Bad’ books, language censored in schools
nore often now than in ’60s, report says
By PATRICIA McCORMACK
UPI Education Editor
Felt tip markers and erasers, tools
“censors.” are busy in a controv-
>ial way along the academic trail
?se days, opponents of censorship
urge.
The censors want to protect de-
loping minds from four-letter
irds and ideas that many adults
Ige dangerous or offensive for the
ting, including high school stu
nts.
rh. markers and erasers are last
ch efforts — blacking out and
ibiiig out alleged bad words after
ler attempts to remove objection-
le reading matter from classrooms
d libraries have failed.
\nother activity of censors is
king purchases of reading mat-
judged of potential deleterious
ect on the budding mind.
, The censorship movement has
‘g the lrt: ver l )een m ore active, according
ding tniswEclward B- Jenkinson, Professor
English Education at Indiana
aversity in Bloomington. Jenkin-
i heads the National Council of
achers of English Committee
ainst Censorship.
K committee report, due out in
ircli, will charge that censorship
books, school papers, and other
riculuin material has increased in
! last 15 years.
o by Ue Rii
A preliminary briefing of findings
was given at the recent annual meet
ing of the NCTE in Kansas City,
Mo.
Committee Member Lee A. Bur-
ress Jr., English professor from the
University of Wisconsin, Steven’s
Point, prefaced his report by saying
questionnnaires were sent to 2,000
secondary school teachers who are
NCTE members. Replies came
from 630.
firemen,
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iron ml to
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In low"H'i i. United Press International
smi|)v PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A custody fight between the state of Mas-
V. *, | sachusetts and the parents of a 3-year-old boy stricken with leukemia
lignti i could become a test case for the controversial cancer drug Laetrile,
escapadesfjQ era ld and Diane Green ofScituate, Mass., have been fighting for
t he siii; near |y a year for the right to treat their son, Chad, with Laetrile and
1 tools dttir own special metabolic diet, instead of chemotherapy, the tra-
ed a ne Jitjonal treatment for the disease.
The state Supreme Court last year upheld a lower Superior Court
s crime ruling that said the Greens must continue to bring the boy to Massa-
[) f the me diusgtts General Hospital in Boston for chemotherapy,
k on, he fill
•r their bal Doctors testified the boy will die unless the chemotherapy is con-
ises it is veiimrd
ie child y Plymouth Superior Court Judge Guy Volterra opened a hearing
ban havefdonday on the Greens’ motion to have the custody order overturned
mesuchasl°fhey can regain full custody of Chad and treat him with Laetrile
ind the special diet.
pathologist “We hope that custody of our child will be returned to us, Mrs.
be never Green said.
doctor lx She said she and her husband will present at least four witnesses
>at — whalyfo will testify on the use of Laetrile as a “good cancer treatment. ’
V i' , Assistant Massachusetts Attorney General Jonathan Brandt, who is
epresenting the state, called the Greens witnesses part of a “politi-
agnic 1 irjH and medical movement” interested in the wide use of Laetrile,
art of Holt *
perfect in tij
Responses showed the greatest
increase in censorship was in the
area of books and school news
papers.
Slightly more than 30 percent of
the responding teachers reported
pressure for book censorship. This
compares to 20 percent in a similar
NCTE survey in 1966.
“This seems a significant differ
ence,” Burress said.
Parents raised 78 percent of the
objections to books reported
through the survey. Nineteen per
cent of the objections came from
some member of the school staff —
principal, teacher, superintendent,
librarian.
Burress said this is a dramatic
shift. In the 1966 survey, 48 percent
of the objections came from parents
and 42 percent from school staff.
“It appears that the most common
objection was to the language of the
books,” Burress said.
Next in frequency were objec
tions to sex, or erotic qualities in the
books.
“In a given year,” Burress said,
“one out of five teachers hears ob
jections to books. The result is that
in approximately one-third of the
cases, books are removed from the
library and recommended reading
lists.
“Thus, one-third of the time cen
sorship efforts are effective in get
ting books out of use.”
“These groups are well orga
nized,” he said. “There are 15 or 16
groups around the country involved
in efforts to censor school mate
rials.”
He reported that several standard
dictionaries were banned in Texas
schools in 1976 by the State Com
missioner of Education on grounds
they contain “objectionable lan
guage.”
As an example of what the com
missioner considers objectionable,
Burress cited “bed” — saying that
many dictionaries contain a defini
tion of “bed” as a verb, which in
cludes sexual intercourse.
Burress reported that even the
Bible is objected to by some censor
ship groups.
“Our Puritan background paves
the way for censorship for two rea
sons,” he said. “One, people cannot
identify ‘bad’ language. And, two,
people object to sexually permissive
and frank language.”
Therefore, he argued, the very
book that led to the puritanical point
of view created a situation in which
that book, the Bible, has been ban
ned in some schools.
Burress believes the trend toward
censorship has increased since 1960
because school libraries have im
proved.
The improvements have given
students greater access to a range of
broader range of reading material.
The NCTE is a professional or
ganization of teachers and adminis
trators of English language arts pro
grams at all levels of education, from
kindergarten up to undergraduate
and graduate courses in colleges and
universities.
Dear Aggies,
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'arents fight for son
o have Laetrile treatment Clements hires
ex-employee
for budget help
United Press International
AUSTIN — Governor-elect Bill
Clements has named a former em
ployee of his oil drilling company to
serve as acting fiscal director and
help would prepare the state budget
Clements presents to the 1979
Legislature
Tom B. Rhodes, 61, served as
general counsel, director and senior
vice president of Clements’ SEDCO
Inc., and was treasurer of his gover
nor’s campaign. Clements said
Rhodes will serve in the budget of
fice for a minimum of 30 days, or
until a permanent fiscal director is
appointed.
“Tom Rhodes’ business and legal
background will help me immeasur
ably until I make my final selection
of a fiscal director,” Clement said.
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