Just got disturbing email regarding English class for my rising freshman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

What is the title? Is this OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

If you know the book, why don't you name it? So weird to be secretive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

If you know the book, why don't you name it? So weird to be secretive.

It's probably something most people would consider a classic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG OP, it's not like they're going to be reading The Happy Hooker in class.

This is the new norm. It’s like when a TV show starts and tells you there may be smoking, swearing, or suggestive language.

It's for all the sue happy folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

If you know the book, why don't you name it? So weird to be secretive.

It's probably something most people would consider a classic

OK, so what is it???

[Anonymous]

Presumably you can ask them what book or books triggered the letter, then you can see for yourself if you think it’s okay for your child to read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

If you know the book, why don't you name it? So weird to be secretive.

Because she is...lying?

[Anonymous]

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.

[Anonymous]

Youngkin made us go through every book in the curriculum. If ANY sexual content is in there, and that means any, we have to alert the parents. This email sounds insane and it’s actually just to tell you “Hey, your kid is reading Romeo and Juliet which contains a very obtuse joke about penises.” But legally we have to tell you.

-hs teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

If you know the book, why don't you name it? So weird to be secretive.

It's probably something most people would consider a classic

For 9th grade, Romeo and Juliet AND The Odyssey both fall under this policy and we have to send this warning to parents. Most would probably say both of these texts have value and aren’t sexually explicit though. Nonetheless. Because Odysseus sleeps with Cersei and Calypso we have to send the warning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

+1
It’s odd that just the mere fact that they need to send out this letter is not the deterrent needed for the decision-makers to pause and ask “is this necessary reading for 14/15-year olds? Or is there maybe a book that can be used to teach the same literary concepts that isn’t sexually explicit?

At first we ordered a copy for our DD to have and fully intending for her to participate in reading it. (I naively thought that this letter must be the result of some ultra right wing conservative book-bit ing alarmist moms and surely it can’t really be that explicit or graphic…..but no. It turned out I was wrong.)

It’s very graphic, and as explicit as reading soft core pornography.
This is no “Judy Blume” moment. It’s extremely graphic description of erections, masturbation, and weird discussions of the characters mom talking about her conflation of tampon use and sexual promiscuity. Exceedingly strange topics for an English class discussion on mixed company.

But I guess that’s where we are now.

[Anonymous]

My freshman is reading Romeo and Juliet this year. Yours probably is, too.

[Anonymous]

Of course it’s not normal! Just tell them you object and they will need to place her is a different class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately yes. Teachers are required to alert parents! However, parents can ask for specific titles, read them and opt their child out of any they feel are not appropriate. Teachers are required to provide an alternative assignment and to avoid any action or statement that would be critical of the child or parent.

But if my child is the only one doing the alternative assignment, they won’t be part of any class discussions. How would that work? Won’t it be harder?

It will make more work for the teacher, and your kid won't learn nearly enough, but you'll have saved your kid from the trauma of reading Romeo and Juliet. Plus, it's always fun to embarrass your kid!

It’s not a classic, unfortunately. I would totally be on board with a classic. It’s a woke novel with “masturbation, heavy naked petting,” etc.

If you know the book, why don't you name it? So weird to be secretive.

It's probably something most people would consider a classic

For 9th grade, Romeo and Juliet AND The Odyssey both fall under this policy and we have to send this warning to parents. Most would probably say both of these texts have value and aren’t sexually explicit though. Nonetheless. Because Odysseus sleeps with Cersei and Calypso we have to send the warning.

Yes, and THAT is the problem.
Parents roll their eyes and go “oh—is that all?”
And then they assume it’s for Romeo and Hukiet and The Odyssey.
And they don’t actually read The Poet X, and its extremely detailed descriptions of masturbation and “feeling his hardness pressed against me” and the many other explicit sexual references that—without you having sent this notification, you’d be side-eyeing a teacher for introducing and discussing these pornographic passages with your fifteen year-old.

[Anonymous]

I totally thought of the Romeo and Juliet movie we watched in 9th grade too! That's is NOTHING. Calm down. We didn't have the interenet and we weren't even that excited about it in 1989.