Part 2. Disappointed, Speechless: Public Reaction to Porn & Torture Content of Materials at RSM Intermediate, SVUSD

(Updated May 1, 2014)

By Speedy Scott,  globalmicroscope@gmail.com

Overview.  This month--April 2014--Dr. Jameson, Principal of RSM Intermediate, stated his administrative policy:  "...it [is] impossible to set criteria for restricting use [of media] based upon age alone."  As you might imagine, the publication of this policy has inspired strong opinions among community members, not to mention urgent questions: 

1.  Is Principal Jameson's statement consistent with California law?  
2.  Is it right for our kids?  

Recap.  To assist in answering these questions, a brief sample of the RSM materials assigned or shown in history class is detailed below.    The ages of the children involved are generally 12 to 13.

1.  Pornography, Horror / Michael Crichton's Timeline:  

Low-resolution image from Wikipedia thought to
 qualify as "fair use" under US copyright law for
non-profit book identification purposes.

"He was imprisoned and killed.  His captors didn't want any sign of foul play, so they stuck a tube up his rectum and inserted a red-hot poker into his bowels until he died.' 

Kate shivered.

'He was also gay,' Marek whispered, 'so it was thought the manner of his execution demonstrated great wit,'" (p.210, 48%).

2.   Horror / Michael Crichton's Timeline:

"While they waited, Chris felt something drip on his shoulder.  Looking up, he saw a man hanging directly above him, twisting slowly on a rope.  Urine dribbled down his leg.  Chris stepped away from the wall and saw half a dozen bodies, hands tied behind their backs, hanging from ropes tied to the second-floor balustrade," (p. 343, 77%).

3.   Torture / Barbarians--The Mongols, a History Channel production:   

Audio voiceover:  "A special fate is assigned to the greedy governor; dragged from his hiding place in the citadel, he is held down as molten silver is poured into his ears and his eyes."  

Visual/audio:  A man is shown being carried, tied to a stick.  He is then set down on the ground, and held down by a group.  The camera pans to a dipper of molten metal, which begins to pour.  The audience hears blood-curdling screams.  (Clicking the title, above, will take you to the film on YouTube.)

A community reacts.  When children experience disturbing events, it can be difficult to discuss.  Even parents of children in middle school are often isolated, with little ability to reach out to other parents and ask, "Am I the only one concerned about this?"  For that reason, I have copied a representative sample of Face Book comments to the April 21st article, below:

1.  KKB:  "Oh my gosh.  I lack the words for a response."

2.  SKW:  "Wow...I'm disappointed."

3.  ALC:  "With the availability of vast amounts of reading material it seems like more than two books could/should have been listed for honors approval.  Deciding between bad and worse seems unnecessary."

3.  MM:  "Wow...unbelievable.  And I thought LAUSD was the "careless" district:-/

4.  TR:  "I want to defend RSM a little bit by saying that my daughter had two great years there with no experience like this..."

5.  HL:  "I use an app called 'kids media' to get ratings on everything from apps to books to video games.  It gives very detailed information about themes and specific words.  The age appropriate scale slides up to 17. It's interesting that the book in question "Timeline" doesn't have a rating listed under books.  Must be too mature.

6.  DA (Teacher):  "Such a complex topic.  I think adults often assume that because a child can read at a high school level, that allows us the freedom of letting kids read "whatever".  Just like parents, teachers do need to think about the content and whether or not it is something a child can emotionally handle, regardless of their reading ability.  That being said, I continue being amazed at parents who let their five year old read Harry Potter or their 3rd grader read Twilight [just] because they can.

7.  DC (Former teacher):  "The teacher/school clearly went against the state dept. of ed. recommendations.  A complaint would not be out of order..."

8.  DK (Former School Board Director):  "Wow - thanks for sharing!!  When I served on the school board, it was so disappointing the other Directors would not take home the novels we were being asked to approve, and review them!  Unfortunately, the other Directors bought into the belief it was micromanaging and second guessing the administration and the Curriculum Instruction Material Committee, making me a lone voter against many novels!"

9.  DC:  Just want to input, that at 18, I went and checked out every single censored from High School curriculum book, in the mid and late 70s and read them.  And where possible, I read them before I graduated, when I could buy them.  With my parent's permission.  I was not harmed in the least, I don't think.  I do agree with respecting parental prerogatives, and would support the assigning of any book known to be controversial, to require parental permission.  My strict and observant Catholic parents, never censored anything in literature, but some strident conversations did come about, and were good.  I never censored my children, and I have raised independent thinkers and am so proud of this.  Truly, it gives me great satisfaction to have well informed, and exposed to children.  But as said, I would bow to parental prerogative.  

