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

I went to RFH and would not be where I was without the books I read. Book banning is a form of censorship that I under no circumstances believe should be allowed.

one of my favorites was Native Son

Banning books doesn't keep children from learning this - it just keeps them from getting a chance to talk and think about them on a complex level. Would you rather your teens figure out race, love, sex and violence in the WaWa parking lot, or in the classroom with an intelligent teacher?

I honestly cannot believe this petition is even necessary.

i'd love to see a debate between proponents for each side open to the public, and mandatory student attendance. What an opportunity to teach students what it means to live in a pluralistic society!

These are works of literature, not "inappropriate materials." Just stop.

RFH Acceptable Rule Policy: "Inappropriate materials or language – Students may not write, use, send, download, access, or display materials that pertain to crime, violence, intolerance, obscenity, profanity, rude and disrespectful language; or that pertain to pornographic, inflammatory, threatening, and abusive text, graphics, and photo/video imagery unless expressly authorized by a teacher for a specific school assignment. Should students encounter such material by accident, they should report it to their teacher immediately." Are these 'transformative and enlightened" tomes expressly authorized and required reading by a teacher, if so, whom, and why.

I am so very proud of the RFH students and grads expressing concerns about removing books from the RFH curriculum. Your comments have been eloquent and insightful. Thank you. "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." Oscar Wilde

stop banning books, start parenting.

Censorship is not OK. Celebrate the freedom to read! Banned books week runs from Sept. 27 - Oct 3 www.bannedbooksweek.org. Some of my favorite banned books: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and CATCH-22.

Romeo & Juliet

This is totally ridiculous. As a graduate of RFH I am ashamed that this is even needed. Nothing like a few over bearing parents ruining it for the rest of the kids. On another note, we should start a petition to make dodgeball mandatory in gym class. Food for thought.

What are we, living in the 1950's!?

One thing that is worse than exposing children to mature themes is pretending such things don't exist. Don't ban these books. Ban calculus.

We trust our educators and that's why we send our kids to PUBLIC school...imagine if every bit of the curriculum had to pass muster with every family? Imagine all of the painful bits of reality that would be edited out....and REALITY is the key word. We are happy our children are reading award winning, current and relevant literature in a safe and thought provoking environment. Thank you RFH for staying the course.

Don't ban books. Make the controversial ones required reading and have discussions in class so they can make up their own minds and more likely, change it all on their own once they're informed.

This kind of spoiled naïveté seems inexcusable in a clearly intelligent town.

As a proud graduate of RFH, class of 1984, I am truly saddened to see that anyone would challenge a reading list for an English or Literature class at this wonderful school and suggest that certain books are not appropriate for high school students. One of those books, Death and the Maiden, is a personal favorite. There were no off limits books in my home, ever. My mother would allow me to read anything that I wanted and at a very early age and was there to answer any questions about any explicit material. Without her and without the outstanding education and challenging curriculum that I received from my English teachers at RFH, I would not have the love for reading that I continue to have today. If anyone thinks that a high school student is not regularly exposed to explicit language and content in their daily lives, then they live in denial of reality. If you don't want your child to read challenging, excellent literature I would suggest that you home school them so that you can keep them in a plastic utopian bubble where there is no dirty language and sex.

This use of censorship is a way to shield students from the outside world and that's not what studenrs need. It keeps us in this "bubble" and that is the last thing an RFH student needs. As a student at RFH, I believe that censorship can only burden our education and discourage our use of free thinking.

This is the LAST thing I thought a Blue Ribbon School would do....let's smarten up and get educated on EVERYTHING possible!!!