Kinky Jones
09-29-2007, 07:33 AM
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/495889,035NWS1.article
Oak Lawn mom demands ban on racy book
August 3, 2007
By Angela Caputo Staff writer
Karen Lukes didn't think much about the book that her son randomly picked from a list of suggested summer reading compiled by teachers at Alsip's Prairie Junior High.
Frankly, she said, she was thrilled to see the 14-year-old crack a book during the break from school.
But as the Oak Lawn mother began to read alongside her soon-to-be eighth-grader, she was stunned to discover that "Fat Kid Rules the World" by K.L. Going was laced with profanity and other mature content.
Now she wants Alsip, Hazelgreen and Oak Lawn School District 126 administrators to shelve the book for good.
"I want it pulled," Lukes said. "It's vulgar, and it's a total contradiction. The kids can't go around and talk like this ... What kind of message does it send?"
District 126 Supt. Robert Berger stands by the award-winning selection as one of many books offered to students. All seventh- and eighth-graders at Prairie Junior High are required to read at least one book, preferably from the recommended summer reading list, before school begins.
"These are standard pieces of literature used (in schools) across the country," Berger said. "Appropriateness is for students and parents to judge."
Berger said two other parents have complained about the book.
"Fat Kid Rules the World" chronicles the friendship between an angst-ridden teen named Troy and Curt, a homeless punk-rocker. The pair first cross paths as Troy contemplates throwing himself from a subway platform in a suicide attempt.
The coming-of-age novel, which broaches mature subjects -- from drug and alcohol use to adolescent sexual fantasies to ditching school -- has been compared to J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."
When it was published in 2003, "Fat Kid Rules the World" ranked on the "Best Books" list compiled by the School Library Journal. Going also received The Michael L. Printz award, which is sponsored by a publication of the American Library Association.
Despite its literary acclaim, Dan Marler -- who also is a District 126 parent and the pastor of The First Church of God in Oak Lawn -- questioned if the book is too mature for such an impressionable audience.
"You're dealing with children. Isn't there some measure of what's appropriate?" he said. "On television there is. In movies there are."
Under the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America, the book would push the limits of a PG-13 rating.
A single use of a sexually-derived expletive requires at least a PG-13 rating, according to the association's guidelines. More than one such expletive requires an R rating if used in a sexual context.
The San Francisco-based nonprofit Common Sense Media, however, gave the book a green light for readers 14 and older.
The organization analyzes books -- examining sexual appropriateness, violence, social behavior and drug, alcohol and tobacco use -- for parents interested in filtering through a barrage of children's media.
"For a lot of parents, the industry sanctions don't provide a lot of information about content," Common Sense Media spokesman Jay Senter said. "We're a place to give parents tools to allow them to make the right decisions."
Lukes acknowledged that it's ultimately up to parents to decide what's best for their children, but she said parents are supposed to be able to trust school officials to choose appropriate material.
"No parent can go and read all six books to preview them," said Lukes, who plans to take her concerns to the school board at its August meeting.
"I don't want the administration to endorse this ... And I want some kind of commitment that they won't use it again," she said.
so a lazy ass parent cant take the time to read about what she wants banned, how hypocritical of her
Oak Lawn mom demands ban on racy book
August 3, 2007
By Angela Caputo Staff writer
Karen Lukes didn't think much about the book that her son randomly picked from a list of suggested summer reading compiled by teachers at Alsip's Prairie Junior High.
Frankly, she said, she was thrilled to see the 14-year-old crack a book during the break from school.
But as the Oak Lawn mother began to read alongside her soon-to-be eighth-grader, she was stunned to discover that "Fat Kid Rules the World" by K.L. Going was laced with profanity and other mature content.
Now she wants Alsip, Hazelgreen and Oak Lawn School District 126 administrators to shelve the book for good.
"I want it pulled," Lukes said. "It's vulgar, and it's a total contradiction. The kids can't go around and talk like this ... What kind of message does it send?"
District 126 Supt. Robert Berger stands by the award-winning selection as one of many books offered to students. All seventh- and eighth-graders at Prairie Junior High are required to read at least one book, preferably from the recommended summer reading list, before school begins.
"These are standard pieces of literature used (in schools) across the country," Berger said. "Appropriateness is for students and parents to judge."
Berger said two other parents have complained about the book.
"Fat Kid Rules the World" chronicles the friendship between an angst-ridden teen named Troy and Curt, a homeless punk-rocker. The pair first cross paths as Troy contemplates throwing himself from a subway platform in a suicide attempt.
The coming-of-age novel, which broaches mature subjects -- from drug and alcohol use to adolescent sexual fantasies to ditching school -- has been compared to J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."
When it was published in 2003, "Fat Kid Rules the World" ranked on the "Best Books" list compiled by the School Library Journal. Going also received The Michael L. Printz award, which is sponsored by a publication of the American Library Association.
Despite its literary acclaim, Dan Marler -- who also is a District 126 parent and the pastor of The First Church of God in Oak Lawn -- questioned if the book is too mature for such an impressionable audience.
"You're dealing with children. Isn't there some measure of what's appropriate?" he said. "On television there is. In movies there are."
Under the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America, the book would push the limits of a PG-13 rating.
A single use of a sexually-derived expletive requires at least a PG-13 rating, according to the association's guidelines. More than one such expletive requires an R rating if used in a sexual context.
The San Francisco-based nonprofit Common Sense Media, however, gave the book a green light for readers 14 and older.
The organization analyzes books -- examining sexual appropriateness, violence, social behavior and drug, alcohol and tobacco use -- for parents interested in filtering through a barrage of children's media.
"For a lot of parents, the industry sanctions don't provide a lot of information about content," Common Sense Media spokesman Jay Senter said. "We're a place to give parents tools to allow them to make the right decisions."
Lukes acknowledged that it's ultimately up to parents to decide what's best for their children, but she said parents are supposed to be able to trust school officials to choose appropriate material.
"No parent can go and read all six books to preview them," said Lukes, who plans to take her concerns to the school board at its August meeting.
"I don't want the administration to endorse this ... And I want some kind of commitment that they won't use it again," she said.
so a lazy ass parent cant take the time to read about what she wants banned, how hypocritical of her