tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post7259985058541420216..comments2023-04-13T03:11:54.273-06:00Comments on d'Arcy d'Arcy: Book Banning 101Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17584248569655542892noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-4964469133078620182008-11-22T10:57:00.000-07:002008-11-22T10:57:00.000-07:00I just posted a video inspired by this post. I men...I just posted a video inspired by this post. I mention you a couple of times... hope you don't mind! http://livingintheory.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-do-you-mean-they-cant-read-that.htmlSugar Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14350485179045324078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-80186004025071308782008-11-08T17:26:00.000-07:002008-11-08T17:26:00.000-07:00Hey just read your post...I got Jason to love read...Hey just read your post...I got Jason to love reading on Captain Underpants and have passed them on to the grandsons....also I required my BA in Eng from UNLV...you wouldn't believe what I had to read, but I did anyway and I'm not scarred--just know now what type of genre I like (murder mysteries with women sleuths) ok cheesy murder mysteries with women sleuths...anyway like Jenn Fletcher said...Utah or not, you're gonna run into all sorts of people with opinions that don't agree with yours or are afraid of something different...incidently love you post about your religion...exactly why I converted :)<BR/><BR/>Love ya Darce...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-60029824972656975562008-11-07T22:46:00.000-07:002008-11-07T22:46:00.000-07:00yeah... totally. Just makin' sure I didn't come ...yeah... totally. <BR/>Just makin' sure I didn't come off wrong. :)galen dara https://www.blogger.com/profile/02987352194018060353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-24867866133077955952008-11-07T22:22:00.000-07:002008-11-07T22:22:00.000-07:00Hi G! Oh not at all! C'mon, I know you. ;) I didn'...Hi G! Oh not at all! C'mon, I know you. ;) I didn't take it that way at all. I just didn't know that about you and was making reference to reasons why people homeschool--some do it to shelter and some do it for the exact opposite reason.Boquinhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02365252326911270689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-56900584241684203732008-11-07T22:18:00.000-07:002008-11-07T22:18:00.000-07:00Boquinha- oh! I hope my comment didn't come off a...Boquinha- oh! I hope my comment didn't come off as disparaging towards homeschoolers, homeschoolers are great! can be an amazing opportunity... just wish my folks had been a little more open minded about it all. :)galen dara https://www.blogger.com/profile/02987352194018060353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-86744978150808950822008-11-07T20:47:00.000-07:002008-11-07T20:47:00.000-07:00Wow. Your students are so lucky to have you. Thos...Wow. Your students are so lucky to have you. Those mothers that are that narrow minded are not doing their children any favors. A sane parent once said to me that of cuorse they want their child to learn many different points of view. How else could the child honestly say the values and perspectives they have are really their own, unless they have had the opportunity to have their beliefs challenged, or at least another perspective shown.<BR/><BR/>And how can a student learn to participate in a democracy if they only understand one side of any issue?Pseudohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10430783970802030846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-62727281783824964412008-11-07T18:09:00.000-07:002008-11-07T18:09:00.000-07:00"Asking if they've read it might make them feel co..."Asking if they've read it might make them feel cornered and no self respecting control freak likes that."<BR/><BR/>That's one of the best lines I've read in a while. God bless the Internet! <BR/><BR/>G, you were homeschooled? I didn't know that. We homeschool for VERY different reasons than your parents . . . :PBoquinhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02365252326911270689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-65554213993698708912008-11-07T16:06:00.000-07:002008-11-07T16:06:00.000-07:00This is EXACTLY why we need teachers like you. Pl...This is EXACTLY why we need teachers like you. Please keep on teaching those Utah kids to think, to read, to research the issues. <BR/><BR/>I love your reading list, and so would those Utah moms, if they would open their minds up enough to taste them!Bored in Vernalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14016611721544251941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-49476717103697502592008-11-07T15:56:00.000-07:002008-11-07T15:56:00.000-07:00(pesepolis was AWESOME! oh, and ditto what dann s...(pesepolis was AWESOME! oh, and ditto what dann said about Persepolis II)<BR/><BR/>just a side note: my mother was the one who went and raised several stinks with school librarians about books available to check out. Books were dangerous, as was school itself in my parents view (I was homeschooled after that. to protect me from the evil influence. so much for that, huh?)