Part 3. Parent Protests Examined: The difference between success and failure when going to bat for your kids at school

Updated May 7, 2014. 2:17 PM                                    

By Speedy Scott,  globalmicroscope@gmail.com

WARNING:  This post contains adult content not intended for persons under 18 years of age.  If you are a minor, please ask a parent or guardian before reading further.  

Preparing for battle.  In the midst of controversy over "harmful materials" assigned to 7th graders at RSM Intermediate (see articles dated April 21 and 29), parents of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, are asking if citizens have been caught off guard by sexual or violent subject matter at schools in other districts.  They are demanding to know...  Has this path been tread before?

The short answer is yes, and parental protests can be divided into two categories:  (1) appeals made to local administrators, and (2) court cases involving judicial decisions meant to clarify the role of government.  In the latter, the question about which is more important--the protection of  free speech or the protection of children--has made it all the way to the US Supreme Court.  When these two moral imperatives are pitted against each other, however, the outcome is never easy to predict.

The 1st Amendment vs. the Protection of Minors.  The issue of parental vs. administrative control over school curriculum seems to boil down to what, exactly, is "harmful" to minors.  This is much more difficult to distinguish than whether or not free speech is being inhibited, which makes it more difficult to adjudicate.  It varies from child to child, though experts can often agree on basic guidelines.

Thanks to the difficulty of defining "harmful," child advocates tend to face uphill battles.  Even when school assignments are obviously inappropriate, not to mention anti-educational, a successful protest requires a certain amount of voodoo.  Here are a few examples of wins and losses across the country, just to illustrate the intensity and breadth of such efforts:

Cases Involving Parents and Public School Administrators

Protest #1, In progress (going badly):  Gilford High School,  New Hampshire, May 2014.  As reported on May 6, an attorney named William Baer became furious when he learned that his 14 year old daughter had been assigned the adult novel, Nineteen Minutes.  Parents were given no warning about the content their children would be reading, including the following excerpts:

Angry dad arrested.  (Source: marketfaith.org)

"She could feel his erection, hot against her stomach."
"Yeah," he groaned, and he pushed her thighs apart.  And then suddenly Matt was inside her, pumping her so hard that she scooted backward on the carpet, burning the backs of her legs."
"...Semen, sticky and hot, pooled on the carpet beneath her."

The consequences of assigning Nineteen Minutes to a class of 14 year olds (without parental warning) would seem predictable:  disturbed children and upset parents.  Very upset parents.  And sure enough, this is exactly what happened.  William Baer attended a school board meeting, and requested to speak.  He was
allowed only 2 minutes to comment.

When Baer exceeded the limit and proceeded to debate with another parent who supported the book, he was placed under arrest.  (Note the irony of enforcing "free speech" in schools by taking away the same right from a father.)

Baer's plight led to a media investigation, and here's what happened next:

1.  A reporter asked the Superintendent his opinion on the matter, and he replied:

"I'm not going to make a decision on pornographic material..." and, "It's a decision of the local community."

2.  The school board then released a statement:  "The School District policies IGE, IJ, IJA, KEC (available on the school district website) refer to the procedures for the use of novels containing controversial material. The district will take immediate action to revise these policies to include notification that requires parents to accept controversial materials rather than to opt out.  Furthermore, the notification will detail more specifically the controversial material."

Clearly, William Baer's protest is not going well--and he's an attorney.

(Source:  Todd Sarnes, FoxNews.com.)

(A special thank you to a local reader for the heads up on this article!)

Buena High School (Source: Buena80.com)

Protest #2, Successful:  Buena High School of Sierra Vista, Arizona, 2013.  One mom launched a successful protest against sexually explicit literature, with some violence, assigned to 10th graders.  The outcry was inspired by a single assignment, Dreaming in Cuban, by Cristina Garcia.  The book is currently recommended as Common Core curriculum for 11th grade (Click here to access the Common Core literature list.)  Excerpt:

"Hugo and Felicia stripped in their room, dissolving easily into one another, and made love against the whitewashed walls.  Hugo bit Felicia's breast and left purplish bands of bruises on her upper thighs.  He knelt before her in the tub and massaged black Spanish soap between her legs.  He entered her repeatedly from behind. 

Felicia learned what pleased him.  She tied his arms above his head with their underclothing and slapping him sharply when he asked. 

'You're my bitch,' Hugo said, groaning.
In the morning he left, promising to return in the summer."

Source:  Alice Linahan and Donna Garner on the Women On The Wall radio show. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/12/Arizona-School-District-Pulls-Sexually-Explicit-Book-Recommended-by-Common-Core-Standards)

Cover, low resolution. (Source:Wikipedia)

Protest #3, Unsuccessful:  Middle School, District 97, Illinois, 2013.  Seven parents launched a protest over the assignment of Walter Dean Myers' book, Monster, for the education of 7th graders.  The book was a classroom staple for 5 years before parents objected to the book's, "violence, drug use, sex among minors, racially offensive language and other mature themes."  Objections were also made to related classroom discussions, especially regarding portions of the book involving gang rape and machine gun threats.

