Sicko Literature In Our Schools

[Horse Man]

CAUTION: This article contains graphic descriptions not suitable for young readers

By Jim Brown
August 26, 2005

(AgapePress) - A retired teacher involved in Arkansas policy is urging the governor, state lawmakers, and school officials to protect children by removing pornographic books from the shelves of Fayetteville public school libraries.

More than 50 books in Fayetteville's school library system contain sexually explicit passages that alarmed parents and citizens have deemed not merely inappropriate but pornographic. One book called Push, for example, contains a graphic description of a character having sex with a baby. And another book called Deal With It offers young adolescent girls instructions on how to perform perverse sexual acts.

Debbie Pelley is a retired teacher who runs wpaag.org, a website that alerts parents to the content of controversial books like these that are being made available to impressionable school children. The educator-turned-activist believes such books may actually violate state law. "For instance," she says, "one of the codes in Arkansas says no person shall knowingly exhibit, display, or receive for the purpose of sale or distribution any visual or print medium depicting a child participating or engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

The office of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has declined to comment publicly on the books in question. Meanwhile, Pelley has responded to the governor's silence with criticism. She says a Southern Baptist minister and a man who claims to be concerned about children's health should have no problem addressing this matter.

The retired teacher suspects she knows why Huckabee may be hesitant to weigh in on the school library porn issue. "I think that it's something he knows will be controversial," she says, "and it's something that doesn't fit into his plan right now as he's running for president."

Pelley says Huckabee seems to have time to fly to California to appear on HBO, campaign in New Hampshire, sponsor a "socialized" medical program called Kids First, and back a program giving illegal aliens prenatal care. However, she says the governor apparently has no time to speak out on destructive pornographic school library books and the health problems they will generate.

Although the Arkansas Governor's Office has put forth no official statement on the library book porn problem, State Senator Jim Holt has asked Attorney General Mike Beebe to issue an opinion on the legality of the library materials. Meanwhile, Laurie Taylor, a parent who is challenging the obscene library books in Fayetteville, is urging concerned citizens to sign an online petition opposing the materials.

The petition calls upon the Fayetteville School District to initiate a formal audit of the city's entire school library system, to appoint a parent-led committee to review objectionable material, and to remove the offensive material from student access, making it unavailable to students without parental consent.

 

[Wildwood]

This is about more than the shock of learning what books are in school libraries. It's about the need for Christian parents to become involved in their local school boards. In this case, the organization hopes to persuade the district's board to take certain action, including requiring parental consent before a student can have access to certain books. That's why it is important to have Christians on the board.

It's also about the need for Christians to become involved in electing judges and in electing those who appoint judges. In the past, another school board in Arkansas was unsuccessful in requiring parental consent before students could read "Harry Potter" when the policy was struck down by the courts. This is a link to a story about that decision.


http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/04/23/harry.potter.ap/

 

[markyoz]

What a sick world we live in, schools need to be teaching the bible. I wish i was taught the bible at school but they had long since stopped doing that. Instead they taught us about the ancient pagan gods and all that ****. It's an ungodly world that thinks it's not ok to teach bible at school.

 

[ebia]

What a sick world we live in, schools need to be teaching the bible. I wish i was taught the bible at school but they had long since stopped doing that. Instead they taught us about the ancient pagan gods and all that ****.

As an active religion you should consider? - I think not.

It's an ungodly world that thinks it's not ok to teach bible at school.

I don't know about your state, but in Victoria it is ok to teach the bible at school - but it's not the state's job to provide teachers to do support any particular religion. If the churches provide a religion teacher, then the school can offer classes in religion.

If that's not acceptable, there are plenty of reasonably priced Catholic schools you can send your children to.

 

[markyoz]

As an active religion you should consider? - I think not.



I don't know about your state, but in Victoria it is ok to teach the bible at school - but it's not the state's job to provide teachers to do support any particular religion. If the churches provide a religion teacher, then the school can offer classes in religion.

If that's not acceptable, there are plenty of reasonably priced Catholic schools you can send your children to.

Oh yeah sorry i meant to say public schooling.

 

[ebia]

Oh yeah sorry i meant to say public schooling.

Perhaps I wasn't clear - public schools in Victoria can offer RE classes, providing an outside agency (ie a church organisation) supplies a teacher (for free).

 

[""]

Is it not a hypocrisy that one cannot have a bible on the premises of some government buildings, and that even some public schools would ask a student not to wear t-shirts with bible verses on them. Yet, pornography is allowed. Christians, we know why this is occurring. We know what is coming, and that this is only the beginning of it.

