Sign in Support of Shelby Teacher

Just when you think it can't happen here: a text is being challenged by a group of conservative parents in Shelby, Michigan. The text in question is Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon , and the teacher is a recent GVSU graduate, Jane Glerum. The name sounded familiar to me, and I remember now that Jane and her class also used my online role-playing game Thoughtcrime a few years ago. Here's a bit from a news article about the case:

Provocative’ book comes under fire in Shelby By John Cavanagh
Herald-Journal Writer

SHELBY — A book with “provocative” content used in the Shelby High School Advanced Placement English class has come under fire.

“Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison has been used by the AP English class for three years, Superintendent Dana McGrew said. It is being evaluated by the Shelby curriculum committee.

“Basically, there’s a bunch of different things that some people object to it,” McGrew said.

The book is included in the library catalogs at Hesperia, Pentwater, and Mason County. The Shelby Area District Library also has the book in its catalog, but it had been checked out and had one person on the waiting list Monday. The book also is in the Shelby High School Library catalog. Hart Area District Library’s Web site did not show the book in its catalog.

According to McGrew, the book contains sexual, racial and violent content. The book is not required reading in the elective class, and McGrew did not know why people are objecting to it now.

“If they object to the book, they don’t have to read it,” McGrew said. “They can read a different one.”

Complete article

This is not a case of a teacher picking a book out of the blue and discovering, too late, that the community objects to it. This Morrison has been recommended by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement curriculum and is widely taught throughout the country. If you would like to sign your name in support of Jane Glerum and those who would retain the novel, please see the following petition.

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Comment by Robert Rozema on May 18, 2009 at 4:13pm: Here is another account of the controversy:

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-16/124255531264970.xml&coll=8

As you can see, the book has been part of the AP curriculum for three years, and it has now been removed from the curriculum because of a parent protest. From the sound of things, an alternative text possibility is still in discussion. But because the protest resulted in the removal of materials from the classroom (the book is still available in the library), it qualifies as an act of censorship. MCTE has a statement on censorship (under what we do) that you might take a moment to read if you haven't yet.

Moreover, I said nothing in my earlier post that represented me poorly as a professional or mischaracterized the case in Shelby. I only wanted to suggest that censorship can happen anywhere and to encourage those who were interested to sign the petition.

Finally, I will add that I have worked with Jane Glerum, the teacher in question, on a previous project and would never imply that she or her students in Shelby are ignorant or under-informed. That was entirely your reaction to my post. I do believe, and many here might concur, that our profession is compromised when books are removed from classrooms or libraries.

Comment by James Tanis on May 18, 2009 at 1:19pm: I had a similar situation in 4th grade a few years ago. While reading Roald Dahl's The Witches, a family didn't agree with that book, even though Dahl's book was a humorous account. Honoring those parent's wishes, an alternate novel was chosen. If parents in the situation in Shelby want an alternate novel due to moral reasons, or any other for that matter, those requests should be honored. Parents are our customers. Are parents really trying to remove a book from the library, or is this another overzealous attempt to make involved parents look like uneducated witch hunters? Just make sure your picture is accurate as this website is supposed to represent the best of who we are as professionals.

Comment by Robert Rozema on May 18, 2009 at 7:10am: James,

Of course, parents do have the right to question what their children are being taught. But when they attempt to control what other children are reading by removing materials from the library or classroom, concern becomes censorship.

Comment by James Tanis on May 17, 2009 at 9:45pm: So...parents shouldn't dare question the novel? I mean, golly, they're just a bunch of narrow minded Oceana county folk and all...

Comment by Jill VanAntwerp on May 17, 2009 at 11:32am: Hi everyone, I contacted the Shelby grad who is helping the teachers by creating this on-line petition, and for those of you who noticed the spelling of Nobel, he will change that before he forwards the finished petition to the school board. Please add your support to show that Michigan has its eyes on the whole state when it comes to quality education in our English classrooms.