10.  DK (Former School Board Director):  ...this is not about banning books or censorship, and those trying to portray it as such, are merely trying to refocus the conversation.  One only has to read this part to understand it's clearly inappropriate - "His captors didn't want any sign of foul play..."  Parents should be in arms, and not just for their own children, but do you really want your child's fellow students reading that such behavior is viewed as "great wit"?

11.  DC:  Hopefully most parents would say no on a permission slip.  Any controversial book, video, activity, should be deferred to parental decisions...I have no problem with parental permission being required.  I do have a problem with censorship.  Censorship is a parental prerogative.  Parenting choices respected.  And no, I would not want my children's classmates to read such ugly spew..."

So...What are we going to do?  Written letters of complaint have been sent to the Principal of RSM Intermediate, the Superintendent, and all members of the School Board.  The only response received to date is the one from Principal Jameson, in which he states age guidelines are "impossible."  In order to protect our children, however, it may first be necessary to examine state and federal laws as they pertain to children and teachers:


California Penal Code, Section 313-313.5, covering the fines and jail time associated with showing harmful materials to minors.  The issue hinges upon several factors, including:

(1) Intended audience.  According to the CA Board of Education, Crichton's Timeline was written for a mature audience.  State recommendations on the use of cable movies in the classroom have not yet been located, but The History Channel production was probably produced for the entertainment purposes of individual, paying customers.

(2) Contribution to education.  Unlike anatomical drawings shown in health class, both forms of media contain fictional or dramatic elements that range from fantasy to unsupported conjecture.  Some of the information was obtained from academic sources--but both author and producer intended the transition from fact to fiction to be seamless.  In the context of a 7th grade history class, it is difficult to argue that presenting fiction as fact is educational.

(3) Intent.  The exact intent is not known, but it is quite possible--even likely--that the two history teachers intended nothing more than to use popular media to inspire student interest in history.  Plus, commercial profit was definitely not an issue.  Other possibilities are quite awful, however, and impossible to confirm or deny without more information.  If it weren't for the Principal's message (reprinted in the previous blog; family names have been changed to protect the identity of a minor), it would likely not have entered the community discussion.  Here's why:

Conflict of interest.  All honors classes are known to be "weed-out" classes.  According to the presentations of teachers at Back to School Night, students must do much more than make good grades.  If their level of participation is viewed as insufficient, they will not receive permission to continue honors-level work the following year.  In this atmosphere, students and parents are much less likely to protest inappropriate material, fearing their children will be judged too immature to continue the honors program.

Subjective evaluation.  Since honors students are are already being evaluated subjectively, the next question is whether or not shocking, violent, sexual media is being used to further cull the honors-student population.  Given the administration's position on the topic, parents are wondering if the ultimate intent of the school is to foster voluntary drop-outs.

Another possibility is that disturbing, adult materials are being used as a rite of initiation.  If any group is being humiliated or embarrassed because they show aversion to torture and pornography in class--even 7th graders in general--then hazing may be an additional issue to consider.

Author's note (May 1st):  A group discussion on Timeline is still scheduled to take place in the classroom, at a future date.


More information on how the State of California defines "harmful materials" can be found here:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=313-313.5

Information on hazing can be found here:

National Federation of State High School Associations: 

 http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=3775

According to the NFHS:

1.  The definition of hazing:  "The Federation defines hazing as any humiliating or dangerous activity expected of a student to belong to a group, regardless of their willingness to participate."  (Author's note:  emphasis on humiliating.)

2.  Connection between bullying and hazing:  "In many respects, hazing is similar to bullying, but hazing has the tendency to be institutionalized form of harassment/intimidation centering on initiation rights connected to certain school clubs and activities.  Hazing can be seen as an organized form of bullying.  One difference between these behaviors is that bullying typically attempts to exclude a person from the bully's activities while hazing is often a condition of acceptance or initiation into a group."

Thank you for your time.  Please note that this article was not posted by a lawyer--just a concerned parent and member of the RSM Intermediate STPO, working to inform our community about matters we care about most.