<BR/><BR/>Just want to put in another plug for you: you're my hero!!!galen dara https://www.blogger.com/profile/02987352194018060353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-25387345370688205772008-11-07T09:47:00.000-07:002008-11-07T09:47:00.000-07:00Uh-oh. Heaven help you if you encourage the kids t...Uh-oh. Heaven help you if you encourage the kids to read Persepolis II. That mother's head just might explode when she meets Marjane's roommate that sleeps around and does drugs.Dannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13717508241058600505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-27828152911029302772008-11-07T05:52:00.000-07:002008-11-07T05:52:00.000-07:00Power - especially creative power terrifies people...Power - especially creative power terrifies people. Stick to your guns D'Arcy! I remember working for a children's charity in London during uni vacations - a mother so furious she was practically foaming at the mouth grabbed me 'You've been showing my son pornography!' she brandished a drawing in my face. We'd taken him to the Tate Gallery the day before - he'd seen art, not porn ... and been moved enough to make some of his own! Come on over - I have something for you!Kate Lord Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00278515379867576350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-38700264162017747192008-11-06T23:57:00.000-07:002008-11-06T23:57:00.000-07:00I've had to read a few books in order to have some...I've had to read a few books in order to have some intelligent discussions with my daughter. Luckily, most of her reading list was a repeat of mine. We've had late night talks about so many aspects of her reads. She's a thinker, that one. Sometimes I'm uncomfortable with the direction of her thoughts, but I don't thwart them. I don't disagree with her either. I simply give her my thoughts and keep listening and chatting... but I can sort of see why the moms you deal with are responding the way they are. I grew up reading "controversial" books, so for my daughter to be reading them wasn't scary. But those moms didn't grow up that way. I'm sure it's incredibly frustrating for you, but imagine how scared they are? Their lives are about control. Being controlled and controlling. If you shed a little light on their worlds, good... great! But don't let their fears change you. We have to have compassion and grace for people that are locked up like that. Rather than asking if they've read the book (because I'm guessing they haven't) would it be an option to discuss the merits of the book? Those close-minded people will see that this story is merely a perspective of the world that their child must learn to navigate through and all you are trying to do is give them a heads up. Asking if they've read it might make them feel cornered and no self respecting control freak likes that.<BR/><BR/>As for Bill Moyers, not to be like one of those awful close-minded moms... I think that might be a wee bit too far for that demographic. I read Hero of A Thousand Faces when I was thirty, and even then, I thought, woah... could my Jesus just be a big fat lie? It took me a long time to get back on track. For an impressionable teen that wants to rebel from the fearful and controlling parents? umm... maybe... not trying to tell you what to do... but you know...Sugar Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14350485179045324078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-67654133842284731722008-11-06T23:11:00.000-07:002008-11-06T23:11:00.000-07:00WTF?! Persepolis is the BOMB DIGGITY! Oh man I ...WTF?! Persepolis is the BOMB DIGGITY! Oh man I learned so much from that series and it sparked an interest to learn more! You have those moms give me a call and I'll give them a piece of MY freak ass metaphysical pagan mormon mind!<BR/><BR/>Bwahahahahaahahaaaaaaa!!!Dottie!https://www.blogger.com/profile/07964544679699181747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-45161116807507311812008-11-06T19:42:00.000-07:002008-11-06T19:42:00.000-07:00Wow! This is a great post. I can understand you...Wow! This is a great post. I can understand your frustration as a teacher. The only thing I can relate it to is in being a daycare provider for many years, I have had some really tough kids that I have cared for over the years, but they were nothing that I couldn't handle, it was the parents of some of my kids that were hard to handle and deal with.<BR/><BR/>As I was reading this post, I was reminded of some simular incidences that occurred when my children were still in school. Every so often there were groups of parents that would be trying to get books banned from the school library or trying to stop a teacher from requiring her classes to read a certain book. I don't remember the names of these books but I do remember how ignorant these people were. I remember getting phone calls from these parents. Of them trying to get me to sign a petition or jump on board with them. I remember asking them, if they had actually read the book they were trying to ban. The answers were either "no" or "I read the parts that didn't sound good and so and so said it was bad so I take their word for it!" What the hell???? You've got to be kidding me???? <BR/><BR/>Most of these people were evangelical christians. I think they thought that since I am a believer that I would just go along with them. I know what it's like to be shunned and judged because you don't go along with what "they" think you should go along with.<BR/><BR/>I know a couple of the books I had read and they were good books and I told them so. The thing is when I tried to have a discussion with them about the books, they really had nothing to back themselves up with. The only thing that they could give me was that they wanted to protect their child from reading about "that" or "that". They didn't want their child to get any "idea's".<BR/><BR/> I felt so sorry for the teachers and libraians for how they were attacked. These were good teachers trying to do their jobs. And they would have had a different view if someone would have went to them with an informed opinion or reasons and been willing to discuss it in a respectful manner instead of being attacked.