February 21, 2008
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Banning ‘Prep’
A book has been removed from a school after a 12-year-old’s mother saw the content of the book.
The book is called “Prep” and the content is about a young girl who is “coming-of-age” and is allowed to attend a prestigious boarding school. But some of the content is considered “pornographic” by a parent.
The book is recommended for 9th graders by is said to be appropriate for a 12-year-old.
It is said that one of the tamer passages in the book reads “I wrapped my legs around his waist. He jerked against me so strongly that I thought he might tear through my underwear.” Here is the link: Link
I don’t want to focus on a 12-year-old because I think we would have some level of agreement that with the tamer passage that it is inappropriate.
We will think of the grades of 9 through 12.
Do you think it is appropriate to have high school students read books with sexual content as part of their school reading?
Comments (156)
I liked that book. And i think it is appropriate for high school students.
I consider myself to be pretty liberal but that sounds a bit much for a high school reading… maybe in their spare time.
yes, that is around the time where teenagers begin to experiment and are curious about their bodies. I dont see why not..
i read the book too. it was good, but it does have explicite parts. but honestly…. 12 is a little to old for literary restriction.
it’s not like they’re not watching porn at that age already.
i think stuff like this is funny because parents dont realize kids are doing the things that are happening in the books. they just need to get a grip on reality
and were they reading it in english class or was it in the library?
Regardless of whether it’s appropriate or not, it’s unnecessary. There are thousands of books without explicit sexual content that can be used to teach high school students about every genre of literature.
That book is perfectly fucking fine.
Fuck that.
It’s good.
High schoolers will almost certainly read and do much worse. To have restrictions on reading after grade nine is, frankly speaking, absurd.
Hmm. . Its tough to answer. On the one hand as a parent, it is inappropriate. But the realist in me says these are things our teenagers deal with.
Sure its a book. But somewhere that book is someones real life. At some point the method of education has to change to fit the learning style of studnts.
I agree with the Black Harlequin we such worst stuff on t.v all the time and what about the songs that come out with “explict” content.Geezzzzuusssss….:)
I’m sure I would have a problem with it if I were a parent…but the truth is there would be no problem with my child picking it up at a public library and reading it….
I do however have a problem with them getting that material at school.
I think we should hand all children a copy of the Bible and a copy of Lolita and a copy of The Art Of War and from that, figure out how smart they are when they say their favorite.
If they’re a sheep, they’ll like the Bible.
If they’re a pervert, they’ll like Lolita.
If they’re a bastard, they’ll like the Art Of War.
That stuff shouldn’t be available at school, no. Our tax money is paying for it. Think about it that way.
Even though…my kids will never set foot in a public school.
In public schools, they’ll hear worse…
I don’t know…school, meh, that’s a bit much. And awkward, wouldn’t you think?
I’m sure nothing in that book is not already known by in-coming freshmen. Honestly…kids mature so quickly these days. Everything is spoiled by the 7th grade.
One of the english teachers at my school is having her students read a book were the main character gets raped. twice. It’s kinda graphic, to.
sure, in 5yrs when they show x-rated movies it will seem tame.
it’s not like they’re not watching porn at that age already.
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2/21/2008 8:06 PM
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andsosophiesaid
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=D
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Just kidding. I’m not sure if it should be assigned reading, but certainly available.
I’m a teenager. Banning a book or labeling it inapropriatel would just make me want tor read it more. ^-^ I seek out books on the banned and yearly most challenged lists.
Sure, why not?
I’m against literary restriction, but the parents should set limitations for younger children.
High school students are going to read whatever they want to read, but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate. In fact, it usually means it’s inappropriate. But parents should be wary of books advertised as “young adult”, especially the ones for girls; they are unbelievably raunchy.
eh… i read the book myself actually -_- it was a waste.
but putting this book as a book read in class for class discussion?! no way.
Yes.
Yes. Even many classics have sexual content. Even the Bible has sexual content. Give me a break.