According to Terry Dean, staff reporter for Oakpark.com, school officials largely rebuffed the parents' objections:

"The parents filed their request on April 16, asking that the book be replaced with something 'more appropriate' for young children. A committee that included teachers and administrators was then established to review Monster, a process that took about three weeks. 

The committee ultimately concluded that the book is appropriate for D97 seventh graders. Until now, the district had not received any complaints from families about the novel, according to Chris Jasculca, D97's director of communications. He said the book was chosen by the district's literacy committee, which includes language arts teachers. 

'The committee was in search of a drama to include on the novel grid for seventh grade and selected Monster based on a number of factors, including that it is age-appropriate, won a number of awards, is a high-engagement book for students, and provides an opportunity to discuss social and emotional issues in an appropriate setting,' Jasculca said.

Daniels, however, said the parents asked to be notified prior to last Tuesday's school board meeting. The administration's decision was also presented to the board at that meeting but as an FYI — the board does not vote on novels used in classrooms."

According to this article, the literature committee decided to uphold the use of Monster in the classroom.  In response to the parental complaints, they also moved to offer 7th graders an alternative book, but still require them to remain in the classroom during discussions of Monster.  The committee also issued a statement encouraging teachers to read "pre-approved" books before assigning them to the classroom.

  

Influential Court Decisions

One of the most vocal opponents of parental influence over school curriculum is the American Library Association (ALA).  In the beginning of last month (April 2014), it was easy to access their web-based advice on how to deflect the anger of parents intent on "censorship," (www.ala.org).  A lengthy, committee-based appeal process was recommended--a process so obviously personal, subjective and slow that, in the ALA's opinion (remarked online), it should discourage most parents from complaining in the first place.

Shortly after the publication of "Homosexual Torture, Execution, and Prostitution:  Defended by Middle School Principal...," the ALA removed the page outlining its advice to discourage parents with a lengthy red-tape process.*  In fact, these subject titles still remain, but the links to them have been broken:

What You Can Do to Oppose Censorship 

Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library materials* 

Reporting a Challenge

Now it appears that the ALA's policy has changed somewhat, and can be found here:

http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/ifissues/issuesrelatedlinks/censorshipschools

Fortunately, the American Library Association also provides information on court cases that clarify when "free speech" is against the law.  Online, they present a chapter entitled, "When is Speech Unprotected?  Obscenity and Indecency."  The following cases are directly applicable to the raging controversy in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA:

1.  Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 62, 20 L. Ed. 2d 195 88 S. Ct. 1274 (1968):  The Supreme Court upheld a New York State statute preventing retailers from selling sexually explicit publications to minors (17 or under).  The court found that the US Constitution cannot interfere with a state's right to restrict children's access to such publications in light of the state's interest in safeguarding children's welfare and supporting parents' claim to aurthority in the rearing of their children.

2.  Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 93 S.Ct. 2607, 37, L.Ed.2d. 419 (1973):  In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court outlined a three-part definition of obscenity.  First, the average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests; second, that it depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct as defined by state law; and third, that the work, taken as a whole, lacks serous literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.  The Court ruled that community standards and state statutes that describe sexual depictions to be suppressed could be used to prosecute Miller, who operated one of the largest West Coast mail order businesses dealing in sexually explicit materials.

Note:  The definition of "obscenity," above, is repeated almost verbatim in CA state statutes pertaining to materials harmful to minors.

 3.  New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747, 102 S.Ct. 3348, 73 L.Ed.2d 1113 (1982):  In July 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a conviction against a man named Ferber for showing a movie depicting two young boys engaging in explicit autoerotic conduct. The film itself was not judged obscene for adults, but the Court made the distinction between what was obscene if children were the participants compared with if adults were the leading actors.

Right Here in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

In light of the above cases, several questions must be asked regarding the use of Michael Crichton's Timeline to teach 7th grade history:

1.  Does the book qualify as "harmful" to minors?  Potentially yes, if the answer is affirmative to the following:

     A.  If taken as a whole, does it appeal to prurient interests?

     B.  Does it depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct?

     C.  Does the work lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?

2.  Does the book involve the depiction of minors?  

It is the position of this author (and only this author) that the book, Timeline, fails every criteria important to both administrative school officials and courts.  As mentioned in previous articles here on Global Microscope, the book depicts the execution of a man by ramming a hot poker up his rectum.  It also depicts both children and pregnant women subjected to evisceration.  The work as a whole can easily be interpreted as appealing to prurient interests; sex and violence are virtually indistinguishable in the book, and liberally distributed throughout the story.  

Does the work lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?  Absolutely.  It was written for entertainment, with a target audience of persons over 17 years of age.  Scholarly references are included at the end of the book, but no in-text annotations are provided so that a reader can separate fact from fiction.

It might be advisable for concerned parents of Rancho Santa Margarita to prepare for battle.  The administration of RSM Intermediate was informed of parental concerns, and of the excruciatingly inappropriate contents of Timeline.  As of May 6, the book is still in classroom service, without explanation from school officials.

Thank you for your time.

~Speedy Scott

Please feel free to contact me here:  globalmicroscope@gmail.com

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