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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-08-24, Page 18RAGE 1s—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1978 Board bans The Diviners from approve BY JEFF SEDDON The Huron County Board of Education has finally become involved in a firey .issue surrounding three English Literature books being used in the five county high schools and decided Monday night to ban one of the three books from use in Huron county classrooms. The issue surrounding the three books — Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Catcher in •W the Rye by J. D. Salinger and The Diviners by *ettla" r�:.' "`° "7 -:nee — has involved hundreds of county ratepayers, students and teachers in the past months and in a surprise move at•Monday night's board of education meeting, Seaforth trustee John Henderson asked the board to take The Diviners off its list of approved novels. Henderson made the request when the hoard was in the process of approving a list of text- books for use in high schools during the 1978-79 school year. He told the board the book was improper for use in county classrooms adding that he felt the board would be "slighting our job" if it allowed the book to be taught. The board meeting was witnessed by about 40 people, most of whom were members of the Huron branch of the Renaissance Group. The Renaissance movement is dedicated to "cleaning up our schools" as Huron branch spokesman Lloyd Barth said Monday night. --SILLY—PRACTICE- - - - The whole question of the board approving material for use in the classroom came under fire prior to Henderson's .request for banning The Diviners. Colborne Trustee Shirley Hazlitt suggested that the board's sanctioning of books for use in classrooms was a "farce". Hazlitt said it "seems silly for the trustees to sit down and read a list of books they know nothing about and say yes you can teach this and no you can't teach this." The Colborne trustee pointed out that many trustees have been away from the classroom atmosphere for long periods of time and that many had no professional experience in teaching to know why material would be beneficial or not beneficial in a classroom. "It just doesn't add up," she said. Goderich trustee Dorothy Wallace added that trustees are in no position to read a mathematics text or a science text and judge its merits •or •benefits -for --u-se and saidshefel-t the same about English textbooks. Board chairman John Elliott told the board that the books in question were slated for use in the -classrooms this year. He said they would be used in Grade 13 optional English courses in Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton and South Huron Secondary School in Exeter. A recently issued university catalogue offered a course on "the next billion years - the future of man." Over it was stamped: CAN- CELLED. LARGEST STOCK IN THE COUNTY WORK BOOTS —Industrial —Farm —Factory Plain or safety toe PUNCTURE PROOF SOLES ROSS SHOE SHOP 142 The Square Goderlch, Ont. Elliott explained that the optional courses are available for students that may need, that course credit to enter some university courses and that students were not required to take the course to get enr,ugh credits for their Grade 13 diploma. Henderson said he realized students not wishing to study any of the books in question, or any other textbook in use in the school, had the option of taking another book. He said board policy permits a student to a4void a tex.�re". tionxia,,r; which he or she is opposed allowing t ose students to be taught from another text on the board's approved list. Henderson said department heads in the schools prepare examinations on books the majority of the students are studying and claimed that if students had requested to take another book, "they are pretty well on their own". If they haven't taken the book they have a pretty slim chance of passing, he said. TEACHERS' CONCERNS Dorothy Wallace reminded the board of the concerns teachers had expressed about ban- ning the books. She said the teachers claimed if the board this year banned the three books here and next year banned the three under fire in Wellington County and the year after that the -three-nn-dEr-fire-irrNova Scotia t eachers may find themselves not knowing where to turn for representative Canadian literature. "We're not taking the books away from the students and teachers. We're just taking them out of the system," said Henderson,"If this is Canadian Literature then I don't want it." Zurich trustee Herb Turkheim • pointed out that most of the students being taught the books would be 18 years of age and that they would be permitted at that age to vote, become soldiers and sign million dollar contracts to play professional sports. "And yet we tell them they're not old enough to read these books," he said. Turkheim added that he ,felt it is much wiser to have a professional teaching the book and putting it in its proper perspective than to have the students "reading them in bed at night and taking their own meaning." Henderson asked board chairman John Elliott to take a recorded vote on the books. John.. Alex..and_er,. .Harry . _Hayter,.__Donald McDonald, R. K. Peck, Charles Rau, John Henderson, Eugene Frayne, Murray Mulvey and Clarence McDonald were in favor of removing The Diviners while Cayley Hill, Shirley Hazlitt, Dorothy ,Wallace, Dorothy Williams, Marion Zinn and Herb Turkheim opposed the move. Holmesville news Blanche Deeves, correspondent 482-338S Mrs. Ladd of Clinton and 30 members of the family held a family outing at the Ausable- Bayfield Conservation Park in Clinton on the occasion of her mother's 25th wedding an- niversary. Mr. and Mrs. Ken Harris • of Holmesville were married for a quarter of a century on August 22. Everyone joined in a Walk through the new nature trail and came back to a bountiful supper after which the Harrises opened their gifts. An enjoyable time. was had by all. Personals The community wishes Ken and Kay Harris a very happy wedding anniversary. The Harrises, Brenda and COME TO US FOR ALL YOUR PLUMBING SUPPLIES 00111110111AVIVIRDIVAIIE to VIIa T®RIA ST, NORTH 52443111 GODERICH Heather have just returned from holidays, travelling to Sandusky, Ohio. We wish Pat Harris all the very best, when she moves to Sarnia early in September to attend Lambton College where she will take a course to be an executive secretary. Recent visitors with Clarence and Jean Perdue have been Janet Taylor of Lambeth, Debbie Perdue of London and Mrs. June Irving of Milverton. •Congratulations 'to Darrell and Ann Abbott on the grand opening of their store and butcher shop. May their stay be a long one. Get well wishes go to Bill Norman who is patient in hospital.' Brad Duff has been off to the go cart races again, this time to Point Peelee where he came in first. . Brad will be racing in the Grand National at Picton on the Labour Day weekend and we do wish him another trophy to add to his collection. rtazet ,McCreath and Alice Porter of the Goderich Township WI