@Drakonskyr - Oooo, this is the perfect test!!! I totally agree. When do we get started?
Of note: I’ve read “Prep” and honestly, I don’t think any teacher in their right mind would pick this to be school reading!
I really hate when people try to ban books. While I don’t think the
book is appropriate for a 12 year old, I think it may be okay for the
9th-12th grader to read. I think it is the duty of each individual
parent to decide what is okay for their own child to read but not for
other children. The school should not do the parent’s job for them!
I don’t think thats appropriate for required reading. We shouldn’t be catering to the “lowest common denominator” and ASSUMING that everyone in HS is watching porn or having sex…that kind of mentality does nothing but drive up the numbers of kids who do. I would be furious if my child came home with this as required reading.
amazing book.
I read it my freshman year.
It’s not any worse than The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I read that my freshman year too. AMAZING book.
psh, yes. MORE than half the kids at my school grades 9-12 have experienced that. haha.
listen, it’s a good book. fuck being “appropriate”. the inappropriateness is for a reason.
I don’t think that is appropriate for *school reading*.
I don’t think it’d be appropriate to be “assigned” reading, but I don’t see they would need to take it out of a high school library.
i’m VERY liberal (when it comes to things like this), but i would be flipping out if my daughter brought that home from school.
Well I believe its about this age that most boys already have Playboy under their bed for night-time reading…I don’t know about the girls….as far as the reading material for the high schoolers…..they would be better off learning how not to have babies and to stay in school and get a education…….
If you’re going to ban books with sexual content from high school curriculum, you’ll have to do away with classic novels, not to mention the Shakespeare. Oh, the bard was a dirty, dirty man.
I’m pretty sure I was 12 when I read 1984
Besides, if something is banned, that just makes teens want to read it more. That’s EXACTLY what drew me to Fahrenheit 451; my Principal had told us that, while it wasn’t explicitly against the rules, the teachers could use their discretion on that one particular book.
It’s just plain censhorship to even ATTEMPT to prevent high schoolers from read something. Besides, we’re just going to read it any way. I’ve never read that book, but that one passage is really graphic for a bloody 12 year old.
But I can’t say much, I read a lot worse even younger than that…
Just tell the younger kiddies who think they’re old enough that if they have sex, they will get pregnant. So be good and don’t get pregnant and read whatever the hell you want, I say…
Of course NOT! Kids are curious about sex at that age, why excite them more!? One definitely does not want to have her 12 yr old daughter impregnated by her 12 yr old classmate.
If it makes them want to read, why not?
Its probably okay.
I’m glad some parent looked at something though. Middle schoolers are watching **** like 2 girls 1 cup y’know.
i think its fine. ive read & seen much worse in highschool librarys.
The innapropriate content is for a reason, much like it is in Perks of Being a Wallflower and Catcher in the Rye. What’s appropriate is up to the reader.
“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”
- Oscar Wilde
i love this book. i wish my school would recommend it, we read stuff like ethan frome. this book isn’t really bad at all; we had catcher in the rye for summer reading, and that was much, much worse. my parents didn’t complain about them making us read that. some parents are overly-protective.
By the 9th grade, students should already have a sense of where babies come from and what sex actually is. While the quoted passage may seemily border on pornographic– it isn’t. The book is a coming of age tale and the focus of the book is on this. The more sexual content of the book is ancillary to this.
Here’s a good anology: Is Michelangelo’s statue David pornographic? If the principle focus of the statue was to highlight a sexual act, then it would be. The genitlia of David is incidential to the statue’s larger theme and context– the celebration of the human form, the Biblical story of David, and its symbolism towards the city-state of Florence.
Just as David isn’t pornographic, Prep isn’t pornographic.
Sure.
Books with adult content were there when I was in High School. I remember at first being shocked, but then realizing that it was part of growing up, and being adult like to read the books.
why the fuck not? i’m sure many of the young’ns have done worse themselves.
