Petitioning the "RFH Reading Assignments, Rumson NJ 07760" Petition

Welcome to 2015, where the new trend is censorship. One of my favorite high school reads: Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. There are worse things than literature that can spoil the minds of our youth. Do these parents have parental controls on their TVs as well? What about the music their kids listen to? Video Games? Do they censor ignorant comments said by themselves? GET A GRIP! Last time I checked we weren't living in Panem. That's the nation in the book The Hunger Games. For those of you who don't know that it's probably because your parents tried to get that banned too.....

My favorite book is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, once banned.

This is especially startling given Banned Books Week is next week (9/27-10/3), a time which celebrates our freedom to read and "highlights the value of free and open access to information" (check it out: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek). I frequently discuss the reading curriculum I had during high school and am grateful for the books we were exposed to, as well as for the opportunity to create personal opinions about the materials. Engaging with our peers about content that is intriguing and controversial is imperative to development. Impeding intellectual growth and cultural awareness can only hurt students who will arrive to college expecting the same coddling their parents are giving them (as evidenced by the proposed petition). Harboring this sheltered attitude in a college level literature class will make students look immature and embarrass them in front of their peers, who probably didn’t have the same over bearing parental influences as future RFH graduates. Teachers don’t choose these books to make students uncomfortable and corrupt them, they are chosen for the messages they convey and the positive impact they have had on society. You will find much worse than the passages in Cal if you pick up a monthly subscription to Cosmopolitan (available at the Rumson Pharmacy, ACME, Walgreens, CVS, 7-11 and many other local stores). And hey, it could be worse. It’s not like they’re reading Philip Roth (yet).

As the proud aunt of a RFH grad who is quite literate and definitely has a fine mind, I have got ask these parents what they think they are trying to do. Protect their children? From what?? Ignorance??? Totally off base. Oh, and my favorite read? 1984.

Catcher in the Rye was by far my favorite assigned reading. Having the chance to dicuss the symbolism allowed me to look at literature in a whole new way. This type of thinking actually helped me choose my major. I am now analyzing symbolism, metaphors, similes, metonyms and synecdoches in film. I would not be able to comprehend what I am now learning if it had not been for the amazing English teachers at RFH showing me a different way to look at literature. There is no other way for this be taught.

These thoughtful, articulate letters from former RFH students are exactly why banning books is dangerous. They are engaged, passionate readers whose education has helped form them into free-thinking, opinionated citizens. That's what books are supposed to do.

I think this is ridiculous! I for one really enjoyed reading while my time at rfh. It would be a shame if rfh was bookless!!!! I will be outraged if this happens and definitely not send my kids to rfh!

Banning books is ridiculous. Ban the video games your children play; books contain adventures & ideas, & these are not things to suppress. The best books of my formative years were BURNED. Stop the reactionary tactics, & pay greater attention to your children.

Wait---- Whaaaaaaaaa?

Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hawaii, Salem's Lot Loved everything I read and passed on this love to my children

Finding it difficult to believe in 2015 that RFH parents want to ban books chosen by a very knowledgeable faculty. The more students are exposed to discussion and analytical thinking of controversial ideas found in books while guided by a professional, the better an adult they become ,able to fully articulate their own ideas in a logical sense. This the best part of a through education. I like the suggestion that parents read the books and have discussions with their children!

Banning books is disgraceful. Books, just like minds, should stay open. Writing that inspires critical thinking and innovation should not be taken away by people who consider themselves judge and jury.

Dummies

Keeping people in a "BUBBLE" is not protecting them from outside influences. It is making them ill prepared to navigate the Reality of the world they will be living in.

Teenagers are not fragile beings. In fact we become more rigid as we grow old, so let them discover their limits for themselves.

Banning books is not just banning knowledge. It is also the equivalent to banning people's ability to think critically for themselves. Let the students explore and question. If parents are that concerned about the content of certain books, I encourage them to read along with their children and have intelligent, engaging, and critical discussions about the material. If any teachers on this earth know how to be sensitive to topics to appease over-bearing parents, it's the teachers at RFH. So parents must trust that their teens are in capable hands, and maintain an open line of communication with their kids.

What a bunch of crap. Banning books from schools is a good way to create stupid, narrow-minded kids.

1984 is my favorite book, so of course I must sign!

My favorite books were Catcher and the Rye and Flight they stuck with me forever and I cannot imagine someone not being allowed to read them purely because parents find them "inappropriate". This town is absurd sometimes with the things they try to ban in order to "protect" their children.

Thank you, teachers.