From the Austin American-Statesman
Book removed from Round Rock middle school libraries
By Bob Banta | Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 10:54 AM
A teen novel that stirred controversy when the parent of a Round Rock student complained that it is obscene was removed from the district’s middle school libraries today.
The novel entitled “TTYL” by Lauren Myracle is a narrative in the format of instant messages exchanged among a group of teenage girls. TTYL is shorthand for “talk to you later.”
Round Rock Superintendent Jesus Chavez sent a letter to Wes and Sherry Jennings on Tuesday saying he had determined that “while the book may be appropriate for some students, it is not appropriate for all of our students in the middle school and should not be made generally available in a middle school library open to all middle school students.”
“If parents wish their individual students to have access to the book, there are ample alternatives for the book to be made available to students at parent discretion,” the superintendent said in his letter.
Sherry Jennings, mother of a Ridgeview Middle School student, filed a complaint at the beginning of this school year after her daughter checked the novel out of the Ridgeview library.
Jennings said Tuesday, “We are extremely pleased that the superintendent is interested in quality education for our children and that he realizes that maturity-wise they are not ready for these types of books.”
Jennings said she objected not only to vulgar language in the book “but also to the sexual content of the entire book.”
Jennings said she and her husband are satisfied with Chavez’s response and plan no further action.
Jennings was scheduled to appear before the school board to argue her complaint on Thursday after previous meetings with school officials proved unsatisfactory to her. Chavez said in the letter to her and her husband that since the book has been removed, the hearing before school trustees will be cancelled.
In late October, a nine-member committee appointed by Chavez decided by a 5 to 4 vote to keep the book on school library shelves. The committee included central administration officials, parents, teachers, and a high school student council member.
On Oct. 9, a six-member Ridgeview panel concluded the book should remain in the Ridgeview library despite the complaint.
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I'm not happy about this. I take book banning very seriously. To quote Zack de la Rocha, "What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin' / They don't gotta burn the books they just remove 'em."
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Being back in A-town, I heard an interesting comment on this subject that made me stop and think. On local AM radio, Caller said he didn't think that Children have the same Freedom of Speech rights that adults have. He continued that since we, as adults and stewards of what goes into those little heads, should be allowed to censor the input and are obligated to do so. What goes into a public library is completely different than what goes into a library dedicated to middle schoolers.
Now, I have no idea what the book says exactly, just that I do think he's making a good point. We censor what our kids watch thru movie ratings. Why not books? Movies are basically visual books, right? You wouldn't let your kid go see Debbie Does Whatever, would you? Obviously an extreme example, but it sure ain't in the standard rental section of the local Blockbuster.
Here's the link to the book in question:
http://www.amazon.com/ttyl-Talk-You-Later-Internet-Girls/dp/0810987880/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227128651&sr=8-1
And a review on Amazon:
Grade 8-10-Three high school sophomores, lifelong best friends, are now facing a variety of emotional upsets in their personal and social lives. Angela is boy crazy and emotive, but able to lend support to her friends when they need it. Zoe is the quietest and most self-effacing, considered by some to be a goody two-shoes but in fact headed full speed into a very dangerous relationship. Madigan is the hothead, less certain of how to grow up than she allows anyone, including herself, to see. The entire narrative is composed of the instant messages sent among these three, from September into November, as they each get involved with dating, sort out how to have friendships with others, cope with disasters that range from wardrobe issues to getting drunk, and offer one another advice and defiance. Each character's voice is fully realized and wonderfully realistic in spite of the very limiting scope of the IM device. Page layout mimics a computer screen and each girl IMs in a different font and in her own unique verbal style. (The title is IM jargon for "talk to you later"). Myracle not only sustains all this but also offers readers some meaty-and genuine-issues. Both revealing and innovative, this novel will inspire teens to pass it to their friends and will suggest to nascent writers that experimenting with nonnarrative communication can be a great way to tell a story.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
But here's the thing. I'm okay with parents being engaged in the censorship process. I would not let my child watch Debbie Doing Anything, but the intended audience is not that of children.
However, I'm uncomfortable with other parents and teachers and administrators deciding what's appropriate for my child. I'm generally in favor of anything that gets kids interested in reading. I also think that, if they hadn't made a big deal about the book, a smaller number of kids would be interested in reading it. So in many regards I think censorship has the opposite of the intended effect.
There's no way, with presently available technology, that the library can't set up an e-mail system where every time a child checks out a book, the parent receives an e-mail.
I just don't think you should start removing books. I don't know why I hold books to a higher standard than movies, but I do.
Fair enough. But, assuming Debbie Does Anything were a book, would you ever find that in the Middle School Library? Would it even have a shot of making it to the library? Nope. Which is a form of censorship. Now all we're doing is splitting the hairs of where the line should be drawn regarding what content is available to a middle schooler. Because we're already censoring books unconsciously. Just that no one raises hell about the Kama Sutra not being in the MS library.
Good idea about the emails, though.
I certainly don't want to draw a line between the intelligence of someone who reads for pleasure and someone who only watches movies. That's not the case.
Pornography is readily available on the internet and on cable. And while inappropriate material is available in the printed form...somehow I don't think too many 6th graders are looking to get all hopped up reading D.H. Lawrence.
You actually can't get the Kama Sutra at most public libraries. (full disclosure, especially to my wife: I just checked the online catalog for the Cooperstown library). You can get book porn, you just can't borrow it and give it back.
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