You cannot go from Nursery Rhymes to Erotica in one day. People have to grow up, and there are awkward periods as we learn truths of the world and of ourselves. Its just part of growing up, and some parents clearly have forgotten that process of childhood innocence evaporating.
Appropriate? Yes.
Necessary? No.
Not when classics like Romeo and Juliet or Uncle Tom’s Cabin still need to be read by half of the youth of our nation.
yes. all grades. sex is real life
it’s better if students can get some academic value out of it. otherwise, they could just google “sex” or “porn” or go out and get knocked up.
Gosh the Bible alone has some very adult content. Is the Bible then pornographic?
society is goin to hell in a handbasket ne way why not add to the flames ya know teen pregnancy isnt high enough lets try to get more juno’s….. big high five to the school system….
I see nothing wrong with it.
I think it depends.
My sister took AP English 11 a few years ago and they had them read Invisible Man for their summer reading assignment. Yes, she was an incoming junior, but she was only like 14 years old. There’s a very graphic rape scene in the beginning of the book that my mom raised hell about.
There is a point at which graphic becomes pornographic, but it’s really up to parents and teachers to decide… I know that my teachers over the years have had to make us read things they didn’t even like to read. What’s the point in that? And if they decide something is too pornographic for the student/s in their charge, they should be able to choose to read something else..
BUT if someone found this book in the school library, um, s/he can put the book down at any time s/he feels uncomfortable.. so they have no right to say that the book can’t be there for anyone to read who doesn’t feel uncomfortable with it.
School reading should be kept PG-13… I don’t want any part of my English grade to be dependent upon my reading a book with overly detailed sex scenes if it would make me uncomfortable to do so.
It shouldn’t be assigned reading, but I can see it being available. High school kids are already watching rated R movies, porn, having sex, and aborting babies by then. So reading a book with sexual content really isn’t that different or bad, relatively speaking.
I wouldn’t want my kids reading that stuff… but I wouldn’t ban it from them either.
Personally, I’d rather just sit them down and talk to them about sex than let them hear about it from others.
i love this book. a LOTTTT.
but i don’t think i’d like to read it for a class…
Honestly, I can’t say one way about the book unless I read it. I do have to admit to the fact that all of the 7th grade girls in my class (12 year olds) were reading Judy Blume’s Wifey…..
i have read sexually-explicit books for my high school english classes, and no one had a problem with it.
They’re already doing worse things anyway. My view, I wouldn’t want to be forced to read it. It would be awkward for me.
It’s real life stuff. just because some people don’t want to believe it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen.
I’m beginning to forget what the point of school libraries are now that these parents are getting rid of all the books in there. Why even have interesting books in there? Why not just have the textbooks and books that are being read in class? Since it’s just so inappropriate to have regular books there. Just make kids go to the regular library if they want to actually read.
This is getting so ridiculous. There IS a moral to these books that are being read, isn’t there? What are they so afraid of?
I’ve read the book. It wasn’t that bad. I don’t think 12 year olds should be reading it though. It should read more like “recommended for ages 14 or up” or something.
They’ve already seen it elsewhere, I’m pretty sure reading it’s not that bad.
I’m glad I’m a “new adult,” because some of you older people are insane. O_O
appropriate? probably not. but I remember some of the stuff I read in high school that my parents were not aware of what it was about. I am against censuring or banning books. Parents should be aware of what is out there and set guidelines for their kids.
i think we censor so damn much in this country that its ridiculous. sooner or later, we will be making women cover all but their eyes. sound familiar?
I don’t agree with censorship regarding literature. I do however believe a release form of some sort should be signed by the parents of the kids when exposing them to stronger topics or literature. They should have the ability to have their child opt out of reading what they deem explicit or they believe is beyond the child’s maturity level. However one parent should not dictate what an entire classroom or school is exposed to. Also, the kid could always run to the bookstore and buy their own copy, so if they really wanted to read it they could. In my experience making it taboo, or censoring it at that age only made me curious about it finding out what the big deal was anyway. My point? Have a release form, but do not censor lit.