My suggestion (and you may take it or leave it.. it's offered in Christian love) is this: Familiarize yourselves with every assigned reading material from your child's school. Familiarize yourself with every book that your child brings home from school, and also the library, even for extracurricular reading.

Most importantly, we must forge strong interpersonal relationships with our children, so that they feel comfortable talking to us about any subject matter. A child who is comfortable at home, and welcome to bring up any topic without fear of ridicule, will be more likely to tell a parent if objectionable reading materials are being passed around or assigned. It is usually the child who feels that they must keep secrets from their parents, due to harsh judgement, and ridicule, that will be least likely to confide in them.

 

[imind]

Is it not a hypocrisy that one cannot have a bible on the premises of some government buildings,

where are you not allowed to have bible on the premises of a govt building?

 

[""]

I was speaking of the 10 commandments, which is not the bible in it's entirety of course but they are the word of God, and some would say the foundation of the Jewish text. I probably should have been more specific, but I assumed that people would know what I meant. Assumptions always get you in trouble.

 

[ebia]

I was speaking of the 10 commandments, which is not the bible in it's entirety of course but they are the word of God, and some would say the foundation of the Jewish text. I probably should have been more specific, but I assumed that people would know what I meant. Assumptions always get you in trouble.

Saying "Government bodies of a multi-faith country must remain impartial of religion, and therefore must not appear to favour any one religion by deliberatly displaying symbols of that religion" and saying "one cannot have a bible on the premises of some government buildings" are completely different statements. One is a statement about what the government and (at it's offices) may do, the other is a statement about what individuals may do.

 

[ArchangelGabriel]

Saying "Government bodies of a multi-faith country must remain impartial of religion, and therefore must not appear to favour any one religion by deliberatly displaying symbols of that religion" and saying "one cannot have a bible on the premises of some government buildings" are completely different statements. One is a statement about what the government and (at it's offices) may do, the other is a statement about what individuals may do.

aw but if you are say umm the president or maybe a congresmen are you not obligated to judge wheather or not to keep the ten cpmmandments in governmant areas based on the constitution but how can you do that when its your christian duty to promote them

 

[bliz]

Is it not a hypocrisy that one cannot have a bible on the premises of some government buildings, and that even some public schools would ask a student not to wear t-shirts with bible verses on them.

There is nothing to prohibit the Bible being in any US government building, including public schools. The Bible can be in the library, in a classroom or brought there by a student. A teacher may not be handing out Bibles, or the Koran or any other religious literature, or display a Bible prominenty on their desk, but the Bible can be in the schools.

Furhter, students may wear T shirts with Bible verses on them, WWJD clothig or literature and any other religious apparel. This is clearly permitted and discussed under the Equal Access Act. If an individual school or school district has baned such clothing, they have done so in violation of the law and any number of religious freedom groups would be glad to help educate the educators who have made this error.

In addition, there can be Bible clubs, if there are other kinds of clubs, students may choose religous topics for papers, speeches and art work (so long as they meet other requirements of the assignment), can carry a Bible with them, can pray in schools (so long as they are not disrputive) and can discuss religous matters with anyone at times when talking is permitted.

 

[ebia]

aw but if you are say umm the president or maybe a congresmen are you not obligated to judge wheather or not to keep the ten cpmmandments in governmant areas based on the constitution but how can you do that when its your christian duty to promote them

Using your office to promote your particular religion would be an abuse of power. If you can't, in good conscience, abide by the constitution and the rules of the job, don't stand for election.

 

[""]

There is nothing to prohibit the Bible being in any US government building, including public schools.

Please refer to post #9.

 

[imind]

aw but if you are say umm the president or maybe a congresmen are you not obligated to judge wheather or not to keep the ten cpmmandments in governmant areas based on the constitution but how can you do that when its your christian duty to promote them

one can easily promote them while allowing for the constitution. some christians nowadays are not content with merely promoting christianity; they need to make christianity the law of the land.

 

[.Mikha'el.]

CAUTION: This article contains graphic descriptions not suitable for young readers

By Jim Brown
August 26, 2005

(AgapePress) - A retired teacher involved in Arkansas policy is urging the governor, state lawmakers, and school officials to protect children by removing pornographic books from the shelves of Fayetteville public school libraries.

