Just got disturbing email regarding English class for my rising freshman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

I had to google that, it sounds like a great book, one every teenager should read.

Soound like a book 14 year old boy will be excited for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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

OK --- "teacher" -- the gov of VA has no such power. No power over any school district. What happened is that a law was passed by the VA House and Senate and signed by the gov. If you said the Commonwealth made us go through . . . you may have been right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

I had to google that, it sounds like a great book, one every teenager should read.

Soound like a book 14 year old boy will be excited for.

Not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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

OK --- "teacher" -- the gov of VA has no such power. No power over any school district. What happened is that a law was passed by the VA House and Senate and signed by the gov. If you said the Commonwealth made us go through . . . you may have been right.

+1 and the email isn’t to alert about Romeo and Juliet. That is also on the reading list, but not what triggered this letter at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

Can you share how your child handled that book? What are your thoughts as a parent?

She liked it. I don’t really care about the content, but I wish they would read actual literature and classics.

Yes same.

Why? They're not English majors. The goal is to get them to read and to think critically. In 9th and 10th grade they're 14 and 15; a books that can get them interested and relate to them is a good choice.

The class is English, not the classics. There are a lot of ways to approach it.


-Literature Professor. .

Yeah but they’re not really thinking cirtically about these modern, woke books, I’m sorry. The current curriculum is weak.

Please share your academic background and the last 5 books you read.

[Anonymous]

It's the new normal now. So stupid.

We don't censor media in our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

I had to google that, it sounds like a great book, one every teenager should read.

Soound like a book 14 year old boy will be excited for.

Are you saying that 14 year old boys shouldn’t read things that give a him a girl’s perspective on things like sexual assault because that’s not exciting?

Is he excited by his math book?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

Can you share how your child handled that book? What are your thoughts as a parent?

She liked it. I don’t really care about the content, but I wish they would read actual literature and classics.

Yes same.

Why? They're not English majors. The goal is to get them to read and to think critically. In 9th and 10th grade they're 14 and 15; a books that can get them interested and relate to them is a good choice.

The class is English, not the classics. There are a lot of ways to approach it.


-Literature Professor. .

Yeah but they’re not really thinking cirtically about these modern, woke books, I’m sorry. The current curriculum is weak.

If schools aren’t teaching kids to read critically, that’s a separate issue that needs to be fixed. I can tell you as a former teacher who has taught Scarlett Letter, that plenty of people have studied classic literature in high school without being taught how to think about it. The number of people who say they read the book in high school and it’s about how bad adultery is, is mind boggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

Can you share how your child handled that book? What are your thoughts as a parent?

She liked it. I don’t really care about the content, but I wish they would read actual literature and classics.

Yes same.

Why? They're not English majors. The goal is to get them to read and to think critically. In 9th and 10th grade they're 14 and 15; a books that can get them interested and relate to them is a good choice.

The class is English, not the classics. There are a lot of ways to approach it.


-Literature Professor. .

Yeah but they’re not really thinking cirtically about these modern, woke books, I’m sorry. The current curriculum is weak.

Of course they are. Do you even have kids in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

I had to google that, it sounds like a great book, one every teenager should read.

Soound like a book 14 year old boy will be excited for.

Are you saying that 14 year old boys shouldn’t read things that give a him a girl’s perspective on things like sexual assault because that’s not exciting?

Is he excited by his math book?

For first question, the kid is unlikely to relate nor have much interest in the topic. Wish fullfillment fantasy is more likely to be of interest than discussions of sexual assualt.

For the second, depends on the kid. For my own kid's social group, yes it would. For those who aren't excited by STEM, not so much. That's why college is great so you can finally study what actually interests you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

Can you share how your child handled that book? What are your thoughts as a parent?

She liked it. I don’t really care about the content, but I wish they would read actual literature and classics.

Yes same.

Why? They're not English majors. The goal is to get them to read and to think critically. In 9th and 10th grade they're 14 and 15; a books that can get them interested and relate to them is a good choice.

The class is English, not the classics. There are a lot of ways to approach it.


-Literature Professor. .

Yeah but they’re not really thinking cirtically about these modern, woke books, I’m sorry. The current curriculum is weak.

Of course they are. Do you even have kids in HS?

Yes. That’s why I know this to be true. I can see the assignments and hear from my kids what is going on. English is now a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

I had to google that, it sounds like a great book, one every teenager should read.

Soound like a book 14 year old boy will be excited for.

Are you saying that 14 year old boys shouldn’t read things that give a him a girl’s perspective on things like sexual assault because that’s not exciting?

Is he excited by his math book?

For first question, the kid is unlikely to relate nor have much interest in the topic. Wish fullfillment fantasy is more likely to be of interest than discussions of sexual assualt.

For the second, depends on the kid. For my own kid's social group, yes it would. For those who aren't excited by STEM, not so much. That's why college is great so you can finally study what actually interests you.

+1 I can’t for the life of me understand why a teacher would assign a book about sexual assault. So inappropriate and could be triggering for some kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter read a book last year where the plot centered on a high schooler getting sexually assaulted.

Ugh. Was it Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson?

yes

I had to google that, it sounds like a great book, one every teenager should read.

Soound like a book 14 year old boy will be excited for.

Are you saying that 14 year old boys shouldn’t read things that give a him a girl’s perspective on things like sexual assault because that’s not exciting?

Is he excited by his math book?

For first question, the kid is unlikely to relate nor have much interest in the topic. Wish fullfillment fantasy is more likely to be of interest than discussions of sexual assualt.

For the second, depends on the kid. For my own kid's social group, yes it would. For those who aren't excited by STEM, not so much. That's why college is great so you can finally study what actually interests you.

+1 I can’t for the life of me understand why a teacher would assign a book about sexual assault. So inappropriate and could be triggering for some kids.

You are stupid

I causes conversation

[Anonymous]

I was a double STEM/English Lit major in college. For my Lit major I read literature from the 1300s in Middle English (Piers Plowman) to books that were new at the time (Atonement and Never Let Me Go).

I also read plenty of books in college that had disturbing content, like The Collector and Regeneration.

Just reading the classics wouldn't give you a particularly well rounded education, you'd be missing out on a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's the new normal now. So stupid.

We don't censor media in our house.

Somehow I doubt you have copies of Penthouse just lying around “for the articles” but hey—I could be wrong. Maybe sharing erotica with your teens around the kitchen table is a thing for your family, but it isn’t really something we embrace nor is it something I want a teacher introducing my teen child to in an academic classroom.
I just think there are about a hundred other non-erotica non-explicit non-profane books that can be selected to teach the same concepts.
And this particular book can have its place on the library shelf alongside Judy Blume’s Forever and EL James’ Fifty Shades of Gray, where it can be checked out by students who are curious or passed around in whispers and giggles among peers who get a thrill out of scandalizing one another. Aa optional reading, it’s just one of “those” books that will invite gasps and wide eyes. As classroom material, it’s unnecessary. And the parts that are objectionable really do read like an x-rated dirty magazine article that any reasonable adult would find questionable for the classroom at best and wholly inappropriate at worst.