and Eleanor Bradnock a"hd Jean Peck of the Auburn ' WI attended a dinner and program at Poplar Hill when the London area entertained a busload of women members of the Ohio Farm Bureau. They represented 20 counties in Ohio. The farm bureau has men and women members and The program is similar to 'Canada's WI. They are affiliated with the associated Country Women of the World. This ' trip was part of their international exchange. • They were going to the Stratford F'estiv'al and the next day planned to visit the trland Lee and Adelaide'Hoodless homes ANOTHER TIME? Anxious to prevent a recurrence of the book banning issue the board looked at a policy that would requig•e a teacher to choose material for use in classrooms, justifying any decisions to the board. In that way the board hoped to have professional expertise bo into decisions on what would be used in the classrooms and put the burden of the decision on the teachers. —.rd. -felt that since the -teachers make most of the decisions on books and the trustees merely rubber stamp the request for books, the teachers shouldhave to defend their choices. The policy put hefnre the hoard for approval list was rejected since it was apparent softie Ca dnraine told the board that the policy would. trustees did not want teachers to have the force the complainant to take his or her case to power to choose material without any board as close to the source of the complaint a involvement. John Hen, :-son said the policy possihle, the teacher in the classroom. If no before the hoard demi d the board power satisfaction was received there, the coml- leaving the entire decision up to the teachers. plainant could them involve the trustee at the board level.. The policy prepared for the board was written by director of education John Cochrane working with superintendents, secondary school principals, Englisi ; ��.t.eiQat9,%,:< °_bvgous it did not agree with it- He said some.. and teachers and was a "el>t to mage ,• wive- inarde it clear the board did not teachers responsible for the choice of materials want teachers inakin decisions on what should and make them responsible to handle coin be taughtF'nor did they believe that professional plaints about their choice of texts for ,classroom corn - freedom and accountability are essential Ito the use. teachiin;: profession. It was Cochrane who suggested that the board not adopt the policy prepared since it was Concerned parents won't give up yet BY JEFF SEDDON when deciding on the use of the books. He said the group could prove to the board that as many as "80 percent of the taxpaying parents in Huron County wash to have the three books deleted from the list of approved books". Barth said The Diviners was a "very inn - moral book" and that if trustees had not read it they should so they would know what is taught in county classrooms". He said Of Mice and Men is "one step worse". "Of 'Mice and Men is a book of blasphemy," he said. "I went to the trouble of going through the book and in the first 40 pages I counted 40 examples of straight cursing and taking God's name in vain." "Taking God's name in vain is not acceptable at any time or any place much less in the teaching profession," he added. The Group of Concerned Parents in Huron County seeking the removal of three English literature textbooks from county high school classrooms does not intend to drop its cam- paign just because one of the three books was banned by the county board of education. The group is seeking the removal of three books -The Diviners by Margaret deaurence, Catcher-- in-the--R-ye-by _JeDe-Sal ager_and- Of_ - Mice and Men by John Steinbeck-from the list of approved texts for Huron County schools. Monday night the board of education satisfied part of the group's aims when it banned The Diviners. The group attended Monday night's board meeting about 40 strong and made a presen- tation to trustees outlining its concerns and requestingthat the board do its part by taking the three books off its approved list. - In a prepared statement for the board, group spokesman Art Haverkamp said • trustees should let "their conscience be their guide and remove the three books from the list". Haverkamp said the books didn't instruct students or improve their character which is what education is all about. He said education is an exchange of ideas between. parents, children and teachers to equip students with broader views that in later life would give them a broader ability to cope with decisions in life. He said the books were "clearly immoral and poor English and repeatedly take the Lord's name in vain". He said the problem runs much deeper than just the three books, adding that "man often forgets that the beginning of all wisdom is fear of the Lord". Lloyd Barth, another member of the group, told the board that it should listed to its electors • Bartle' asked the board what the group should do in its next rnove to have the remaining two books removed from the approv•. ,; list. He asked ethat if the group could show the board that percept of the ratepayers in the county were in favor of having it deleted would the board feel responsible for meeting the request. "As our representatives would you not almost have to meet our request?'" he ask Board chailrunan John Elliott pointed out to Bartle than -ate trustees _are-elleeted-to-Intake - decisions they feel are in the 0, . st interest of the• people they represent and' if that decision was to remove the books, that would be tine decision made. He added that the 0..nnin may not necessarily be the decision made. "That decision would be up to each in- dividual trustee,'" said Elliott. Courses planned for new politicians Area residents who want to know how their community is operated will have a chance to find out this fall. The Goderich Rotary Club, in co-operation with the Ontario Conference on Local Gover- nment, is offering a course on municipal affairs at the Goderich District Collegiate Institute commencing on Wednesday, September 20. Topics will range from the history of local government in Ontario, through the details of its present operation, and end with a look at the future and how citizensdan participate...... - .. The course will operate one night a week for approximately six or seven weekswith two speakers each evening. Lectures will be drawn from senior levels of provincial and municipal government, the Universities and private in- terests. Similar courses, geared to the general public as well as prospective and pa-esent municipal officials, are held each year across the province under the guidance of the Ontario Conference on Local Government. This is a non-profit organization composed (of a number of provincial bodies interested in increasing understanding of and participate in municipal affairs. Cost for -the course will be $15 per person and $5.00 pe -r -student. Registration forms and inforehation-can be•. obtained from the Municipal Office Goderich, Rotary 'Club, ox 411, Gaderieh, or the G.D.C-I. 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