Parents question ‘pornographic’ material on East Penn reading list
THE MORNING CALL
Katrina Wehr | September 12, 2012
“Inappropriate” and “pornographic.” Those were the words East Penn resident Paula Whittman used to describe two books on Emmaus High School’s summer reading list.
The books, “Prep” by Curtis Sittenfeld and “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe, were brought to the board’s attention by Whittman and Jeff Lotte, both of Emmaus, at Monday’s school board meeting. Read on…
Tags: Challenges, Pennsylvania, School curriculums, Schools
September 25th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
UPDATE:
“Controversial East Penn books remain on reading list”
(The Morning Call|Patrick Lester|September 24, 2012)
The suddenly controversial books “Prep” and “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” will remain on the East Penn School District’s summer reading list for high school students — at least for now.
School directors on Monday night chose not to vote on whether to keep the works of Tom Wolfe and Curtis Sittenfeld as summer reading material in response to parents who suggested that sexual content in the books was “inappropriate” and “pornographic” and one school director who agreed.
School board President Charles Ballard warned the board to put off taking action until after the district goes through the formal process of reviewing a written complaint made to the district Monday night. Read on…
September 28th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
UPDATE:
“East Penn school board president’s statement on book controversy”
(The Morning Call|September 25, 2012)
The East Penn School Board on Monday night chose not to vote on whether to keep two controversial books — “Prep” and “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” on school district reading lists.
Some parents have complained about the inclusion of those books on reading lists because of the sexual content in them. [The school board did not receive an official written complaint about the books until Monday night.]
School Board President Chuck Ballard at the meeting read a prepared statement outlining his reasoning for putting off a vote. Following is that statement, which Ballard provided to the Morning Call.
Read on…
October 15th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
UPDATE:
“‘Prep,’ ‘Acid Test,’ Challenged in East Penn Before”
(Lower Macungie Patch | Jennifer Marangos | October 13, 2012)
The current controversy surrounding two books on the Emmaus High School summer reading lists is not a first for the East Penn School District.
Some board members expected to vote Sept. 24 on a motion to eliminate Tom Wolfe’s “Acid Test,” which is on the 10th grade summer reading list, and “Prep,” a 9th-grade selection written by Curtis Sittenfeld, as summer reading options. However, Board President Charles Ballard dismissed the motion for procedural reasons without giving the board a chance to discuss it.
Read on…
November 2nd, 2012 at 4:35 pm
“Fate of challenged books at East Penn not yet decided”
(The Morning Call | Katrina Wehr | October 23, 2012)
East Penn school officials still have not completed their review of challenges to two books on the Emmaus High School summer reading list.
“We are in step one of the process, and when that concludes I will let the [school] board know what the resolution is,” Superintendent Thomas Seidenberger told school directors this week.
Several parents have complained about the content in Curtis Sittenfeld’s “Prep” and Tom Wolfe’s “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” and formal complaints brought by one parent prompted the school district review.
Read on…