at all and/or is illegal, which is not the case. I guess it all boils down to semantics. What do people actually mean when they say we need prayer back in school? I see it there all the time. Also, if I am wrong about that commenter, being sarcastic to him/her is not going to bring that person any closer to Jesus. God wants you to live as an example in everything, including the tone of your voice.
preach it preacher
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