In The Days

• Source: The Morning Call
• Author: Randy Kraft
• News Date: 8/15/07
• Submitted By: Mike Raley

An angry parent has blasted the East Penn School District for requiring its students to read books he said are “full of filthy vulgarity.”

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
—Matthew 24:12

ollowing its standard practice, the board limited Jones to three minutes and didn’t respond to his criticism during the meeting. But later, board President Ann Thompson said, “We listened carefully and it is being investigated carefully.”

“We’re paying attention to the man,” said Thomas Seidenberger, who was sworn in as East Penn’s new superintendent at the meeting. “He brought legitimate concerns, and he’s very passionate about those concerns.”

Today, Seidenberger said the district is reviewing how the reading list was developed and will make changes if needed. He said one possibility is putting disclaimers on next summer’s list to give parents a heads-up regarding books they might find offensive.

“I trusted the school’s choice of reading material,” Jones said. “I won’t do it again. Nor should other parents.”

This is the first summer East Penn is requiring all of its high school students to read two books, most by contemporary authors. Each grade has a different list of recommended books. A warning at the bottom of each list states: “Some selections are focused toward mature readers; as such, these selections may contain adult language and situations.”

Jones went to the board armed with several books on the 10th-grade list, most jammed with bookmarks where he found what he considers offensive material. He said one book, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” contained “the F-word” 17 times on one page.

Elaine Gannon, a board member who talked with Jones after the meeting, said she doesn’t know how that book got on the 10th-grade list, “and I’m going to ask the administration to look into it. I’m not happy that was part of the required reading list.”

Jones told the board some of the books are the equivalent of R-rated movies, which his son isn’t old enough to watch. He said his son would be sent home if he used that kind of language in school.

Jones said he found the name Jesus used as an adjective with the F-word in one book. He found it ironic that schools allow such books, but not school prayer. “Guess you can only use God’s name in a profane way,” he said.

His son selected Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” as the first book to read. Like many East Penn families, they had to buy it because they couldn’t find it in local libraries. After Jones glanced at it and found offensive language and other objectional material — “it glamorizes illicit drug use” — he stopped his son from finishing it.

Now the boy, whom he declined to name, is reading Homer Hickam’s “Rocket Boys.” He has not yet picked a second book. “I have to screen the books carefully and find one that contains values I want him to emulate,” Jones said.

He claimed students no longer read American classics such as “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” because of the “N-word.” He asked the school board: “Is the N-word worse than the F-word?”

Seidenberger said “Huckleberry Finn” is part of the 11th-grade curriculum at East Penn.

Jones has three children in East Penn schools. He said all three went to a private Christian school until a couple of years ago. “Kids should be reading books that develop their character.”