<BR/><BR/>I hope that you don't stop teaching because you are a great teacher. I am sorry that you have been weighed down with all of this. I am sending you a giant ((((((((HUG))))))))))) LoriLorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04441204804740501624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-34544376384777083252008-11-06T17:06:00.000-07:002008-11-06T17:06:00.000-07:00Amen Jenn. You are right, I need to stop worrying ...Amen Jenn. You are right, I need to stop worrying about what people think about me too. Who knew you and I were dealing with the same problem, just in complete opposites?<BR/><BR/>I love you!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584248569655542892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-71184991314327592022008-11-06T16:59:00.000-07:002008-11-06T16:59:00.000-07:00You're right. Your blog. I should have not said an...You're right. Your blog. I should have not said anything. I should not get bugged by what people think about me. How can I control that anyway?<BR/><BR/>Consider that my first and last angry rant. (I did feel good to do it once, though.)<BR/><BR/>:)Fletchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16845539934606213861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-3769253781713065502008-11-06T16:42:00.000-07:002008-11-06T16:42:00.000-07:00HWHL--I just got it!!! You are seriously the best!...HWHL--I just got it!!! You are seriously the best! It looks like just what I need! Thank you friend!!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584248569655542892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-32942129840544469622008-11-06T16:41:00.000-07:002008-11-06T16:41:00.000-07:00Jenn Fletcher--Of course it is because I am in Uta...Jenn Fletcher--<BR/><BR/>Of course it is because I am in Utah! That goes without saying. I read your comment last night and thought, dang, did I hurt her feelings, should I go and delete LDS out of my entire post? Should I delete the post all together?<BR/><BR/>But, here it is, it's my blog, and I am mad, and I feel I have a right to vent, and it is the LDS mothers who are causing these stirs. But, because the LDS mothers are something you identify with, then does that mean I shouldn't get upset by it? If I had said "Crazy Southern Evangelicals" would you have even batted an eyelash? Or would you have got on board and said, "Yeah!" (not that you ever get on board with anything I say :)<BR/><BR/>So, let me take your last comment and reword it to show you how we are really walking in each other's shoes here:<BR/><BR/>________________<BR/><BR/>Sorry. I really am just getting fed up with the way the general LDS public views someone who has decided to stray from the church these days.<BR/><BR/> It seems like more and more, people in the LDS church look at me like I'm some freaky liberal, lesbian loving, devil worshipping, blasphemous, feminist who doesn't know her place is in the home, immoral, Jesus hater..... and I am sick of it!!!<BR/><BR/>Yes, there are some crazies out there. But judging others on their choice of religion, on their sexual orientation, on their political stance is not preached from the pulpit of any general conference I have ever attended. And yet, it just keeps on happening.<BR/><BR/>________________________<BR/><BR/>If you get to classify the general public and spout off against them, then I get to classify the LDS public and spout against them. Dang, i am mean, aren't I. I'll probably come and delete this comment too in about 5 minutes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584248569655542892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-76891240434051402662008-11-06T14:12:00.000-07:002008-11-06T14:12:00.000-07:00D'Arcy, stick to your guns, girl. You are TEACHIN...D'Arcy, stick to your guns, girl. You are TEACHING these children. And you're getting them to THINK. They are humans. They are not rabbits, and they sure are not lemmings. <BR/><BR/>As we ALL know, it's ignorance and lack of education and lack of UNDERSTANDING that causes intolerance, hatred, and ultimately.... war.<BR/><BR/>We go through this same thing here in Georgia. <BR/><BR/>Don't back down D'Arcy. You are a TEACHER. Teach.<BR/><BR/>The book I'm sending you in the mail is very appropriate to this discussion, sweetie. You should have it in just a very few days.<BR/><BR/>Love you, my friend!!HWHLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07294913024458099382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-12808360059085793732008-11-06T11:16:00.000-07:002008-11-06T11:16:00.000-07:00Okay, one more comment. You said that LDS mothers...Okay, one more comment. You said that LDS mothers are the ones who make a stink in your school. Not the mothers from other religions. I would submit that that is because the LDS religion is the dominant one in Utah. <BR/><BR/>HERE...you would find evangicals (the crazy ones, that is, not your everyday run of the mill evangelical) doing the same thing. Not the mormons. <BR/><BR/>Afterall, mormons did not invent book banning (not even the craziest among them). It has been unfortunately practiced by many, many others in many diverse religions and sects and groups.<BR/><BR/>Sorry. I really am just getting fed up with the way the general public views mormons these days. I was livid when I heard Jon Stewart say that Mitt Romney worships an American Savior (Joseph Smith) rather than Jesus. What the CRAP???!!! I do NOT like to go to my husband's work party and have someone say to me, "Why do you worship Joseph Smith?" Well, I DON'T!!! But that is what they heard on the Daily Show, so it must be true. And so it goes...it seems like more and more, people look at me like I'm some freaky Joseph Smith worshipping, book-banning, teetolaling, baby-making, homophobe who is the third wife of a polygamist and I am sick of it!!!