How else are they going to learn? Sex is part of life.
Absolutely not!!!!
I agree with whoever said it was unnecessary. Whatever happened to the Great Books? They’re a lot better than the fluff pieces today…..
It’s probably a bit much for 9th grade, but not for 12th. I dunno.
it’s fine
Kids, surprisingly, do more things at a younger age.
I can guarantee that more than 80 percent of 9th graders who read it would have had already lost their v-card to the boy/girl of infatuation. And sex, is also, the least of the “bad” things a pre-teen can do.
Some idiot at a neighboring school district keeps on trying to bar the schools from allowing students to read a bunch of books, including a book I read my freshman year that had a stupid sex scene in it that we were mature enough to handle. I think it’s unrealistic to hide sex from high-school students.
Considering I know people who were having sex in 7th grade… I’m thinking none of that would come as a big surprise to a normal kid in grades 9-12.
now seriously what ever happed to tale of two citys? no wonder american culture sucks. where is the class?
Idk.
I wouldn’t read it. It’s not that I’m uncomfortable with sex or anything of that nature.. there are just some things I prefer not to read, talk, or hear about. Unless maybe it was with my significant other (provided I had one).
they need to have some education about it but not induce more curiousity like the phrase does.
There definitely should be restrictions on what’s allowed in the school. Yes, we know that high schools are aware of and are doing the things in these books, but that still doesn’t mean we should allow them.
I was about to say yes it was fine, because I read things more explicit than that in high school. Maybe not as a part of school content, but I did read them.
And then I recall the fact that I was sexually active anyway so the shit in books was no big deal to me. I guess this is another one dependant on the maturity level of the student in question. As a peer group? Nope. One on one? Up to the parents.
I’m sure most of them read & see enough of that stuff without it being required reading…
Seems a bit too much for a 12 year old. Appropriate to read in high school? Maybe. There ARE reading group questions in the back of the book and topics for discussion.
banning books is stupid they can get it anywhere else. Honestly there are alot worse out there like gossip girl which is a tv show.
I think parents should be happy that their high school children are reading anything at all.
maybe they should be thankful that their children are reading about it and not out doing it. :]
I searched and found books with sexual content at FIFTH grade. I spent my fifth grade lunches at the progressive liberal school searching for something to “move” me in the library.
How old are fifth graders? I knew I liked JoShannon in fourth grade. She liked to get on boys, but I could not find a tree for us to hide behind.
But both Paul Zindel and oddly enough, John Fitzgerald shaped my life.
So this is a new Paul Zindel. Did you taste pizza breath when you lost your virginity? Or myspace?
It doesn’t matter. It’s the same.
If the book has any literary value, yes. I think it’s really difficult to label a book as “pornographic” unless it completely lacks artistic merit and is solely made up of sex scenes. Would you keep high schoolers from reading Kate Chopin just because her books/short stories have sexual references?
I think it should be up to the parent.. but by highschool I had read some John Grisham, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz – all of whom have parts ofbooks relating to sex (and love among other things). I guess it depends on maturity. If my kid was dating heavily I dont kow if I would want them reading somehting like that, especially from school… but I dont think we should keep them from things like this forever.
Daniel (doubledb)
high schoolers are mature enough for that content, but not jr. high
In my opinion, its not appropriate.
Well, one way or another the kids will read it.
If the mom is afraid it will encourage her daughter to have sex, it speaks more about her parenting rather than the actual author of the book or whatever.
I always wanted to read that book…and will once I graduate because right now I’m too bombared with the assignments my teachers assign me…but anyway, I think parents should sometimes get over books that teens read that are about sex.
Just talk to your kids openly about sex and that way they’ll make educated decisions.
Most kids will have sex, regardless of how many fictions book they read about it.
My decision to have sex had very little to do with the books I read.
Totally fine. I mean, come ON.
Oh yeah, it’s not like it was a REQUIRED reading. If it was, then I would have a problem with it but…I doubt any teacher would ASSIGN that book.