More than 50 books in Fayetteville's school library system contain sexually explicit passages that alarmed parents and citizens have deemed not merely inappropriate but pornographic. One book called Push, for example, contains a graphic description of a character having sex with a baby. And another book called Deal With It offers young adolescent girls instructions on how to perform perverse sexual acts.

Debbie Pelley is a retired teacher who runs wpaag.org, a website that alerts parents to the content of controversial books like these that are being made available to impressionable school children. The educator-turned-activist believes such books may actually violate state law. "For instance," she says, "one of the codes in Arkansas says no person shall knowingly exhibit, display, or receive for the purpose of sale or distribution any visual or print medium depicting a child participating or engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

The office of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has declined to comment publicly on the books in question. Meanwhile, Pelley has responded to the governor's silence with criticism. She says a Southern Baptist minister and a man who claims to be concerned about children's health should have no problem addressing this matter.

The retired teacher suspects she knows why Huckabee may be hesitant to weigh in on the school library porn issue. "I think that it's something he knows will be controversial," she says, "and it's something that doesn't fit into his plan right now as he's running for president."

Pelley says Huckabee seems to have time to fly to California to appear on HBO, campaign in New Hampshire, sponsor a "socialized" medical program called Kids First, and back a program giving illegal aliens prenatal care. However, she says the governor apparently has no time to speak out on destructive pornographic school library books and the health problems they will generate.

Although the Arkansas Governor's Office has put forth no official statement on the library book porn problem, State Senator Jim Holt has asked Attorney General Mike Beebe to issue an opinion on the legality of the library materials. Meanwhile, Laurie Taylor, a parent who is challenging the obscene library books in Fayetteville, is urging concerned citizens to sign an online petition opposing the materials.

The petition calls upon the Fayetteville School District to initiate a formal audit of the city's entire school library system, to appoint a parent-led committee to review objectionable material, and to remove the offensive material from student access, making it unavailable to students without parental consent.

I wish someone would start a similar petition in my school district. William Golding's Lord of The Flies has been required reading in high school for the last thirty years!

 

[spinningtutu]

Lord of the Flies was such a wonderful book... I'm so glad we read it at the Christian school I went to. Oh yeah... reading The Catcher and the Rye for my 10th grade Morality class was great - it has shaped my views ever since. Then there was reading "Why Christianity Must Change or Die" by Bishop John Spong in my senior year for our Spirituality class.

Attending a liberal Catholic school was great... there was less censorship than the public school system! No joke. We got to see movies like the Shawshank Redemption and Sleepers in class!

Oh yes... we even watched a foreign erotica film in French 4. Wanna know the irony of it all? I was sent to the Catholic school (which was expensive) so that I wouldn't be corrupted by the public school system...

 

[shezshy]

being in highschool I've already been through the shock of middle school lib.junk.
example: Bram Stoker's Dracula 6th grade availabilty.My parents went to the board.Did it help-nope. NO ONE CARES

 

[immortalavefenix]

Can someone PLEASE point to me of a SINGLE case of a child, anywhere, in the ENTIRE HISTORY OF HUMANITY that has been aversely affeceted and emotionally damged by reading a book?


And for that matter we should ban the bible in school. Really. Lord of the flies has NOTHING on the OT.

 

[Athene]

What. . . . you guys can not be serious. Lord of the Flies is an excellent book, I read it when I was 10.

Schools should only stock age appropriate books and schools and libraries should have have systems to prevent a 6 year old reading things more suited to a 13 year old. But other then that banning books is wrong. Plus it has the side affect of making the banned book very desirable. I know a little girl whose parents banned Harry Potter so she went to her friends house and read it. As far as I'm aware she's not become disruptive, disobdeiant, has not tried to perform magic, has no interest in the occult, and is very aware that the book is a work of fiction i.e is not real.

I recently read a list of America's most controversial books, which included such shocking books like Where's Waldo, To Kill a Mocking bird, James and the Giant Peach. And two books on puberty for boys and girls respectively. I have more then half the books on the list in my personal collection and I hope very much my children will read them in due time.

You guys worry too much, you need to relax, and reading these things will probably be good for you, maybe open your minds a little. And for the person who learned about and disaproved of paganism, well bully, I learned about paganism, hindu, judaism, islam, buddhism, sikhims, as well as christianity and I'm glad I learned about all these different religions, the british school system teaches children about different religions too, my childrens schools celebrate muslim and hindu festivals as well as christian. I'm more then happy about this, at least it's ensuring my children DONT turn out narrow minded xenophobes.