<BR/><BR/>Yes, there are some crazies out there. But book banning is not preached from the pulpit of any general conference I have ever attended. In all things, I feel free to choose of my own accord.<BR/><BR/>I think my period must be about to start. Or I need to go eat some chocolate.<BR/><BR/>Don't be mad. I wasn't targeting you. Mostly the media. Darn those crazies who give us all a bad name!!!Fletchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16845539934606213861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-14442135959506143682008-11-06T10:32:00.000-07:002008-11-06T10:32:00.000-07:00What a great post and wonderful comments. So sad a...What a great post and wonderful comments. So sad about the politics you face--you're illustrating why so many homeschool parents I know are former teachers. :P<BR/><BR/>D'Arcy, I love you and you totally inspire me.Boquinhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02365252326911270689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-4456921114440231542008-11-06T07:48:00.000-07:002008-11-06T07:48:00.000-07:00You sound like a BRILLIANT teacher. I love you. ...You sound like a BRILLIANT teacher. I love you. You make me want to teach again... except for all those political frustrations. Although teaching in NYC, I never had the problem with book banning, thank goodness. <BR/><BR/>How ironic that you are teaching about religious tolerance in The Witch of Blackbird pond... and yet it is a woman of a religious minority who objects. Does she realize that people outside of the LDS community look on it with much suspicion? Who better to practice religious tolerance?<BR/><BR/>I get so frustrated when you talk of your struggles with being accepted. You deserve so much better than this.Rowenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07146077261663557342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-77366144623728821132008-11-05T23:04:00.000-07:002008-11-05T23:04:00.000-07:00jo--I totallly understand that apprehension. I gue...jo--I totallly understand that apprehension. I guess one of my main concerns is that these parents have enrolled their kids in an advanced program where their kids will begin college courses at age 16. I have them now at 15 and 16. If they are concerned about what little I am teaching them, then maybe they shouldn't send their kids to college where they will study Freud and evolution and Lolita...you know? They have to be prepared to think critically or they won't be successful in college. They just have to. And like Chelle said...if they are solid in their beliefs then the rest will fall away and they can sort out what they want to take in and what they don't....that's what each of us does every day.<BR/><BR/>We each have our moral compass and our belief system and no matter what anyone else teaches or preaches to us against that, if we are firm, it won't matter. Does that make sense?<BR/><BR/>But yes, at five...keep their innocence bright and shining!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584248569655542892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-21828788558076777832008-11-05T22:59:00.000-07:002008-11-05T22:59:00.000-07:00ok, I had to delete my last comment, it didn't sit...ok, I had to delete my last comment, it didn't sit right.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584248569655542892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525843025917283414.post-22057305924170821562008-11-05T22:42:00.000-07:002008-11-05T22:42:00.000-07:00d'arcy,i wish i could be in your class and have yo...d'arcy,<BR/>i wish i could be in your class and have you teach my kids, too.<BR/>i'm sad that so many parents are putting obstacles in the way of you teaching their kids to have open minds and critical thinking skills. the most important thing i took away from my education was how to think critically about things. <BR/>as an lds mom i can slightly see where these ladies are coming from. it's definitely difficult to shelter and protect our kids from a lot of the ugliness and yucky stuff that is out there. and i personally feel like it's such a fine balance, we want our kids to grow and be educated and know about the world they are going to be going into, but we don't want to leave them open to every message that they are being bombarded with in so many areas of their lives. <BR/>my little girl is only 5 and in kindergarten but she has come home asking me about bad words and about tv shows that other kids watch and things other kids do. she's out there, you know? she's out there without me, and that can be a hard thing for a mom to accept. all i can do is teach her the values i cherish and believe will help her to have a happy life, and tell her "we don't say those words in our family" and pray for her and hope that she gets to stay a child as long as possible.<BR/>anyway all i'm saying is i think these ladies that you're talking about have that same kind of apprehension about their kids but misapply it to new ideas, different cultures, and things that they find challenging to their religion.<BR/>all i can say is that i'm sorry you're having so much frustration and problems with them, but i'm GLAD they have you as a teacher, because think how much you're helping their kids who otherwise might never learn to think of things from different angles, to challenge their beliefs, to learn about people who are different from themselves.<BR/>they are so lucky to have you.johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903144540678766411noreply@blogger.com