Strollerderby : bans

Banned Book Week: Captain Underpants

SunnyChanel — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Today was my daughter’s first day of preschool. The day was thankfully stress free, except for a heated run-in between the teacher and a four-year-old boy who refused to stop saying the word “poo” during snacktime. Who was this boy? Odds are he’s a future reader of Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants, and his snacktime behavior is a shining example of why parents love to hate these books.

So, who is this Captain Underpants? The protagonists of the series are George and Harold, two fourth graders who are obsessed with all things grimy and gross. They created the comic superhero Captain Underpants by hypnotizing their principal who then whisks around in a red cape and a pair of tightie whities and battles such worthy foes as Dr. Diaper and Professor Poppypants while also “defending truth, justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony”.

This is an extremely popular illustrated ‘chapter book’ series. How do does one quantify “extremely popular”? Try six million copies popular. The series is so big that it ranks right under their Scholastic label mates the Harry Potter series. But as popular as they are with the kids, they are just as unpopular with many of the parents, leading to many schools and parental units looking for ways to ban them. The American Library Association’s list of the 10 most challenged books from 2000 to 2005 has the Captain Underpants series clocking in at number nine. Not up there with Harry Potter but still managing to rank in on the top ten.

So, Why would Captain Underpants be banned? “For offensive language and modeling bad behavior.” Sure, the kids in the book are basically good kids, but they do have a thing for silliness and pranks. As for the offensive language, it’s more from the “fart”, “snot”, and “booger” school. As one eight-year-old states “the books are awesome, cool and inappropriate.” But parents mostly agree with the “inappropriate” description. Many folks, okay, most, believe that “bathroom talk” is something to be avoided, but these books, they blatantly celebrate it.

An elementary school in Connecticut banned the books because school officials thought that it was causing mischief and mayhem in their fourth-graders. One reason the kids love it is because they know it will meet with their parents and teacher disapproval. The rebel spirit is alive and well in these for sure. And as for “bathroom talk”, I have yet to hear a little boy who didn’t relish in those words. But this way, at least he’s reading them.

What a Relief: School Did Not Ban Farting

Kelly Mills — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:33:00 GMT

Despite media reports, the principal of Camden-Rockport Middle School has clarified that the school did not ban farting in class. Good thing, because libertarians would have had a field day with that one. But it is kind of funny that the story spread faster than a noxious gas filling a room, even reaching the WSJ online and other media outlets. The culprits who dealt the news item in the school newspaper have been identified, though they could not be named because of school confidentiality.

Student journalists filing for the school papper erroneously reported that the intentional farting and subsequent class disruptions of some eighth-grader boys had led to a rule prohibiting intentional farting in class. Supposedly offenders would be punished with detention. (What about shutting them in a small room with the fruits of their own labors? That would be real justice.) I'm sure teachers are relieved to know the rule was never in effect, because who wants the job of detemining whether or not a burst of flatulence was intentional? However, we should note that kids who intentionally rip one can still be disciplined, under the much broader "class disruption" rules. Yes, innocents will not have to suffer because school admins are soft on intestinal crimes.

Idiotic Idea of the Day: School Bans Tag

Kelly Mills — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:30:00 GMT

A Colorado Springs school has banned tag. In fact, they banned any game involving chasing. How come? "'It causes a lot of conflict on the playground,' said Assistant Principal Cindy Fesgen. In the first days of school, before tag was banned, she said students would complain to her about being chased or harassed." And it's stories like this that make me wonder if I'm becoming some crotchety libertarian crackpot, poised to start scrawling letters to the editor. Because I think this is ri-stupid-iculous. Here's how my rant will start: "We are raising a nation of namby-pamby kids, unable to resolve conflicts or function in the world because there's a damn ban on everything remotely controversial."

Seriously, I'm irritated for starters because we've already sheltered our kids from physical activities like bike riding and walking to school because supposedly there's a kidnapper or pedophile lurking on every corner. Now in an effort to purge the schoolyard of conflict, there's bans on every dang activity (even ones like tag that are good for fitness) and just loads of focus on a safe, positive, orderly school climate. That isn't a totally bad thing, but outlawing crap is really a lame solution. How about working with kids on conflict resolution? Having kids take part in the discussion of what's appropriate and what's hurtful, and give them a say in determining the rules? Or not worrying so damn much about our children being scarred by tag?

Yup, I'm a total crank.