Thank You, Depew
"The Depew Board of Education voted, 6-0, Tuesday to approve a controversial coming-of- age novel for 11th-grade Regents English classes."
I'm linking to that story in the Buffalo News because I thought it was so well-written and so fair. I have to say that I've never encountered a newspaper that handled a book challenge issue with such thoughtfulness and thoroughness before; when she read the first story they wrote, Sarah said it was "inspiringly fair." I feel the same way, and thanks to the paper for its excellent reporting.
Thanks also to all the members of the Depew School Board, particularly Board President Steven Carmina. Their commitment to the teachers in the students in the district is apparent (and I would feel that way whether they voted for the book or against it).
And finally, thanks to the many, many kids at Depew High School who went to school board meetings and got involved as participants in the educational process. You guys are pretty much made of awesome.
posted by John Green @ Wednesday, March 05, 2008
26 Comments
26 Comments:
yay!! alaska is such a fantastic book; i wish i'd gotten to read it when i was in 11th grade!
and i'm doubly glad the depew school board recognized your book's merit instead of listening to the nay-sayers like that one guy who said doctors don't have to have cancer to treat it (a quote that will probably make me cry inside for the rest of my life whenever i think about it).
go you! you and your books are also truly made of awesome!
p.s. you should send the depew school board a thank you note saying "best wishes!"
That makes me so incredibly happy! It does kind of renew my sense of justice and I hope it inspires others to take a stand for something they believe in.
Congratulations on such a great book. Not everyone gets a chance to write something others will fight for.
Lisa
P.S. Just wait to see what kind of uproar institutionalizing Hitler in the EBO will bring! LOL
Congrats John.
It is a great verdict and a good article. One nitpick though, I hate the use of the word themes (at the end) when it should be contains. Murder and Incest are not really themes in Hamlet so much as they are plot points.
Either way, awesome.
Hey John, I just want to say congratulations. That is pretty much awesome for the book and the Depew kids, for their suck levels must be at a lower point than they previously were. By the way, when does Paper Towns come out? And are you doing book signings in B'ham? Because you totally should. And I would do a happy dance. And then I would read. And then I would give you a NerdFighterly high-five (we miss the first couple of times, then we get it right and it's a really good one, and that tingly feeling after a good high-five is really just Awesome flowing through the hand). Anyway, I'll see you later, John.
Best Wishes
---Max
awesome!
that is SO COOL
i would love to read 'looking for alaska' in class, that way i wouldn't have to lend it to every person i know!
(it's a little bit falling apart)
anyway, i'm really happy for you!
can't wait for paper towns!
wow, that's so great! I wish it was in the curriculum for our school. It's just such a great book and it even fits into the unit that we're doing now.
I would read it a million times if I actually owned it, so it's not like rereading it would be a problem...
YES!
Loudly.
Alaska was one of the books on our list of books we could read and do a project on. I saw it and almost did my happy dance. In the middle of class. Good thing it was the first day back from vacation and I was too tired. :{DD
You know what's pretty sad though?? I had read ever single one of those 25 books on that list except for two.
Oh wow! That is fantastic! What a landslide for you! I wish I had the opportunity to read it when I was younger too.
Absolutely brilliant!
Wow, I am so pleased and a little amazed that this came out so well. School Boards run for the tall grass so often these days. I am proud of them for standing up for the students and their parents.
The teachers were courageous to offer a book that would engage their students and they were smart to get permission slips signed. The kids of Depew win, win, WIN!
I won a signed copy of Alaska at the 1st KidLitosphere conference last fall. It has even more meaning for me now!
Awesome indeed.
Good for them, and good for you. Congratulations! You're one of my favorite authors and I'm sure that soon, you'll be one of theirs, too.
My school is using Looking for Alaska for our book club! Yay for Alaska in schools!!!
hurrah for triumph of reason! the whole thing was kind of ridiculous. but at least now you can feel badass for being labeled controversial! you corrupter of youth, you. lol.
Three cheers for Alaska. Four cheers for John Green!
Congratulations John on NOT being a pornographer!
Now I'll go back to helping my young adults in the house go back to figuring out which character from LFA or An Abundance they'll dress as when we go stand in line for the midnight launch of "Paper Towns" when it's released at our local Indigo.
Best wishes. Brianmpei
I just read looking for alaska last night in two hours. It was an amazing book and anyone who isnt able to read it is missing out. Im happy for you John!
Congrats John!
That's so awesome! It was well written, defianately have to give that newspaper and reporters their kootos.
You're books are really awesome and you're a wonderful author. I'm glad to see the book was accepted. However I would have understanded if they didn't--they would just be doing what's right. But really, I know kids in school who read things they should NOT be so...