We read that Sylvia Plath book in 11th grade which has a sex scene in it. I think it’s silly to ban books, there aren’t enough kids out there reading as it is. If they’re gonna read be happy about it.
i hated that book… but i dont think thats a reason for literary censorship, the things they talk about in there are ones that guys and girls at 12 are already talking about even though they often have no idea what it all means. they might have a curtain around the dirty movies in video stores but nothing can stop them from checking out the romance novels at borders
Of course.
Sex is a fact of life.
I think it should be an option, but not forced as a required part of the curriculum (or if it is, provide alternatives). I was forced to read “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” at that age, and that was just plain wrong.
I think that there is a difference between having it as prescribed reading or just picking it up in a book shop.
Reading about sex is a choice and I often think that reading something is far more disturbing than watching it.
When I was a junior in high school there was a girl who’s parents didn’t want her reading I know why the cadged bird sings because there is a rape in it.
ok maybe this book is a little mature for middle school aged kids but we have to face the facts of life. the fact is that we all talked about that stuff at that age. the only real differance here is that now its in print. OMG! is it really that big of a deal? i say that schools keep this book.
I liked that book, and there’s so much more to it than the few sexual passages (and I think the way sex is treated shows that it’s not a good idea to have sex with a guy that doesn’t really respect you, and so might not be a terrible message for high school girls).
I wouldn’t have considered that book inappropriate for high schoolers. After all, think of all the sex they see every day in movies, music videos, advertisements, etc. It’s not like they’re otherwise sheltered.
I don’t see how the book could be educational in anyway. It’s basically jsut a 200page magazine of girl talk. That shouldn’t be given to kids to read in any type of educational instiution like a school. Require kids to read something thats gonna make them smarter, not turn them on.
I would not let my 12 year old read this or my 16 year old. There are some graphic parts in it, including “do women smell like cheese or fish” and a bunch of oral stuff. Granted, I was reading VC Andrews in high school (smut galore), but that doesn’t make it right.
The real problem is parents don’t screen their kids’ books. Kids don’t need to be reading about graphic sex or casual sex. Really. So, if parents aren’t screening books, it is left to others. Then, “the others” get all sorts of harassment for taking a stand. Way to go, Others, for raising awareness!
I know when I was in 9th grade all I thought about was getting laid.
Why the hell not?
I would say it’s a bit much but probably ok if they wanted to read it outside of school. But to have it be required reading for 12 year olds? I’d be in the principal’s office so fast…
I have no problem with having my high school age daughter reading it. The key, however, is to open the line of communication about sex with your children long before high school. Then, you can comfortably discuss anything that you might be concerned with in this, and other, books. Knowledge is the key – not ignorance.
I read all of Stephen King, John Irving, and Peter Straub’s novels during High School which were way worse than that.
BUT IT WASN’T REQUIRED READING! NO!
Why not?
NO
Of course.
As if they don’t already know about it? Come on. >_<
<33
With all the good reading material out there is it really necessary to expose them to this? I know a lot of kids are experimenting but should we encourage it before they are mature enough to handle the complications if they arise?
I haven’t read the book, so I can’t say one way or another about the quality of the literature.
As a literature and English teacher, I have to be careful about what books I pick for my students to read. (Thankfully my curriculum is pretty flexible that I can pick and choose…) I have to be sensitive to what I think the reactions to the book might be. I was very cautious even when we read To Kill A Mockingbird because of all the racial slurs. Now, I teach at a Lutheran parochial school so maybe that’s part of the issue.
As part of required reading, my opinion would be that it’s not a good decision to have this book read. Now, if someone wants to read it on their own time, that’s not the school’s problem.
HEY GUESS WHAT
IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT’S APPROPRIATE.
I feel like kids are perfectly capable of making their own decisions by the time they reach high school. If they want to read a book with sexual material in it, be my guest. I mean, they could have at least picked some real literature. Or something written well. But the point is, they SEE it on TV and in movies. What’s so different about reading it in a book? And it’s not like they don’t talk about these things. If someone tries to say they don’t, you’re in for a rude awakening.
