Students uncomfortable with Huck Finn were assigned The Secret Life of Bees, including the daughter of the man who later made the complaint. The challenger was unhappy with this compromise for the usual reason*.
The parent who brought the challenge is not asking for Huck Finn to be removed from the library, but from the curriculum. A 12-member challenge committee reviewed his request and recommended that the novel stay in the curriculum, that "the literary value of the book outweighed the negative aspect of the language employed".
The parent will appeal the committee's recommendation to the Superintendent:
He said he "wholeheartedly" disagrees with the school committee's recommendation and that if his appeal to Bowers fails he will suggest that his daughter leave the St. Louis Park school system. He predicted that because she knows he wants what's best for her, "She will accept my recommendation."
A group of students have started a Save Huck Finn blog. They're also on Facebook.
*The student who opts-out feels ostracized. While I'm sure this is true, it still seems to me that it's the best compromise possible.
I posted about this today after reading the entries on the Save Huck Finn blog. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Posted by: Kelly Fineman | 22 March 2007 at 09:53 AM