Parents of many Harford County ninth-graders are upset about a book used in a new class for freshmen.
Dozens of parents came to Monday?s Board of Education meeting to protest the profanity, violence and sexual content in “The Chocolate War,” a 1974 novel by Robert Cormier that students are asked to read as part of the “New Living in a Contemporary World” course offered to Harford County freshmen.
“Our society already offers plenty of this garbage. … Our classes should not,” said Denise Jordan, mother of a freshman at C. Milton Wright High School.
Parents can choose to have their children sit out of lessons relating to the book, but Jordan said doing so would single them out.
“Social acceptance is a big deal for ninth-graders, but I have to be the one pulling my kid out,” said Brian Letters, who pointed out that Herbert Forstel?s book “Banned in the U.S.A.” listed the novel as the fifth-most frequently banned book in the last decade.
One mother said her family had spoken to two teachers on back-to-school night, and both were s keptical of the book. One said he did not need his students to read it in order to teach the lessons about bullying, decision-making and conformity that it offered, while the other was concerned about the logistical problems of removing students from the classroom when their parents objected to the book. The book is about a private school student who refuses to take part in selling chocolate and receives the scorn of his classmates and a powerful gang.
Many of the complaints were met with loud cheers and applause from other parents, and most echoed the concern that the book is inappropriate for ninth-graders.
Despite the parental outcry, the book had already passed a review by teachers and parents to be included in the curriculum for the class, but school officials may have to reconsider given the objections, said Board of Education President Mark Wolkow. A formal review would be handled by Superintendent Jacqueline Haas or the system?s curriculum office, he said.
All the board members were given copies of the book after Monday night?s meeting for their personal review, Wolkow said, so by the time the issue makes its way back before the board, they will have familiarized themselves with it.