~Speedy Scott

Part 1. SVUSD Principal Comments on M. Crichton's Techno-Thriller for 7th Grade History

Dr. Jameson, RSM Intermediate Principal, shuns the concept of "age guidelines" for middle school instructional materials  

By Speedy Scott,  globalmicroscope@gmail.com

Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD), Orange County, CA.  It's every parent's nightmare...  A child comes home traumatized by what he or she experienced at school.  This is a common event, usually at the hands of bullies struggling to overcome their own anxieties.  It's awful, definitely, but schools often have procedures designed to help.  But what happens when the trauma is caused by trusted teachers and sanctioned by the school Principal?  The result is a childhood disaster, and every parent needs to know how it can happen.

As a parent...  Introducing children to real-world depictions of violence, sexual abuse and war is a terrible task.  I'm not talking about video games or recreational movies and books--the stuff of fantasy that most children understand has no relationship to their own lives.  Instead, I'm talking about the introduction of children to factual violence, contemporary or historical, and the steps careful parents take to introduce children to it at a pace appropriate for their own families.

Our family in shock:  Rarely do we expect the public school system to catch us by surprise--to usurp this fundamental, parental task, and casually introduce 12-13 year old children to popular adult media depictions of gay sex, torture, dead bodies dribbling urine, prostitution, and the evisceration of pregnant women and children--especially without prior warning to parents.  Yet, this is exactly what happened to our son this month (April, 2014) when two 7th grade history teachers (time-sharing) gave their class a directed reading assignment.  Honors students were singled out, and given a narrow choice between two highly violent books.  One of them was Michael Crichton's Timeline, a novel written for poplar entertainment as opposed to scholarly instruction.

My mistake:  Not understanding the full extent of the graphic horror depicted in Timeline, I personally signed a standard consent form (lacking any warnings about violence or sex) allowing my son to read the book.  I probably signed a dozen of them in previous months.  They all look alike.  Then I told my son to get get going on his homework...

Only vaguely familiar with Michael Crichton, the author of Jurassic Park, I decided to read the book, too.  About half way through, hundreds of pages and several days later, I discovered my mistake.  The book was shocking and horrific--definitely among the most violent books I had ever read--and I

showed it to other (adult) members of our family.  Immediately, my husband contacted Dr. Jameson, the Principal of Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate, in hopes of straightening the issue out.  He replied, and what we learned was stunning.

Dr. Jameson's response:  

"...it [is] impossible to set criteria for restricting use [of media] based upon age alone.  To do so would keep others who want and need materials from having access to them."


Translation:  Age guidelines are generally inappropriate.


When I read this statement from the middle school Principal, I stared at it in disbelief. This was a history assignment, where truth is at issue, not fiction.  There would be no fantasy escape for students.  With every page they would wonder if the horror actually happened, and since Michael Crichton wrote the book for entertainment purposes, there would never be a clear answer.

Confusion sets in:  The Principal's message made no sense to me.  "What's next?" I wondered.  "Ridley Scott's Aliens for the study of the food chain in science class?  What about 50 Shades of Grey...  Is that what's next in English?"  According to the Principal's message, he would have no objection if such were the case.

Other media:  To put this thought in context, I must admit that our son complained, earlier this year, about the violence depicted in a movie shown at school (same class).  The program, Barbarians:  the Mongols, was  produced by the History Channel.  According to my son, it depicted execution by pouring liquid metal over a victim's face.  I recall listening to his complaint with concern, but then made an awful assumption:  "It can't possibly be that bad," I said.  "It had to have been reviewed and approved by California's Board of Education...  Right?"  

Wrong.  Now I know that the State of California's own guidelines for the safety of minors, have no weight at my son's public school.

Exact details:  At the end of this article is a complete and accurate copy of our communications with the Principal, Dr. Jameson.  Names and e-mail addresses of private citizens and minors have been changed, but that's all.  It is the most honest account I can offer, revealing our own family's mistakes as much as anything.  By publishing these messages, I hope readers will be forewarned that a public middle school official, charged with the safety of minors, may defend ANY media content for the classroom.

Please pass this post on to other parents.  The challenges ahead--the bumps in the road to helping children grow up--might not come from the most expected of places.  It's sad but true; the fear of censorship in schools can go too far when the safety of minors is at stake.  


Message #1:  Parent to Principal

from:		Dan Wentworth
to:		jamesonr@svusd.org
date:		Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 1:35 PM
subject:		Urgent question regarding 7th grade history curriculum

Dear Dr. Jameson,

I am a concerned parent of an RSM 7th grader, Mark Wentworth.  My son is enrolled in honors History with Mrs. Nahas and Mrs. Meyers.  At the beginning of this trimester, students were given a mandatory assignment:  choose and study a book from a provided list.  Our son showed us the handout with the list, and seeing that only two books were labeled "honors," we encouraged him to select one of the two offered for his level:  "The Three Musketeers" or Michael Crichton's "Timeline."

