Speak Loudly.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson is one of my all time favorite books. If you've read it yourself, or have read anything about it, you know that it's a YA novel, one that is often taught in schools (including Marshfield High). Unfortunately, it often gets misinterpreted and challenged.
www.news-leader.com/article/20100918/OPINIONS02/9180307/Scroggins-Filthy-books-demeaning-to-Republic-education
This opinion piece is from a Missouri newspaper. The writer is Wesley Scroggins, an associate professor of management at Missouri State University. He was also involved in a seminar called "Reclaiming Missouri for Christ." In the article, he calls SPEAK "soft-core pornography" and also trashes SLAUGHTER-HOUSE FIVE and TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler (not familiar with Ockler, but I love Vonnegut).
If you've read any of these books, you'll see that Scroggins is totally missing the point. SPEAK deals with rape, and it is not intended to titillate. The rape scenes in the book contain almost no physical descriptions, they focus on what the victim is feeling- confusion, terror, pain. The novel isn't about rape so much as it is about the aftermath and Melinda's path to recovery and happiness.
I read SPEAK for the first time when I was in sixth grade. My experiences were not similar to Melinda's (but can you imagine the amazing benefits this book would have for a teenage rape survivor?), but I still feel like I learned something. There's a message about not judging people we don't understand. It made me think about who I would talk to if bad things happened to me, and I realized how blessed I have been to be surrounded by loving friends and family. I reread SPEAK last year, as an education major, and I started to see that there's a lot in there about what makes a good teacher.
I could go on forever, but instead I'll just link you to Laurie Halse Anderson's blog post about the article, which gives all the relevant information about that article and what you can do to fight against censorship. As she points out, the people with the power to make decisions aren't always on LJ or Twitter, so I'm going to dust off my stationary and write a letter to the superintendent of the school district in question. Here's hoping many more do the same.
halseanderson.livejournal.com/318655.html
www.news-leader.com/article/20100918/OPINIONS02/9180307/Scroggins-Filthy-books-demeaning-to-Republic-education
This opinion piece is from a Missouri newspaper. The writer is Wesley Scroggins, an associate professor of management at Missouri State University. He was also involved in a seminar called "Reclaiming Missouri for Christ." In the article, he calls SPEAK "soft-core pornography" and also trashes SLAUGHTER-HOUSE FIVE and TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler (not familiar with Ockler, but I love Vonnegut).
If you've read any of these books, you'll see that Scroggins is totally missing the point. SPEAK deals with rape, and it is not intended to titillate. The rape scenes in the book contain almost no physical descriptions, they focus on what the victim is feeling- confusion, terror, pain. The novel isn't about rape so much as it is about the aftermath and Melinda's path to recovery and happiness.
I read SPEAK for the first time when I was in sixth grade. My experiences were not similar to Melinda's (but can you imagine the amazing benefits this book would have for a teenage rape survivor?), but I still feel like I learned something. There's a message about not judging people we don't understand. It made me think about who I would talk to if bad things happened to me, and I realized how blessed I have been to be surrounded by loving friends and family. I reread SPEAK last year, as an education major, and I started to see that there's a lot in there about what makes a good teacher.
I could go on forever, but instead I'll just link you to Laurie Halse Anderson's blog post about the article, which gives all the relevant information about that article and what you can do to fight against censorship. As she points out, the people with the power to make decisions aren't always on LJ or Twitter, so I'm going to dust off my stationary and write a letter to the superintendent of the school district in question. Here's hoping many more do the same.
halseanderson.livejournal.com/318655.html