RFH Reading Assignments, Rumson NJ 07760

I struggle immensely when trying to understand why a select group of individuals would find it their right to limit my academic potential, based on their ignorant, narrow-minded beliefs. The highest level of learning is achieved through structured discourse, through such educated discussion of controversial materials. An environment that nurtures unique thought, formulation of individual opinions as a result of thorough discussion, is what produces well-rounded members of society. Sheltering your teenagers from academic literature describing sexually explicit acts, in a condition where such acts and their circumstances can be discussed intelligently, will not stop these sexually explicit acts from occurring in the real world- the real world in which your child is expected to live. In fact, it will force these same children you are sheltering into seeking information from non-academic resources. Would you rather they learn by encountering controversial material in an academic setting with instructor-lead discourse, or the bimbo wearing a bombshell bra on PornHub? Because like it or not, I can assure you, with the utmost of certainty, your child is getting that information from somewhere. You are attempting to set a dangerous precedent. Should Mrs. Pearson now only teach abstinence in Health Class? Are we pathetically naïve enough to believe that if we don’t put topics in the curriculum, students will not seek them out individually? You attempting to limit my academic potential in effort to shelter me from explicit literature, is just as ignorant as denying teenagers sex education (prevention methods, disease recognition, safety) by preaching abstinence.

This is NOT about banning books. The kids can read whatever they want when they are 18. But for now, they are minors and I, the parent, should have a say. I have to sign a permission slip for them to make ice cream in Chemistry class because it contains sugar and dairy, so why didn't I have to sign a permission slip for them to watch 8 Mile movie (rated R) or read a book that says "...erect nipples... the fragrance of her juices on his hands...she made noises and he rose and entered her...she taught him how to time his thrusts..."? Come on RFH, you can do better than that.

I have 3 grandchildren currently in the Rumson Fair Haven school system. I have 6 grandchildren that graduated from Rumson High School. I would like to know who selects this trash to be part of the curriculum.

It is disgraceful that books of this nature are used as mandatory reading assignments at RFH

Anyone who is in favor of this movement should read this. Even if it doesn't convince you, you can only have a powerful argument if you are well acquainted with the other viewpoint. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

“Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.” ― Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak

If my kids said those words in the hallway; they would be suspended. The language and scenes in these books would be classified as "R" rated (18+) if they were in a movie, so why should my 15 year old be reading it? This is NOT about banning books. This is about choosing more age appropriate literature. Lots of much better choices out there.

"Concerned Parents and Students 2015-2016 United States, Red Bank" seems to shy away from discourse in favor of name calling. Ms. Waters makes excellent points. As a Rumson parent I welcome such civil discourse, being so directly relevant to what people in my community are trying to do. How on earth are we to listen to anyone who so quickly disengages from civil discourse to engage in name calling?

I am not a parent of a student. These books are inappropriate to say the least. Please have them removed from the curriculum. RFH is better than this. Thank you. G. S.

If you disagree with this petition you may be interested in an alternative viewpoint: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petitioning-the-rfh-reading-assignments-petition About twice as many signatures in less than 24 hours

I would like to ask those that signed this if they read the material referenced and did they discuss it with their children who are high school aged or recently graduated. If you didn't, you should.

I fully support insightful, thought provoking reading choices, but my perspective is those books mentioned are more for college level reading.

Although we invite civil discourse, please go away troll, find another petition to spew your sex shaming mantra. Thankyou Caitlin Waters. What year did you graduate from RFH? Your children attended here also?

