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As a young English teacher in rural Missouri, I taught The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier to my freshmen classes. I gave the choice of 4 books and warned them that if they read The Chocolate War to be prepared for some rough language and renegade thinking. (the novel takes place in a Catholic boys' school and one of the main character says, "Jesus was just a guy with a good PR man."
Anywho, everyone settles in...until the night before the test. Evidently, a local preacher's daughter was panicking the night before and cramming to get it all read. I am not sure exactly what went down between father and daughter (did she find it timely to complain about the novel as she was getting in trouble for being behind in her studies? who knows?)
But, the next morning the father was waiting at the office with the book. He had stayed up late and underlined the objectionable parts throughout the entire book (he could have taken the test) and she was excused from taking the test. He demanded the book be pulled from the classroom.
But here's the kicker: My principal totally backed the parent. He questioned the validity of the book, had me pull it from my shelves, forbid me to ever teach it again,etc. When I showed him it was on all national book lists, had won awards, his response was, "Those lists are made by people in New York. They don't have the same values as we do."
I brought the teacher's guide and pointed out all of the thematic points of the novel. I argued that certainly a parent should be allowed to censor what their child reads, but not keep a book out of the hands of every other student.
The discussion was heated. We went to the library and I pointed out the word "bastard" in Of Mice and Men. His response, "That's a classic. It doesn't count." I even pointed out the school board policy that stated nothing can be taken out of the curriculum without board approval. His response, "I have the power and the board will support me unconditionally."
So, I was in real quandry. Did I take it to the newspaper? Yell "Censorship" and get all sorts of headlines? It was really a tough situation. It was a tiny town, and we were young. My husband's career was very visible and having a rabble rouser for a wife was not going to be helpful.
So, I kept quiet. ( I know, I was a coward) But I did put it on my classroom library shelf and continued to let kids check it out individually because that felt like a small victory.
I still get worked up when I think about it today...oh, and the principal never read the book. He made his decision based on that one man's opinion and would never back off. It was a real shame because so many young boys really related to that novel and finding books that appealed to 14 year old boys was tough.
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