Mark's teachers warned the class that both of these books contain violence.  Neither my wife, nor I, had previously read them, and thus when Mark chose to read "Timeline," my wife decided to begin reading it as well.  She has generally been keeping a chapter or two ahead of Mark so that they could discuss adult themes, should they arise, and both of them have invested several hours in the book.  However, my wife just discovered that this is what Mark will be reading by tonight.  It is far beyond what we believe to be appropriate for the general 7th grade population:

Excerpt from Michael Crichton's "Timeline" (pg. 210; 48%):

"...Know you how your namesake, our late king, Edward the Foolish, met his end?  I see by your face that you do.  Yet you were not among those present in the castle, and I was.  He smiled grimly and sat back in his chair.  "There was never a mark upon his body."

     Johnston nodded slowly.  "His screams could be heard for miles."

     Kate looked questioningly to Marek, who whispered, "They're talking about Edward II of England.  He was imprisoned and killed.  His captors didn't want any sign of foul play, so they stuck a tube up his rectum and inserted a red-hot poker into his bowels until he died."

     Kate shivered.

     "He was also gay," Marek whispered, "so it was thought the manner of his execution demonstrated great wit."

     "Indeed, his screams were heard for miles," Oliver was saying.  "So think on it..."

We understand that history contains many shocking, awful events, and that it is appropriate for 7th graders to come to terms with some of them.  However, we also prefer that the school district uphold its mandate to provide a "safe learning environment."  

In a very real sense, forcing our children to read depictions of violent homosexual executions--does not uphold our basic standards of psychological safety; a standard we place in the same category as freedom from bullying.  Just because the format is linguistic, as opposed to visual or mechanical, does not--in our opinion--make it any less vivid for students with active imaginations.  

I sincerely doubt gay sex acts, not to mention rectal torture, have been covered in the SVUSD curriculum before now.  It might seem simple enough for us to ask Mark to skip this page, except this is not the only violent/sexual scene, and we don't know which ones will be discussed in class or on exams.  

We must ask that, if possible, Mark's identity be kept confidential.  We also wish to ask that students be prepared in advance, at school, for explicit content such as this--preferably by a qualified district nurse--and that parents be involved a priori.  

Please understand that this message is not intended as a complaint regarding Mark's teachers; we are certain this is a district or state curriculum issue, as opposed to a personal one.  We also appreciate the considerable effort Mark's teachers make to bring history alive to 7th graders.  

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Dan Wentworth, Ph.D.

Message #2:  Principal to Parent

From: Jameson, Richard - Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate<Richard.Jameson@svusd.org>
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 9:31 AM
Subject: Re: Urgent question regarding 7th grade history curriculum
To: Dan Wentworth


Hi Dr. Wentworth,

I understand your concerns regarding the referenced excerpts from Michael Crichton’s novel and your concerns of providing a psychologically safe learning environment.   Although I take exception to the implication that we force students to read  inappropriate material, I respect your concern that reading inappropriate material “does not uphold [y]our basic standards of psychological safety.”

Your concerns are valid, in that you have every right to have them for your son.

I know that your son’s teachers are responsible and knowledgeable educators, so I assume when they gave this assignment, they required students to have parental approval for their chosen book and that the provided list (or each of the books on the list) was endorsed by a credible organization, such as the California Department of Education. I am also confident that your son’s teachers will ensure that discussions, questions, or exams about the novels will focus on important and relevant thematic elements rather than specific references to potentially objectionable passages. In other words, they are highly skilled at fostering a psychologically safe and educationally sound learning environment.

That being said, as a parent, you have the final say as to whether a book is appropriate for your son. If an assigned book is not, you are entitled to request either an alternative or modified assignment (or book) for him.

With regard to addressing your concerns about which material constitutes an appropriate or safe learning environment for 7th grade students and which does not, it is best to cite the American Library Association’s philosophy, which our school district has adopted:
Decisions about what materials are suitable for particular children should be made by the people who know them best—their parents or guardians. Children mature at different rates.  They have different backgrounds and interests.  And they have different reading levels and abilities.  For instance, a video that one 10-year-old likes may not interest another.  Or parents may feel a particular library book is inappropriate for their daughter, while the same book may be a favorite of her classmate’s family.  These factors make it impossible to set criteria for restricting use based on age alone.  To do so would keep others who want and need materials from having access to them.