Hi Siobhan, I had a chance to read the letter that you wrote to the RFH community suggesting that certain books be banned from the English curriculum. I have an immense amount of respect for you as a member of our community, which is why I am taking this opportunity to engage with you. While I wholeheartedly disagree with the sentiment of banning books (as do the vast majority of students in our community), that is actually not what I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about your perspective on sex and gender. The mentality behind your argument for banning these books seems to be that sex is inherently shameful, which is actually more harmful to students, particularly female students, than reading a sexually explicit scene in a coed classroom. I am going to use lines from your initial email as framework for this discourse. “Is it age appropriate and teaching respect to describe an affair where the protagonist "shot wetly on to her stomach?"” Nothing about that scene from Cal or the particular action you are referencing is, in itself, disrespectful. In fact, I urge you to reread the excerpt because it is actually an incredibly respectful sexual interaction. There is consent, communication, and concern for mutual pleasure. Compare this eloquently written scene with the pornographic videos that students already have access to and view regularly online. I can guarantee that you will find very little consent, communication, or concern for mutual pleasure in any of those materials. And as you can imagine, our young women are disproportionately hurt by the pervasive cultural and sexual norms that develop from such internet pornography. To further address your implication that the act of ejaculating on someone’s stomach is somehow synonymous with not teaching respect, let it be said; the only thing that makes sex disrespectful is when an action is non-consensual. You can have kissing that is disrespectful if one party is trying to say no and

Don't believe this content is appropriate for HS reading.

This needs to be stopped immediately!!!!!!!!!!! Who ever is allowing this filth to be put in young adults minds should be fired on the spot. Who is protecting these children??????

This petition is a mockery of everything that literature, in all of its forms, is meant to accomplish. Literature is a cultural expression, and one of the oldest forms of art in the world. It was at RFH that I discovered what literature could really be, and that a story wasn't always just that, it was a springboard for academic thought and analysis. It was at RFH that I nurtured a budding passion for reading, writing, and literature, a passion which only grew when I read "Death and the Maiden" by Ariel Dorfman. Banning books for their supposed vulgarity is an attack against learning and academia. I write this as I sit in an UNESCO certified world heritage site of literature, a city positively saturated with literary scholarship. Having started my literary education at RFH and having finished it here, it is depressing, embarrassing, and laughable that the narrow minded parental denizens of Fair Haven and Rumson would actually expend energy on something so vacuous. Many books that were at one time banned have come to shape the landscape of the American academic scene and public, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Call of the Wild, Catch-22, Gone With the Wind, and Fahrenheit 451. These books all populate the shelves of libraries and the contents of reading lists in high schools all over the world, and I shudder to think of a world where these are not readily available to readers and literary enthusiasts. I am currently studying Literature and Linguistics at University, a passion that might never have flourished if my parents had objected to my reading materials while I was attending public schools. This crusade to ban "indecent" books is an attack against unfettered thought and academic pursuit. This is a removal of freedom and an invasion of the worst kind. Educate yourselves and read Fahrenheit 451, a once banned book that might illuminate why so many people believe this to be such an fatuous effort.

The curriculum was fine as it was. There was not one single book in AP Lit that I did not enjoy. Just because a book has some language and sexual content does not make the values and knowledge that book can bring any less. I guess the adults cannot think their kids can handle it, which by the way kids are not stupid, they know and talk about these subjects 24/7. Your children do much are horrible things on social media, then anything in these books. How bout you look into that instead of embarrassing the community and making us look like a bunch of snobby and unintelligent people.

I guess the adults cannot think their kids can handle it, which by the way kids are not stupid, they know and talk about these subjects 24/7. If you guys are truly horrified by what your children read, you should check out their twitter and other social media account, your children have written and said much more graphic things on there.Do your really think keeping your children in a bubble is healthy. Do you realize how embarrassing this will be for our community when all the other schools in the area are allowed to read these books and we're not. RFH will be judged more then it ever has been. I'm honored that the faculty of RFH respected my intellect and didn't try to hide the real world from me. This school is one of the best in the country and your kids get to go there for free, if you take away these books you take RFH out of list of best school in the country.

It's so disheartening to realize the community I grew up in would rather be ignorant than educated and informed.To argue that the vulgarity of literature is not age appropriate is completely benign when considering texts in different contexts. RFH taught me that all language has intention and meaning behind it. Although the words and suggestive content in some novels I read in high school may have been shocking at first, it was always talked about or referenced in class. I would consider these conversations about diction in class some of the most valuable information I took away from high school as a whole. RFH's curriculum prepared me for college by exposing me to these texts in a way that provided support and elaboration from the staff. I can only hope the future students of RFH will also receive the amazing education I got.