Image Credit: BookLook.info
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A review committee presented their findings on four more books that parents in Wilson County have called out for inappropriate sexual content to the school board and public last week.
The books in question are Crank by Ellen Hopkins, Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas.
Dr. Jennifer Cothran addressed the board on behalf of the committee as she did at last month’s meeting. The committee recommended no changes for Crank, Clockwork Princess or Monday’s Not Coming. A Court of Mist and Fury and all other works in that series are to be marked as “mature reading” meaning that students will not be able to access them without parental permission when the new school year starts after the summer.
The Wilson County chapter of Moms for Liberty initially began bringing up the issue of pornographic and inappropriate sexual content in school libray books last November. Since that time, Wilson County Schools has updated policy to include library books as instructional materials which enables a formal review of books that may not be age-appropriate. A new procedure is in the works that will allow parents to choose whether their child is allowed access to a Mature Reading List starting with the 2022-2023 school year.
Amanda Price, who heads up the Wilson County chapter of Moms for Liberty would like to see a Universal Book Content rating system for library books. Price said, “Some of the books they approved without restriction could potentially be rated R or NC17 in movie form.”
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The rating system spans from 0 to 5, with 0 being equivalent to a G rated movie and 5 being equal to an NC17+ movie.
A 3 rating for a book (equal to an R rated movie) could mean:
● Explicit Violence
● Sexual Nudity
● Explicit or Frequent Use of Profanity
● Sexual Activies
● Drug or Alcohol Abuse
A 4 rating (equal to a PG17 movie) could include:
● Aberrant Violence
● Explicit Sexual Activies (Ejaculation and Sexual Penetration including anal sex)
● Explicit or Frequent use of Profanity
● Aberrant Drug or Alcohol Abuse
A 5 rating (equal to a NC17+ movie):
● Explicit References to Aberrant Sexual Activities
Dr. Cothran did not address the issues that parents brought to the committee’s attention, but spoke of online reviews, recommendations, and awards for the disputed books instead.
Two of the books have received American Library Association (ALA) awards. Crank received the ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults – Top Ten awards. Monday’s Not Coming received the ALA Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe award for new talent but parents no longer hold such awards in high regard having seen the content in the books that their children have access to through their school libraries.
Supporters of books such as those brought to Wilson County Board of Education’s attention make reference to the books having educational or literary value but reading sexually explicit material affects neuro-chemicals in the brain and can lead to issues in relationships in the future.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
Of course Dr Cothran approved the books because she is probably not a christian conservative woman and probably a far left liberal. I don’t care if two of the books received awards it’s not appropriate for high schoolers period. And who awarded the books again is it a conservative person or a liberal democrat? I sincerely hope the Moms for Liberty keep up the good work to help protect our young people from inappropriate reading material!
Reading what the ALA is been pushing lately and who their leadership is, I am not surprised with their stance. I agree with the comment as to who is dong the awarding and what their agenda is. Again, who are the folks making the decisions and do they reflect the value of the majority of the community?