And finally, just as another parent has no right to determine what is appropriate for your children, you have no right determine what is right for their children.  As stated in School Board Policy, Administrative Regulations 6163.1:  "No parent or group of parents has the right to determine the reading matter for students other than their own children."

In closing, I applaud you for the level of care and involvement you have in your son’s education.  I also fully respect and support your choice on what is or isn’t appropriate for Mark and will gladly work with you and his teachers to find an appropriate alternative assignment for him.

As you are not formally lodging a complaint or requesting specific action at this time,  I am more than happy to bring your concerns to the attention of Mark’s teachers anonymously. Should you decide to formalize your concerns, I will be available to assist you through the process of filing a complaint against including objectionable instructional material in our curriculum.

While I don’t believe I was able to actually resolve your concerns, I am hopeful that I was able to provide some context, validate your right to have them for your son, and explain why they are not applicable to all students.

Sincerely,

-Dr. J

-----------------------------------------
Dr. RF Jameson, Principal
Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate School
Director of Charter Relations, ACSA Region 17
949-459-8253
jamesonr@svusd.orgjamesonr@svusd.org

>

Message #3:  Parent to Principal

From: Dan Wentworth
Date: April 11, 2014, 4:56:56 PM PDT
To: "Jameson, Richard - Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate" <Richard.Jameson@svusd.org>

Subject: Re: Urgent question regarding 7th grade history curriculum

Dear Mr. Jameson,

Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.  RSM Intermediate seems to have detailed procedures in place for accommodating the needs of a diverse readership, and we made the same assumptions as you when we agreed to let Mark read, “Timeline.”  We assumed the book was recommended by the California Department of Education, and that it adhered to SVUSD’s criteria as stated in 6163.1.

As it turns out, “Timeline” has been evaluated by the California Department of Education, but is clearly recommended for “Grade Level Span:  9-12.”  In addition, the summary includes the following warning:  "This book was published for an adult readership and thus contains mature content.  Before handing the text to a child, educators and parents should read the book and know the child."  It is not recommended for Grade 7, or even Grade 8.  The book’s Scholastic Reading Counts label says, “GRL: NR.”     

Regarding language and content, we fully agree with the 6163.1 guidelines.  They state that literature will be evaluated accordingly:  “(1) the author or producer should be qualified as a subject specialist, and (2) concepts, content, and vocabulary should be appropriate for the potential user.” 

Michael Crichton’s “Timeline,” fails both criteria.  Crichton was college-educated in the fields of physical anthropology and medicine, and is not a qualified expert in either Renaissance history or education.  The State of California has already judged the contents to be appropriate for 9^th grade and above, and only on an individual basis.

Is the school forcing children to read inappropriate material?  “Force” may be too strong a word, but this book was not just a Reading Counts option—it was assigned by an RSM Intermediate teacher.  Our family has no interest in controlling the reading choices of others, but we do believe that when teachers select specific books to cover in class, they are exercising professional influence that elevates the book above the realm of entertainment.  This influence cannot be quantified, but regardless, the book is no longer a “choice.”

Finally, it is not reasonable to expect that parents can start and finish an assigned book in one night.  That’s the amount of time we usually have in order to make a decision about whether or not to sign a consent form, lest our child quickly get behind. 

We appreciate your offer to assist us with a formal complaint, but we do not see that it is necessary.  We already agree with the California Department of Education’s recommended guidelines, and the criteria by which they evaluate media.  Plus, it is already too late for our own son—we discussed the book with him, his options and their consequences. Fearing that he would not be able to start another book and finish it in time, he decided to continue and live with the results.  Of course we shall try to help him through it as best we can.

Again, we appreciate the safeguards RSM Intermediate already has in place to protect our children.  We simply believe that they failed in this case.  In the future, we respectfully request that greater administrative oversight be exercised regarding classroom assignments when explicit violence and sexual content are at issue.  I hope the additional information provided in this letter, especially the labeling and designation of “Timeline” by standard organizations, helps to explain our concerns.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Dan Wentworth, PhD

_________________________

 Flash Update:  On April 24, two weeks after receiving no further response from Principal Jameson, a letter was sent to all members of the SVUSD Board of Education.  They were notified of the following events (see article below), and the concern of this author that a pattern of singling out honors students (minors) for the study of shocking, violent, sexual content, could be construed as a form of hazing.  Contact info for SVUSD Board members can be found here:  https://www.saddlespace.org/SVUSD/boardofeducation/cms_page/view