The book isn’t advocating sex, nor is it speaking against it. It’s simply talking about it. Which everyone else seems to have a big problem with doing.
I wouldn’t want my kids reading it…
Sex and intimacy is normal for teenagers. It’s the parents that have to first tell their kids (if they’re have time from their “busy” schedule of shopping and gossiping around the neighborhood) the good, the bad and the ugly side of sex. If you don’t tell them, how do you expect your kids to be saints? I wonder if that mom, told her daughter about sex…
i think it is appropriate.
no
I read A Clockwork Orange for my junior year English class. If by that age, you can’t handle a topic such as rape maturely, then you shouldn’t be in that grade.
It was a part of our school reading in high school, but it was in the optional summer reading program over the summer, and it was limited to only junior and seniors at the time. But, since it IS high school, it leaked down to everyone else, and there were no complaints.
“It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge.” Voltaire
If I had children, I’d probably not let them read it… no offense.
but then again, if they’re in a public high school, I know they hear worse than that on a daily basis… and let’s face it: they will have seen more pornographic images and suggestions on tv than that book will likely ever suggest.
:
its fine. I remember we had some really risque books in middle school that had some really iffy content…but we were still allowed to read them.
Take a look at the AP reading list. There are tons of books with sexual content on it. And we read them. And it doesn’t really do us any harm.
i think i’d read that book..
and yeah, why not
It shouldn’t be on a “mandatory” reading list, but if the student does wish to read it, I don’t think they should be restricted.
I don’t see what the issue is. We read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson my freshmen year in high school and that deals with rape. I don’t know why parents don’t think their kids aren’t mature enough to read books like that. Put a little more faith in our generation dammit! I hate book censorship in schools. And I also hate the fact that one prude can ruin something for everyone else.
If the parent really had an issue with her kid reading the book, she could have spoken to the teacher and arranged a different assignment for the student. If I were her kid though, I’d tell her to fuck off.
pfft, I was reading stuff by Laurell K. Hamilton in the 8th grade– but I certainly didn’t find anything like that in my school library or classroom.
Sure, kids are going to read what they’re going to read, and there isn’t much you can do about restrictions on the content they are reading, but that type of thing shouldn’t be available at a school library– which should be kept relatively wholesome and focused on content needed for classes. I’d prefere that if my kid is going to read something like that in his/her spare time, he/she get it from me or a book store.
Life has sexual content.
And Prep is an excellent book.
I’ve read the book myself and have no idea why it would be on a school’s reading list. It just isn’t that impressive. There are definitely better works worth spending a marking period on.
I always check out school’s reading lists just out of curiosity. Most of the books have very mature topics, and I am very torn about it. On one hand, I feel that kid’s innocence (sp?) should be protected and on the other hand, I feel that they probably already have exposure to the topic and it should be discussed. I am just soooo glad that I am not a parent.
i actually read that book when i was a junior in high school and it didn’t seem that bad.
It’s not like the mother actually read the book. I have…it’s a great book. The girl should be able to read it!
Amanda
Ps. has the mother turned on the tv lately…..there is soft porn on tv all the time.
@another_rebel_without_a_cause - ”If you’re going to ban books with sexual content from high school curriculum, you’ll have to do away with classic novels, not to mention the Shakespeare. Oh, the bard was a dirty, dirty man.”
Precisely!
I think this book was absolutely phenomenal. I don’t think it is inappropriate for that age range seeing as it is about coming of age issues that people of that age deal with on a daily basis, or at least hear about. Are we to shelter our children from all things such as this because we (or I should say parents) don’t want to admit that these are things that go through their children’s minds.
They read it all the time in school, it just isn’t as obvious as that. Parents just don’t like the idea of their precious little ones thinking about sex.
