ANALYSIS
A B.C. father believes he can protect his son from the ravages of pornography and drugs by having a The Perks of Being a Wallflower banned from school.
Dean Audet, whose Grade 10 son was assigned the reading material, says the book deals with graphic conversations about pornography and describes teenagers taking drugs. In other words, Audet is attempting to protect his son from what a teenage boy likely encounters everyday.
Audet told CTV News Vancouver that by having students read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the school is using pornography as a teaching tool.
He added if liberal parents wish to expose their children to such things, it is their choice.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a critically acclaimed American novel written by Stephen Chobsky. Published in 1999, the novel is a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old-boy struggling to fit in.
But Audet is not alone in his condemnation of the novel. Parents in several U.S. states have tried to ban the book from schools and removed from libraries.
Now Audet’s son, who attends South Kamloops Secondary School, has been assigned alternative reading, but finding a suitable book may be challenging.
The Catcher in the Rye, a literary classic, will surely not be considered because of its sexual innuendoes and incessant whining by protagonist Holden Caufield.
The school administration may also want to toss Nineteen Eighty-Four, as its dystopian overtones may teach negative thinking in otherwise well-adjusted teens.
Terry Sullivan, the Kamloops-Thomson School District superintendent, acknowledged The Perks of Being a Wallflower may be considered controversial but defended its use in the classroom.
The school district, however, has decided to create a committee to consider the book’s appropriateness for schools.
What would Ray Bradbury say? Oh, right, he’s already said it.
Photo source, Wikipedia.
