“Rick” summer reading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oh look the book-burning book banning crowd is out in force.

if your kid is not capable of cognitive reading by 5th grade you all have bigger problems.

Idiots every single one of you that think this is a book that should not be read. it is a book they should read and you should do your dam job and discuss it with them. Why?? Because a good parent would take the time to do that.

America now Russia or North Korea you pick.

Wow. You sound like a calm, thoughtful and reasonable individual.

Yep, they nailed it. It's sad but accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oh look the book-burning book banning crowd is out in force.

if your kid is not capable of cognitive reading by 5th grade you all have bigger problems.

Idiots every single one of you that think this is a book that should not be read. it is a book they should read and you should do your dam job and discuss it with them. Why?? Because a good parent would take the time to do that.

America now Russia or North Korea you pick.

Wow. You sound like a calm, thoughtful and reasonable individual.

Yep, they nailed it. It's sad but accurate.

Glad you calmed down! Deep breaths.

[Anonymous]

I might be okay with the book if it was an assignment for health class but the fact it’s an English assignment tells you the agenda that is being pushed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might be okay with the book if it was an assignment for health class but the fact it’s an English assignment tells you the agenda that is being pushed.

Reading? Helping kids find books they can relate to?

[Anonymous]

My son is 9. He thinks kissing is disgusting. He has no feelings of attraction to girls or boys. He doesn’t even know what that means. Should someone be telling him he might want to identify as asexual? Does it become appropriate to question his identity at age 11 or 13 or 15 or 17? It is perfectly normal to not be interested in either sex at any of these ages. Do you understand why it’s strange to introduce these topics to a middle school kid and then ask them how they identify? I understand why so many kids are truly confused about their identity. Schools keep reinforcing the idea that you should question your identity and have a label.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might be okay with the book if it was an assignment for health class but the fact it’s an English assignment tells you the agenda that is being pushed.

Reading? Helping kids find books they can relate to?

The content is about sexuality and gender identity. These are topics that would be appropriate as part of a health class curriculum. Would you be okay with books about Islam or The Bible because they promote reading? They would be appropriate in an elective on world religions but would be objected to as part of an English curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 9. He thinks kissing is disgusting. He has no feelings of attraction to girls or boys. He doesn’t even know what that means. Should someone be telling him he might want to identify as asexual? Does it become appropriate to question his identity at age 11 or 13 or 15 or 17? It is perfectly normal to not be interested in either sex at any of these ages. Do you understand why it’s strange to introduce these topics to a middle school kid and then ask them how they identify? I understand why so many kids are truly confused about their identity. Schools keep reinforcing the idea that you should question your identity and have a label.

And that is exactly why this shouldn’t be on the reading list for 11 year old KIDS.

They can keep it in the MS libraries and parents can encourage their kids to read it if they think it is essential. But it should not be required reading.

I had plenty of friends in college that explored their sexuality. Trying to get young kids to ‘label’ themselves at a young age is misguided and wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 9. He thinks kissing is disgusting. He has no feelings of attraction to girls or boys. He doesn’t even know what that means. Should someone be telling him he might want to identify as asexual? Does it become appropriate to question his identity at age 11 or 13 or 15 or 17? It is perfectly normal to not be interested in either sex at any of these ages. Do you understand why it’s strange to introduce these topics to a middle school kid and then ask them how they identify? I understand why so many kids are truly confused about their identity. Schools keep reinforcing the idea that you should question your identity and have a label.

They don't ask the kids how they identify their gender. No where in the assignment do they ask that question.

They ask the kids "what parts of your identity are important to you". My kid wrote things like "brother" and "point guard". When we talked about what might stay the same and what might change he said things like "well I'll always be his brother, but maybe one day I'll write "Dad".

If a kid wants to talk about their own gender, they can. If they don't, there's nothing in the assignment asking them to, or telling them they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps parents: I wish that our kids would read more books in ela class

Mcps assigns a bunch of high quality books

Parents: nooooo we can't have our kids reading those books! They might have independent thoughts and feelings

Nope. This is not a ‘high quality book’.

MS English in MCPS is a depressing mess of crap, low-quality books (like The Pact - nice, motivational story for lower-income kids, but very poorly written).

What makes you decide that a book isn't high quality. Is the subject matter too much for you to determine if the book has any other literary merits?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The social warriors are strong in this thread!

And they will never let go of their anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.

Keep willfully ignoring every argument made on this thread. Keep telling yourself the other side has no real argument and is only anti-LGBTQ, even though posters keep saying that is NOT their issue.