I’m pretty liberal but even I think it’s entirely inappropriate and unneccessary.
yes. they’re already having sex. a book with sexual content won’t corrupt them.
i actually own this book, read it when i was maybe 12 or 13. i think that it’s fine to have sexual content in a book for high school students, as it’s completely common that there are high school students that are already having sex. why ban reading about it, especially when the book can possibly prevent a mistake? In Prep, the girl basically realizes that the boy was just using her, and hopefully that can teach the reader to be more careful about who and what they choose to do at the same age as the character. while i really think there are better book to read than Prep for a high schooler’s education, i don’t think it should neccesarily be banned. It’s focused on a girl’s emotional rollercoaster through high school, not just her having sex or giving head.
try snow falling on cedars. oohhh dip.
I guess if the goal is to get them pregnant and having abortions, why not? Some of them already having sex is a far cry from encouraging it and condoning it by recommending a book that obviously arouses desires and suggests ways.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov is often assigned reading… and it’s about a man who falls in love with his landlord/wife’s 12-year old daughter and has sexual relations with her.
Give me a break.
from a parental view, if i had kids, i wouldnt want my kids reading that. it could either scare them or make em lust. and that’s only a tame para?
true, that’s the age for experimentin. but that given, leave it up to those kids to seek out the book themselves, not forcin it on all in the grade
“I don’t want to focus on a
12-year-old because I think we would have some level of agreement that
with the tamer passage that it is inappropriate.”
Nope. When I was 12, I used to read terrible romantic novels that had more than their fair share of smut in it. (except like most kids my age, I was reading them so I could sigh and wish that someday some man would come sweep me off my feet and la dee da life is easy. the smutty parts were nothing I hadn’t heard before)
Anyway, I guess in general I would say it is fine for high schoolers. Even the most sheltered 9th graders know all about sex.
By the way, I wouldn’t recommend it for 12 year olds, I was just saying that I wouldn’t say that it is inappropriate for ALL 12 year olds.
no
I don’t think literary restriction is necessary a good thing. I know immature seniors and mature freshman, and I think that if the material is handled in classroom setting, the kids should be allowed to read it. Parents sheltering children isn’t always going to make them better people when they get older. They need to realize who they themselves.
This is not really appropriate. There is so much better literature out there to use for a class.
What about Lolita? What about 1984? A lot of literature has strong sexual overtones. It just shouldn’t be spoon-fed to kids. Let them find it on their own if they want to so badly. -_-
I don’t think schools should require the reading of books that contain sexual content. I can’t say strongly that parents have a strong case in banning such readings, but they have a right to voice their opinion based on professionalism. At most it’s unprofessional and the passage does border on pornography. But I don’t think it should be banned from the school library. If the student sought out such reading, that’s fine. If the student finds it offensive or wasn’t looking there in the first place, it shouldn’t be required.
Appropriate? No. Will teen still read these type of book if it was banned? Maybe. I personally don’t want my future children to read these type of books. The reason is because 1. as a parent I want to preserved their innocent (what’s the rush, have some fun before entering the dating world). 2. I want to avoid the awkward discussion over the dinner table about sex.
I’d rather read sexual innuendos than what I read and saw about the Holocaust when I was I was in the eigth grade. I can’t even watch the end of Band of Brothers. That crap has to be ten times more damaging than a little teenage promiscuty.
Did they ever read Go Ask Alice? That was required in my school and it was about 13 year old girls giving old fat guys blowjobs for heroin. Ummmm I think they can handle a little bump and grind.
If it was my child I would prefer if they read this during spare time. School reading should involve subjects with more impact, not shallow high society fluff.
I’m not sure it’s really the best option for required reading.
Not as a part of freshman to sophomore level high school reading. Perhaps in book clubs, but within the class it’d just seem awkward to me.
i read the book.
and i found to be very much true with what every teenager goes through
To answer the question yes.
That book is trash and is nothing but plot. There is nothing rhetorically good about it. I don’t mind reading stuff with sexual content however, I don’t want to read trash that purely exists to entertain teenagers because they can’t pick up a real book.