One more bit of evidence that there's no shortage of morons in Texas.

[elbales]

Ganked from litgoddess. Boldface by me.


Complaint Puts Texas Teacher on Leave
By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Monday, October 22, 2007
(10-22) 13:46 PDT Tuscola, Texas (AP) --

A popular English teacher has been placed on paid leave — and faces possible criminal charges — after a student's parents complained to police that a ninth-grade class reading list contained a book about a murderer who has sex with his victims' bodies.

Kaleb Tierce, 25, is being investigated for allegedly distributing harmful material to a minor after the student selected Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy's "Child of God" off the list and read it.

...

Some students and athletes have worn armbands to school and football games emblazoned with Tierce's initials, hiding them under clothing. Others said teens were meeting secretly to decide how to help the teacher they believe did nothing wrong.

"He was the only one who understood us," said Patrisha Ramirez, 15. "He would joke around. He would make English interesting, for once."

In Tuscola, south of Abilene, "Child of God" was on a list of titles compiled by all of the high school English teachers for a pre-Advanced Placement class.

WHAT THE FUCK. Where the fuck were the parents when the kid chose his books off that list, if they were so goddamned concerned about "harmful material"? Why weren't they vetting the books and helping the kid make his choices? Nobody told the kid to read that particular book. It was on the list.

Good question by litgoddess: Have they read the book?

And what the hell was the principal doing during all of this? All of the teachers worked on compiling that list. Why is this one getting singled out? If the parents were pissed that the book was on the list, they should have taken it to the school board, if they weren't satisfied by the response they got from the teacher and the principal.

Idiots. They're making Texas look bad worse. Nice, intelligent people live there! I swear it!
 

Comments

[kiri-l.livejournal.com]

this quote at the bottom "But if a book has been vetted and approved by the district, then the teacher has done nothing wrong."

is telling - however I noticed that there was no indication whether the district approved it or not, just the administration pulling it and putting him on leave.

Egads.. other than to say that I'm speechless over this whole thing.

[ladyniko.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have to admit that I am not utterly surprised.

This is TX - the state that has more standardized testing than like any other state in the US.

A teacher on another board was complaining about it - the guy said that they weren't actually teaching the children anything but how to pass the tests - no real world skills or knowledge.

So, yeah, more and more I am becoming disappointed w/ the US public school system.... homeschooling is looking more appealing these days.