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

reeding maekes u smarteir

I think it is outrageous that parents have done this. We are young adults and are mature enough to handled this kind of reading material

I am now a professor of English Literature at a university in Texas. I would not be where I am now without the foundational experience I had in my English classes at RFH. When I graduated there, I went on to be an English major at Mount Holyoke College and then received my DPhil in English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford, UK. Those formative years in the English classroom of RFH (I had Bob Berberich and William Spieser) made me who I am today--honed my analytical skills and my ability to interpret texts (all sorts of texts written and visual!) to understand them at more complex levels. I always think of those teachers too before I step into my own classroom and hope I am teaching my students as well as they once taught us. It has been very sad for me to read about the possible limits placed on books in the classroom at RFH now. Parents need to trust that the teacher, who has had years of experience and training, knows what she/he is doing. Teachers don't take curricular decisions lightly--much thought goes into what texts will be used and the assignments that are planned. The knee-jerk reaction of uninformed parents needs to be tempered with patience and the seeking out of knowledge. Please read the book, the whole book, and not the short and random passages that have been excerpted from the text. Be informed before you make a judgement.

reeding buks r gooder fur u then not reeding them and they teech u bout life lesons

I love books

Freedom of speech. mind your own business. If u dont like a book, dont read it.

This is against the constitution. "Freedom of expression"?

#Freedom

Let our good people read #freedom

I am currently directing Death and the Maiden and I am shocked that a play that teaches so many important ideas and reflects the events one of the most brutal dictatorships of all time, would be excluded from the education of young people. It is important they are exposed to material of this nature. The 'vulgar language' being complained about represents just a tiny sampling of the physical and verbal abuses experienced by those tortured under the Pinochet regime and others around the world. Should we really pretend human rights violations didn't or still don't take place?

Books make america great. Im going to read as many books as I can in jail and when I get out I am going to use all the knowledge I learned to hopefully buy the trailer park one day

No books should be banned!

I read The Diary of Anne Frank well before it was required reading in school. When it was finally required reading in 8th grade, we had to read it in the form of a play instead of the actual diary. I was disappointed. I don't remember exactly how it came up, but the explanation as to why we had to read it in the form of a play was because it was more "appropriate"that way. Ridiculous. I also remember that in 11th grade English, we had to pick a novel and write a book report. I distinctly remember our teacher telling us that all of the books on the reading list were banned at one time. They were all well known classics. To read is to learn.

We must have faith and confidence in our teen age children. Empower them, not hold them back.

In this country we value freedom. Freedom to learn and freedom to read are amongst those I value the most. Limiting what "should" be read has no place here. If you have a differing opinion from one in a book or are concerned about language used, rather than deciding that no child should read it, USE IT AS A TEACHING MOMENT for your child. Learning, not limiting!

Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me. ~ Judy Blume Freedom not Fear, Folks.

It was the advanced topics in the literary works we read at RFH that prepared me, and even further put me ahead of my peers, upon entering University. RFH is already located in an area that is unrealistic compared to the majority of places in the US, taking away anything that gives insight to the "real world," is a serious injustice to the RFH student population and will leave them unprepared for their future endeavors. Instead of banning books parents should make it their responsibility to discuss these topics with their children in a healthy manner to eliminate the concerns they may have.

Ariel Dorfman has read the petitions and has responded in an article found here: https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/10/parents-petition-to-remove-ariel-dorfmans-death-and-the-maiden-from-school-reading-lists/ An excerpt from the article " “The government of General Augusto Pinochet deemed many books, many words, many thoughts, to be ‘inappropriate’. I am saddened by the attempt of some in America to be accomplices, however unwittingly, of that persecution of what they deem profane. And I am encouraged and gladdened to see so many comments to the petitions that stand up for freedom from censorship and the opening of young minds, helping the youth of tomorrow to create a world where the Paulinas – and so many others – will not be subjected to violence because of their beliefs. A world where my wife Angelica and I and our children would not be forced into exile or hear from afar news about the death of our friends in concentration camps.”

Katy's Follow Up Post: Dateline: 3:00 am this morning. Follow up (And I wasn't planning on writing this --I just happened upon my son working for hours tonight on his essay ) 3:00 am this morning. My son just finished writing a paper discussing themes of revenge as discussed by law professor Thane Rosenbaum and applying these themes to the revenge sought by rape victim Pauline in "Death and the Maiden"--yeah. that "horrible" play. His teacher Ms. Maulshagen, encouraged her students to explore the themes of fairness and revenge and victims. My son read quotes from the Old Testament ("an eye for an eye") and Macbeth ("blood will have blood") and constructed an essay that was thoughtful and relevant. We discussed how today's controversy over the execution of a woman related to justice, the Pope's entreaty to forgive criminals. fairness and whether victims like Pauline heal when their abusers are also punished. His teacher's assignment (RFH curriculum) was so brilliant..pairing a provocative play with an essayist's paper and asking the students to apply judicial analysis to an emotional topic. We should be thrilled a high school curriculum includes this type Of assignment. It rivals many college assignments . Again, I am so impressed with how RFH teachers challenge students. I ask any of the scared parents out there to take the time to not just read selected parts of the books and plays, but rather, read them in their entirety and more importantly, look closely at the questions our educators are posing to our students.and then, for extra credit write a piece like my son just did

I'm going to share a few posts I put on facebook. Here's the first one. My angry one, as one parent said to me this past weekend.."Katy, boy, do you sound mad." Um. yes. Was. Am. Will be. How embarrassing that the Asbury Park Press is talking about this. We sound like a bunch of idiots in Rumson and Fair Haven. I went to my 30th high school reunion, and guess which teacher we were all talking about.. Mrs. Jobs! Mrs. Jobs, who taught us Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Mrs. Jobs, who, at that time, had to listen to angry parents who didn't think it was appropriate that kids read bawdy stuff that discussed sex and, gasp! FARTS. 30 YEARS LATER, I was at a high school reunion and we all remembered her. Remembered the teacher, and the book, and the discussions that made us think. And instilled in us a love of reading. How Ddare local parents try to make better decisions than our teachers. I trust Rumson Fair Haven teachers and educators to know how to engage our students in intelligent, thoughtful, insightful ways. Frankly, with all due respect, maybe some of my neighbors need to go back to school to learn how to think. I'm embarrassed that Rumson Fair Haven is on the map for this reason. Take note, hyper competitive parents: Colleges don't WANT your narrow minded kids. Because they know that narrow-minded parents come with those kids. And in a competitive market for exclusive college applications, why on earth would they want a student who already is biased and doesn't know how to discuss and doesn't know how to think for him or herself? Colleges want readers. They want thinkers. Thank you, RFH, for preparing kids to think and read and discuss. And, gasp, getting their fingers and eyes away from their iphones!!! If I were a kid applying to college, I would get myself noticed by stressing that "I, unlike some of my peers, came from a family that valued discussion and reading and books, even when the prose was challenging or provocative or uncomfortable