‘Kite’ still flies: School board rejects book ban

School board rejects book ban

Floridan Staff Writer

After the novel’s presence in the Jackson County School District was challenged by a student’s parent, the Jackson County School Board voted to keep The Kite Runner.
At a Tuesday JCSB meeting, the board was provided with a recommendation made by the District Instructional Material Committee to keep the book in the school system.
After comments made by each board member, including Dr. Terry Nichols who offered the sole opposing vote, the board approved that recommendation.
The book, by Khaled Hosseini, is a story about a boy from Kabul. It is set during a number of dramatic events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.
It was initially challenged last May by David McGowan, a parent of a Marianna High School student, who was disturbed to learn that the book was required reading in one of the MHS classes.
According to school board documents, McGowan first addressed staff and administration at MHS, which led to the book’s removal on the required reading list. MHS Principal Randy Ward chose to keep the book available in the school library.
In July, McGowan sent a letter to Frank Waller, the district director of middle and secondary education, requesting that further action be taken and a committee be formed to consider the removal of the book from the school district.
“I do not wish to stand in the way of any educational advantage that literature provides. I am simply asking for your help in shielding my children from this particular book,” reads part of the letter written by McGowan.
At the August JSCB workshop last Thursday, McGowan came before the board to speak against the presence of the book in the school district, reading aloud excerpts from the book that contain profane language and sexual situations.
Material provided to the board at that the Thursday meeting showed that the district committee was composed of:  Frank Waller; Deborah Barber, the middle and secondary education secretary and mother of two; Renea Hilton, programming manager and mother of one; Willer Moody, retired media specialist of Malone High School; Diane Oswald, retired English teacher at Marianna High and ESE director; Betty Joyce Hand, retired from a Jackson County hospital and president of a book club; and Alana Neel, a student at Chipola College.
The committee voted five to two in favor of leaving The Kite Runner in the system, with Hilton and Barber recommending the book’s removal.
At the Tuesday meeting before the board voted to keep The Kite Runner, the chairman of   the board, Nichols, relinquished his chair to debate the recommendation.
Nichols said he had read the book in its entirety and was not in favor of keeping it in the district.
“I think it’s a good book. But in looking at this I think it’s a book that’s good for the adult population ... There are vivid scenes in the book that don’t promote evil, but are a little bit too vivid for our younger students in high school,” said Nichols.
Board member Chris Johnson said that, as a parent, he would not want his child reading the book, but felt that banning the book could lead to the issue of banning other books, such as Huck Finn and Macbeth.
Johnson said that he learned that the book is rated in such a way by the school system that it is available for any student in grade six or higher.
“When the librarian told me that was a sixth grade book I almost fainted,” said Johnson. “But what I ban today might be something that hurts me tomorrow.”
Board member Betty Duffee said that if the board bans books based on some passages, that some of the passages in The Kite Runner are not as bad as some in the Bible.
“I don’t think we’d want to ban the Bible,” said Duffee.
Board member Charlotte Gardner said that, when she heard the passages read out loud at the Thursday meeting, she was very offended; but when she read them in context, it was less offensive.
Those passages still remain offensive to board member Kenneth Griffin, who said that having the book at a sixth grade level was absolutely wrong, and made a motion for the board to consider making the book available only to juniors and seniors.
McGowan told the board that the limitiation was simply not enough.
JSCB attorney Frank Bondurant cited legal complications that might occur in trying to enforce such a rule.
Griffin withdrew his motion and Duffee made a new motion to approve the recommendation made by the district committee.