Beaverton School District bans book with sexual themes from some classrooms

(Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian)

Parents and teachers are unhappy with the Beaverton School District's decision to ban a book from middle school and some high school classrooms and school libraries after a parent complained about themes of sexuality in the book.

The decision to ban the young adult novel "Stick" for students younger than 10th grade goes against a unanimous committee recommendation to keep the book available.

The author of "Stick," Andrew Smith, also wrote "Grasshopper Jungle" and "Winger" and has won several national awards.

"Stick" tells the story of two brothers living in an abusive household. One of the brothers is gay, the other is discovering his own sexuality, and the book frankly discusses masturbation and features boys talking to each other about masturbation and sex.

"Stick" was not a required text for students, but part of a program that puts young adult books in middle and high school classrooms to encourage students to read books of their choice.

In January, as part of a reading group, a 10th-grade student took the book home. His mother objected to some content of the book and spoke with the school's principal. Her complaint then went to the district

The district convened a committee to review the complaint. The panel was chaired by the secondary curriculum instruction and assessment administrator, Ken Struckmeier, and consisted of teachers, community members, a librarian and an administrator.

According to an email Struckmeier send language arts and humanities teachers Feb. 12, members of the committee read the book and reviewed district guidelines before making their recommendation: "that 'Stick' continue to be available in the Beaverton School District library and classroom library collections."

Upon receiving this recommendation from the committee, Deputy Superintendent Steve Phillips opted to remove the book from middle schools altogether and from classrooms consisting of ninth and 10th graders at the high school level.

In the email to instructors, Struckmeier wrote, "If copies of the book are in your classroom library, please share them with a colleague that instructs junior or senior students."

Explaining his decision to go against the committee recommendation over the phone on Thursday, Phillips said members of the committee were not aware that the book was in middle schools.

Members of the committee could not be reached Thursday to confirm this.

Phillips called his solution -- allowing the book in only 11th and 12th-grade classrooms -- "a compromise."

"My job as the deputy superintendent is to take the recommendation from the group and the complaint from the parent and to come up with a ruling," Phillips said, "and I felt that the content within the book was too mature for all audiences."

Phillips said he has read the book and that the "the sheer volume of the mature graphic content" led him to make his final decision.

"If a parent thinks I am wrong," Phillips said, "they can go get the book and read it with their kid and then everybody's happy."

When asked if other books will be reviewed in the same manner, Phillips said, "I have no desire or plan to go out there and review books."

Maureen Wheeler, the spokesperson for the school district, said that the last time the district went through the review process for a book was four years ago when a committee recommended that "The Brimstone Journals," by Ron Koertge be kept in schools. Administrators followed that recommendation.

To have a book or other material reconsidered by the district, a community member or staff member who cannot reach an understanding on the matter with the teacher or staff member who has the material must submit a "Reconsideration of Library and/or Instructional Materials" to the school principal and a more formal discussion must be held.

If that discussion doesn't resolve the issue, the deputy superintendent forms a committee to review the request.

Eighth-grade humanities teacher Paula Inglett called the incident "unfortunate and disturbing," and several other Beaverton teachers who asked not to be named reached out to The Oregonian/OregonLive to say that decision sets a dangerous precedent.

Parents are also concerned.

Steffanie Colvig, the parent of an eighth-grader and fifth-grader in the district, said Thursday that she is disturbed that the deputy superintendent went against the recommendation of a committee "of qualified, chosen people."

Colvig is also distressed by the fact that the parent and child making the complaint were allowed to be part of the review committee, but other parents, beyond those on the committee, weren't notified about the proceedings until after they were over. Even then, Colvig said she only found out after her student told her a rumor about a banned book and she reached out to the district.

The name of the parent who made the complaint has not been released.

Colvig said she has been listening to the audiobook of "Stick" while she waits for her paper copy to arrive in the mail. So far, she said, she hasn't heard anything that she thinks is too mature for middle or high schoolers.

"Masturbate is not a vulgar or filthy word," she said. "Penis is not a vulgar or filthy word."

Middle and high schoolers "have phones in their hands all the time," she said. "They can access way worse than they can read in this book."

In fact, she believes books like this offer kids a place to find answers to questions they may be afraid to ask.

"If you can't say those words and talk about what people use bodies for," she said, "then you've got a bigger problem."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052
lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker

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