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Times-Advocate, 1978-05-25, Page 5Says county councillors misdirected .. same approach I have English course is chosen for obscene. The author has reariv to grannie with Rnniai «w» ,1. Times-Advocate, May 25, 1978 Page 5 ^llllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllillililllllllllllllllllllllllllg Huron County Council, Goderich, Ontario Gentlemen: I cannot allow your motion concerning books used in the Huron County Educational System to go by without comment. The suggestion that pornography and ob scenity form part of the English curriculum in Huron County is simply beyond the imagination of any reasonable person. The suggestion that por nography forms part of the curriculum demonstrates a complete absence of trust in the school system and demonstrates a serious lack of knowledge of what goes on in the classrooms of Huron County. Most of you I’m sure are fair minded people and would not act unfairly. My only conclusion is that you have been grossly misdirected by methods that are fundamentally dishonest. The method used by certain groups to persuade people that particular books are unacceptable lifts phrases, words, and descriptions from the con text of the work in question. Having done this the con clusion is then offered that such works are immoral or obscene. This approach is, to say the least, grossly unfair in critical terms. It is dishonest since it distorts the work in question and is totally meaningless in educational terms. Using the — approach I have provided some quotations from well known books. The quotations are lifted from context and could be used to argue that the work in question is too sensuous for use in schools. The quotations are shown below: “he shall lie all night bet ween my breasts’’, “thy two breasts are like two young roses that are twins”, “my beloved put in his hand . . . and my bowels were moved for him”, “I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself”, “The joints of thy thighs are like jewells”, “thy navel is like a round goblet", “my breasts are like towers”, “and his concubine played the whore against him", “give me a wife that I may go in unto her”, “they have committed adultery with their neigh bors wives’’, “I lay yesternight with my father, let us make him drink wine this night also and you go in and lie with him”. To say the least these are quite sensuous comments. Some people might be of fended. I am enclosing a letter from a colleague which does the same thing with Shakespeare. In other words it should be clear that by removing material from context warps and distorts any work beyond meaning and common sese. It ought to be axiomatic that books, essays, poems or any literary work be con sidered as total creations. Each piece of work on an Jnglish course is chosen for specific reasons. The work may be an example of a type of literature; it may be chosen to illustrate a period in the history of literature; or it may be selected because it represents some aspect of American, Canadian or British literature. More and more a piece of literature is chosen because of the social, religious, or philosophical issues raised. Some English courses may be developed around certain themes or a course may be totally devoted to Canadian, Victorian or modern writing. Some courses may be totally classical and the works therein studied because they represent the lasting literature of our culture. In addition to these kinds of criteria the teachers are looking for works that are appropriate for the grade level and the intellectual level of the students in volved. Books are chosen very carefully considering all of the concerns and factors involved. Teachers consider the intellectual, moral, emotional and aesthetic stages of the students ’ development. Obviously, works chosen for non-academic grade 9 level students will be quite dif ferent from works studied by academically capable young adults in grade 13. At South Huron obscene. The author has ready to grapple with. Social “We are most destructive, the English programme in cludes twenty-four different courses courses drama, provide credits ability levels range from the intellectually handicapped to very superior levels of ability. To put this in other terms the English programme provides for pupils with reading skills which range from grade three or four to University levels. In order to provide for such a range the English Department selects over 125 books for use in the various courses. The same situation applies to the other county secondary schools. Clearly, then, it is not surprising that two or three books might produce a reaction from some people who may find some of the language or descriptions offensive. But the author has chosen that language or those descriptions for a purpose. The purpose is not to titillate or be offensive or as well as three in theatre arts or These courses over 1200 student for pupils whose month at the junction produced a work which must be judged in its totality. The words or passages in question are words ap propriate to the scene, to the characters and to the development of the characters and the issues. Clearly, the words and passages serve the author’s purpose. It would be wrong, however, to conclude that such words and descriptions are dwelt upon by the teachers and it would be equally wrong to conclude that students are corrupted by seeing such words or descriptions on the printed page. When one reads the works in question the words or passages which upset some people don’t leap from the page and form an impression that this is a major aspect of the book. The reader is caught up in the total book and finds such words and passages to be quite normal and natural in the setting. It is only when one selects phrases or descriptions from a piece of literature, sets them down in isolation on a single page, totally out of context, that they seem to be offensive. This is what has been done with three books used in English courses, not only in Huron County but in many Ontario schools. The three books, viz., Margaret Lawrence’s “The Diviners”, Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”, and Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men’, need no defence. They stand in defence of them selves. Salinger’s“Catcher in the Rye” has been suc cessfully used in high schools for 10 to 15 years with grade 11 and 12 general level students. It has been used because it speaks to the experiences and thoughts of young people. It may be argued that it is not “ex cellence” in literature but we cannot “bring excellence too soon” or bring too much classical literature too soon. In dealing with young people and their education in literature we must move in stages. One stage is the individual or personal stage. Some non- classical, but, nevertheless, well written books are used because these books appeal to the high school student who has difficulty iden tifying with anything beyond this personal stage. This is why “Catcher in the Rye” is used. Some books deal with issues that voune neoole are issues are raised by Stein beck and handled in such a way that high school students can deal with them. Margaret Lawrence’s book “The Diviners” is used only at the grade 13 level and only in an advanced course taken by students with a high aptitude for the study of literature. The issues raised by Lawrence do require a degree of maturity but young, bright adults in secondary school are ready to deal with these issues. The construction of this novel requires a degree of academic ability and maturity that is present only in good grade 13 students thus, the book would not be used below this level. Not all students are ready for literature that is classical and universal. Hence it becomes necessary to use well written but, never theless, non-classical material. It is also important to use contempory works dealing with contemporary issues. To sum up two of the three books in question have been used in schools for years. Indeed, a friend who at tended a rigid and rigorous convent school used these same two books. The third book, “The Diviners” has been used for two or three years because it is one of the best novels written in Canada in recent years and because it looks at con temporary issues in the Canadian context. The motion passed by Council not only insults the Board, the'Teachers and the students of Huron County but also insults three award winning andoutstanding nov elists. Your motion insults a world renowned Nobel prize winner in literature and a winner of the Governor General’s prize for literature in Canada. However, I’m sure that you did not intend to do this. As American writer Kirt Vonnegut says God knows, when we are most mistaken about what is really going on. It is my experience that human beings invariably want to be honest. If they none the less stray ... it is possibly because they haven’t un derstood what is really going on." I suspect that your motion was a result of not knowing what is really going on. I further suspect that if all of your members read the books in question and con sidered what I have said here you would reconsider a motion that is seriously destructive, totally negative and insulting. Young people in the schools are ready to confront and discuss issues. I’m sure that some of them would be pleased to ac company me to meet with you if you wouiu uaie tu discuss the matter further. I apologize for the length of this letter but the issue is serious and deserves your serious attention. Thank you. Yours sincerely, J. L. Wooden Principal LES'S COUNTRY MEATS =iilliiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiliniliiiiijiliiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiil|iiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiillliilliiillilililliiillliiiiliiiiiiiiin WHOLESALE, RETAIL BEEF & PORK Custom Killing, Cutting, Wrapping & Freezing Country Style Sausage & Smoked Meats Also European Line of Hams & Sausages. ALL MEATS WRAPPED TO YOUR SPECIFICATIONS, HOURS: MON., - THURS., SAT., 3 A.M.-6 P.M. FRIDAY 8 A.M. -9 P.M. 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