Literature should challenge the reader's mind. Without stretching the mind, as without stretching other muscles, there is no growth. If High School students are not old enough to be challenged responsibly, then what will become of them in two or three years. Will they be able to think critically? Will they be able to distinguish fact from opinion? Real literature about real life, and about situations, places, and people outside our ordinary experience, like travel, makes our youth better citizens of the world and better able to understand, and cope with, the challenges of life.
E
Edward Porter
11 years ago
I would like to speak in defense of both David Peterson and the authors on his syllabus. Mr. Peterson has chosen a brilliant selection of texts for young minds to encounter. These writers seriously engage what it means to be human. I can only echo the words of James Joyce: if these books are not fit to be read, than life is not fit to be lived.
A
Amelia
11 years ago
Mr P. Is an incredibly inspiring and effective teacher. Having him as a mentor at a young age truly affected me in nothing but a positive way and I have kept many memories of his class with me nearly 15 years later.
N
Natalie Serber
11 years ago
I wish my children had been lucky enough to have a teacher like Mr. David Peterson. Students deserve to be challenged and to have their intelligence respected.
J
Joan Frank
11 years ago
Please, for the sake of freedom to learn, think, and grow. This man is beloved, wise, and generous. A treasure.
L
Liz Bauman
11 years ago
My daughter had the good fortune to be placed in Mr. Peterson's freshmen English class. I found him to be a dedicated professional who inspired my daughter to become a better writer and critical reader.
P
Pauline Morales
11 years ago
I was one of the first students to have Mr Peterson and he was an awesome teacher. My daughter is in 8th grade right now and i can't wait for her to go to high school so she can have a teacher like Mr Peterson in her life. This world needs more teachers like him!
A
Andrea Eskin
11 years ago
Censorship of reading material will only increase curiosity and a desire to read that which has been "forbidden," and censored materials will eventually be read anyway. Good teachers -- whether they're in the classroom, home, or community -- allow students to read anything they are curious about, and trust that they'll be able to make up their own minds about its value.
S
Sharon Gelman
11 years ago
From what I know of his syllabus I only wish I had had Mr. Peterson as a teacher in high school. He is teaching exceptional literature to his students, which surely helps to foster a love of learning and reading.
J
John Domini
11 years ago
The attack on this engaged and caring teacher flies in the face of what public education stands for -- and indeed, the great good literature has always done, in providing ways for readers to deal with all aspects of human nature. Keep David Petersonin the classroom!
D
Donna Streetenberger
11 years ago
What a disservice to high school students to insult their intelligence by coddelling and sheltering them from the very education that prepares them for a fulfilling life.
J
Jodi Ierien
11 years ago
Students are encountering these themes in real life...often with no idea of how to deal with them. By stifling such literature and the discussion of it, we are raising ignorant youths, who will become ignorant adults. We have only ourselves to blame if we allow this to happen.
J
Jodi Ierien
11 years ago
Jodi Lynne Ierien
P
Paschal Booker
11 years ago
Given the complaints of these parents, to maintain their consistency, I have to assume that they are also protesting the reading of Macbeth, Beowulf, Dante's The Inferno, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Wiesel's Night, Orwell's 1984, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 . . . just to name a few of the other dark and hopeless classics on high school reading lists. And have mercy, what to do about our churches, delving in the darkness of such classics as the Hebrew Scriptures and The Book of Revelation?
B
Barbara Ellis
11 years ago
When I was a young girl, my father was criticized for advising me to read books that were too advanced in subject matter. Hooey! it got me reading and kept me reading
S
Shannon Cain
11 years ago
I'm graduate school colleague of Dave Peterson. I know him as a terrific writer and a good guy.
N
Nancy Diehl
11 years ago
Please keep this inspiring teacher. The students are clearly lucky to have him.
J
jackie rifkin
11 years ago
I know how he has imspired my Zerbib grandchildren
E
Eric Aldrich
11 years ago
Censorship is un-American and school admins who censor are cowards.
Signed and sharing
Literature should challenge the reader's mind. Without stretching the mind, as without stretching other muscles, there is no growth. If High School students are not old enough to be challenged responsibly, then what will become of them in two or three years. Will they be able to think critically? Will they be able to distinguish fact from opinion? Real literature about real life, and about situations, places, and people outside our ordinary experience, like travel, makes our youth better citizens of the world and better able to understand, and cope with, the challenges of life.
I would like to speak in defense of both David Peterson and the authors on his syllabus. Mr. Peterson has chosen a brilliant selection of texts for young minds to encounter. These writers seriously engage what it means to be human. I can only echo the words of James Joyce: if these books are not fit to be read, than life is not fit to be lived.
Mr P. Is an incredibly inspiring and effective teacher. Having him as a mentor at a young age truly affected me in nothing but a positive way and I have kept many memories of his class with me nearly 15 years later.
I wish my children had been lucky enough to have a teacher like Mr. David Peterson. Students deserve to be challenged and to have their intelligence respected.
Please, for the sake of freedom to learn, think, and grow. This man is beloved, wise, and generous. A treasure.
My daughter had the good fortune to be placed in Mr. Peterson's freshmen English class. I found him to be a dedicated professional who inspired my daughter to become a better writer and critical reader.
I was one of the first students to have Mr Peterson and he was an awesome teacher. My daughter is in 8th grade right now and i can't wait for her to go to high school so she can have a teacher like Mr Peterson in her life. This world needs more teachers like him!
Censorship of reading material will only increase curiosity and a desire to read that which has been "forbidden," and censored materials will eventually be read anyway. Good teachers -- whether they're in the classroom, home, or community -- allow students to read anything they are curious about, and trust that they'll be able to make up their own minds about its value.
From what I know of his syllabus I only wish I had had Mr. Peterson as a teacher in high school. He is teaching exceptional literature to his students, which surely helps to foster a love of learning and reading.
The attack on this engaged and caring teacher flies in the face of what public education stands for -- and indeed, the great good literature has always done, in providing ways for readers to deal with all aspects of human nature. Keep David Petersonin the classroom!
What a disservice to high school students to insult their intelligence by coddelling and sheltering them from the very education that prepares them for a fulfilling life.
Students are encountering these themes in real life...often with no idea of how to deal with them. By stifling such literature and the discussion of it, we are raising ignorant youths, who will become ignorant adults. We have only ourselves to blame if we allow this to happen.
Jodi Lynne Ierien
Given the complaints of these parents, to maintain their consistency, I have to assume that they are also protesting the reading of Macbeth, Beowulf, Dante's The Inferno, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Wiesel's Night, Orwell's 1984, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 . . . just to name a few of the other dark and hopeless classics on high school reading lists. And have mercy, what to do about our churches, delving in the darkness of such classics as the Hebrew Scriptures and The Book of Revelation?
When I was a young girl, my father was criticized for advising me to read books that were too advanced in subject matter. Hooey! it got me reading and kept me reading
I'm graduate school colleague of Dave Peterson. I know him as a terrific writer and a good guy.
Please keep this inspiring teacher. The students are clearly lucky to have him.
I know how he has imspired my Zerbib grandchildren
Censorship is un-American and school admins who censor are cowards.