Keep it up. You will lose.

Nobody is making any arguments beyond a vague “it’s wrong.” No one will explain what exactly they are afraid will happen. People raise these bogeymen of supposedly inappropriate reading questions or class discussions, and then conveniently disappear when asked to provide more information to explain why it was inappropriate.

Here’s a clue - when your position requires withholding relevant information so it can’t be challenged, your position is probably wrong.

Have you even read the thread? I've posted several times and so have others. What a waste of time since you don't actually want reasons.

Seriously. We have given many specific reasons. No one here has taken issue with the LGBTQ piece. I would still think the book and topic were too mature if the character were heterosexual and exploring heteronormative feelings and the school wanted my 11 year old to submit charts to the new English teacher labeling his gender identity and sexuality. Is nothing personal and private for adolescents and their families?

No, you haven’t. You’ve just said it’s wrong and should only be taught at home, with no explanation of what specific things are being taught in the classroom or what harm may come from what schools are teaching. People have asked for details about the supposedly objectionable reading questions and been ignored. People have asked for an explanation of a poster’s story about a supposedly inappropriate “how we met story” and been ignored. People asked the poster to explain what she was referring to when she said her kid’s school was teaching inappropriate values about relationships and were ignored. Whenever you people are pressed for specific on the harmful things that are supposedly happening in schools, you dodge, deflect and attack, because you know you can’t answer the question in a way that supports your position. We all see through you.

From the Cultural Warrior 101 playbook.

Asking you to support your arguments is a “Cultural Warrior 101 playbook”? To rational people, it’s just called critical thinking.

So if someone has an opinion that is different from yours, it only counts if they support their feelings to your liking and specifications? People are allowed to have different opinions from you without justifying them to you. Who anointed you arbiter of whether someone’s argument is supported enough?

If you want someone to come around to your opinion, then yes, you have to provide support for it. If you want your opinion to be given consideration when setting school curriculum, yes, you have to provide support for it. Otherwise your opinion doesn’t matter. It’s just noise.

I’m not here to persuade you or convince you of anything. The whole point if this post was that the OP did not feel the summer reading book/assignment was appropriate. Many people agreed with her. Others felt strongly the assignment was fine/important/awesome/what have you. I don’t think either side was going to change the minds of the others.

Okay, so there really wasn’t a point to this thread, it’s just the right-wing outrage machine in action again.

I'm not right-wing. I'm liberal (although apparently I can't call myself liberal unless I'm onboard with MCPS English curriculum). I am against watered down BS books our kids are being asked to read specifically because they are about a certain subject. If you're going to teach English, then teach English. If you want to talk about cultural norms or sexual preference, then do it in the appropriate classes. Or at the very least come up with some books that are actually worth reading for reasons other than an agenda.

I love it when the right-wing CATO posters claim to be liberals. You know they're desperate whenever that happens.

I'm not a right-wing, sweaty-palmed CATO poster. I'm a real liberal. Guess what -- those on the right, those slightly on the left of right and now those squarely on the left are being turned off by your agenda. You're leaving a smaller and smaller sliver of people on your side.

If you’re so feeble and weak minded that you’d automatically switch to the party that doesn’t believe in basic human rights for women because your 7th grader had to read a book you don’t like, then you have some severe critical thinking problems.

Wow, I'm biting my tongue to keep from coming back at you with the same nasty mean spirited attitude you are displaying, but I'll try to explain it to you civilly -- you attitude brought us Donald Trump.

I think you clearly articulated the PPP point. If this one issue, a seventh grade book make you vote for someone or a party that is completely against your interest and actual values, then you’re not thinking critically. And you shouldn’t then complain when idiots are allowed to run government, abuse tax payer funds, and try to ruin democracy.

I did not say I voted for Trump -- I said attitudes like the PP's got Trump elected.

I also didn't say I would switch parties over this 'one issue, a seventh grade book.' But if that's the only way you can feel like you're winning the argument, then go ahead and babble away. It's a shame you can't actually listen to what's being said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 9. He thinks kissing is disgusting. He has no feelings of attraction to girls or boys. He doesn’t even know what that means. Should someone be telling him he might want to identify as asexual? Does it become appropriate to question his identity at age 11 or 13 or 15 or 17? It is perfectly normal to not be interested in either sex at any of these ages. Do you understand why it’s strange to introduce these topics to a middle school kid and then ask them how they identify? I understand why so many kids are truly confused about their identity. Schools keep reinforcing the idea that you should question your identity and have a label.

a) It’s for MS not Elementary. The greater majority of kids in MS are older than 9. B) It is totally fine for kids not to have any attraction towards either sex at any of the ages you mentioned just as it’s perfectly fine for kids to have attraction at any of these ages. Should we ignore everything that likely will happen for most people at some point in their life, just because your child hasn’t experienced or thought about it yet?