Anyway, congrats! I'm very happy for you. The live chat last night was SO awesome I nearly didn't want to leave it was so cool to see everyone just getting together and talking to you guys. Thanks, that ability to join in the awesome was...well awesome!!
:D
Have a wonderful day, John,
Katie
Amazing! This popped up on my RSS feed when I should have been doing my Cold Mountain essay and I whooped for joy. On your behalf, I'm about to have a second celebratory serving of apple crumble.. I suggest you do the same!
- Rosianna
Yay for Alaska! That's awesome that is wasn't banned! Book banning is definitely not made of awesome. And this was posted on my Birthday! *does happy dance* Yesssss.....
I am a graduate student pursuing a degree in so that I can be a literacy specialist or reading coach at SUNY Fredonia which is near Depew
In my Adolescent Literature class this book has been read by several of us. We all agree this book should be read by every student, it truly addresses the needs of students. More importantly what a great example of adolescent literature, great writing and I am so glad the precedent has been set to allow it in school.
Yay! Congrats John! {You should mention it in your next vlog.}
DFTBA FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad that you wrote the book "Looking for Alaska", it's the best thing that i ever got to read! Even Harry Potter is NOTHING comparing to this book. I mean, I am more of a science-fiction book reader, but Alaska was so very realistic, it just grabbed me! I liked it because you included some of the thgings in life that befall us, like for example...death. I read it in 8th grade, although i knew it wasn't really for my age, I couldn't stop myself.
I hope this website is real, and that you are actually John Green reading our comments not some...different guy. Hope that you keep up writting more books.
Congratulations! I actually was inspired by this whole thing and wrote a little essay (rant) on my thoughts about book banning, so it was a great exercise in putting my thoughts to paper. I'm glad that there are people around who put so much thinking into the schooling of kids and glad that they put so much consideration into the incorporation of Looking for Alaska in their curriculum since it was such a meaningful book to me.
Here is what the Cheektowaga Times editor thought about your book:
http://www.cheektowagatimes.com/Current/Editorials/
Editorial
A few words about 'Looking for Alaska'
Students in the Depew School District are reading the "young adult" novel Looking for Alaska after the book was challenged by a handful of parents who objected to its content. A district-organized committee determined earlier this month that the book is appropriate for eleventh grade classroom instruction. While the book was deemed "appropriate," there was little discussion about its educational value. This is an oversight and maybe a disservice that goes far beyond the objections concerning its themes and language.
Looking for Alaska is not a bad novel, nor is it a great novel. It is, indeed, an entertaining "read" and offers some interesting observations about religion and life. However, its word selection fails to match the well-developed characters and story. Its inclusion in English classes makes one wonder if schools are focusing more on social issues rather than on a well-rounded education.
American author Richard Lederer, who is known for his books on word play and the English Language, once noted that there are 616,500 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary, yet the average English speaker has a vocabulary between 10,000 and 20,000 words. Looking for Alaska, with its propensity for unseemly and uninspired language that reflects the MTV generation, illustrates Lederer's observation.
Proponents of the book point to how today's high school students identify with the characters and the life choices they make to justify Alaska's inclusion in the curriculum. One Depew parent even said that the language "is no different than what you would hear" at a high school football game. What a standard by which to live. There's no wonder students say they enjoy the book.
School districts across the United States in recent years have become more active in developing a child's social habits, reaching into homes, if necessary, to advance their tenets. Schools are also taking a more active role in shaping other habits. For example, some school districts have stepped beyond what is taught in health class by trying to alter the dietary habits of their students, removing unhealthy snacks from vending machines.
Yet, English classes are offering literature containing a vocabulary that equates to junk food- brain "candy" with no nutritional value.
The Columbia Guide to Standard American English explores the average American's vocabulary and suggests there are three vocabularies for each person: the daily lexicon, the vocabulary the person knows but doesn't use, and words that a person may identify after given clues. "In the end, experience- with life and with dealing with it in words- is the best vocabulary builder," the guide reports.
Apparently, students aren't receiving that experience in the classroom. Fifty years from now, Looking for Alaska will likely be a footnote in literary history, known more for the controversy it caused than for capturing a reader's imagination or challenging one's vernacular. We believe it will also cause future generations to wonder why it had the support of those trusted with providing children with an education.
WOW, Alaska is such an awesome book! I am only a freshmen at orchard park high school and i so wish i could read this book in class. (i think we seriously need to update our reading material and start reading some books with actual meaning in them) i am so happy for the depew students who get to read this (lucky them)
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