Your kid likely hasn’t thought of or experienced bombs dropping around them or famine. But kids in the world have. Does that mean we can’t talk about these things during Social Studies? Just because the topic is sexuality doesn’t make it any more taboo or kids incapable of absorbing the content and reflecting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 9. He thinks kissing is disgusting. He has no feelings of attraction to girls or boys. He doesn’t even know what that means. Should someone be telling him he might want to identify as asexual? Does it become appropriate to question his identity at age 11 or 13 or 15 or 17? It is perfectly normal to not be interested in either sex at any of these ages. Do you understand why it’s strange to introduce these topics to a middle school kid and then ask them how they identify? I understand why so many kids are truly confused about their identity. Schools keep reinforcing the idea that you should question your identity and have a label.

a) It’s for MS not Elementary. The greater majority of kids in MS are older than 9. B) It is totally fine for kids not to have any attraction towards either sex at any of the ages you mentioned just as it’s perfectly fine for kids to have attraction at any of these ages. Should we ignore everything that likely will happen for most people at some point in their life, just because your child hasn’t experienced or thought about it yet?

Your kid likely hasn’t thought of or experienced bombs dropping around them or famine. But kids in the world have. Does that mean we can’t talk about these things during Social Studies? Just because the topic is sexuality doesn’t make it any more taboo or kids incapable of absorbing the content and reflecting.

But why is this a topic for English class? Why is an English class assignment asking about identity or talking about sexuality? How is that relevant to the subject matter at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oh look the book-burning book banning crowd is out in force.

if your kid is not capable of cognitive reading by 5th grade you all have bigger problems.

Idiots every single one of you that think this is a book that should not be read. it is a book they should read and you should do your dam job and discuss it with them. Why?? Because a good parent would take the time to do that.

America now Russia or North Korea you pick.

If you can't see the difference between parents being against a school reading assignment and book burning, then you are the one who has bigger problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oh look the book-burning book banning crowd is out in force.

if your kid is not capable of cognitive reading by 5th grade you all have bigger problems.

Idiots every single one of you that think this is a book that should not be read. it is a book they should read and you should do your dam job and discuss it with them. Why?? Because a good parent would take the time to do that.

America now Russia or North Korea you pick.

If you can't see the difference between parents being against a school reading assignment and book burning, then you are the one who has bigger problems.

Personally, I'm fine with this book. It's great that kids can learn about the world they live in. But sure, this isn't the same as a book burning. It's just the gateway activity to book burning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 9. He thinks kissing is disgusting. He has no feelings of attraction to girls or boys. He doesn’t even know what that means. Should someone be telling him he might want to identify as asexual? Does it become appropriate to question his identity at age 11 or 13 or 15 or 17? It is perfectly normal to not be interested in either sex at any of these ages. Do you understand why it’s strange to introduce these topics to a middle school kid and then ask them how they identify? I understand why so many kids are truly confused about their identity. Schools keep reinforcing the idea that you should question your identity and have a label.

a) It’s for MS not Elementary. The greater majority of kids in MS are older than 9. B) It is totally fine for kids not to have any attraction towards either sex at any of the ages you mentioned just as it’s perfectly fine for kids to have attraction at any of these ages. Should we ignore everything that likely will happen for most people at some point in their life, just because your child hasn’t experienced or thought about it yet?

Your kid likely hasn’t thought of or experienced bombs dropping around them or famine. But kids in the world have. Does that mean we can’t talk about these things during Social Studies? Just because the topic is sexuality doesn’t make it any more taboo or kids incapable of absorbing the content and reflecting.

Bingo. Another PP already said the subject matter is better suited for another class. And a better book would be better suited for an English assignment -- one that shows kids what literature is all about, what a well crafted books is like, ETC. It's a reading assignment with an agenda, pure and simple. There is literally no other reason for it to be assigned reading.

How about gym classes where kids are divided into "Sure I'm going to be straight" "Sure I'm going to be gay" "Think the opposite sex is gross and that will never change although I'm told it may" "Think my opposite sex sibling's friends are both repulsive and fascinating but not sure what that means" etc. Would that be appropriate? No. Because it's gym class.