Comics news sites like Comic Book Resources (CBR) are reporting that the comics anthology Stuck in the Middle has survived a challenge to be removed from middle school libraries in some of Maine's public schools. A parent had complained that the book, which is subtitles "Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age" and does deal with some of the "dirty underbellies" of adolescent life and identity.The Comic Book Legal Defense fund offered support for the books' continued inclusion, and I would have as well had I known of the story! How this one escaped my notice I have no idea. The book will remain on the shelves of schools like Buckfield Junior-Senior High, but a 2009 challenge in South Dakota had less fortunate results for the text and its potential readers. The Souix Falls, SD, school board voted to remove the book from shelves for "foul language, sexual references and depictions of teen smoking."
Still, a student will need special permission to read the book in Maine's Region 10. It's not a complete victory, but it's not a total defeat either. Kudos to CBLDF for its support of the text, and a "good enough" to the special committee formed to decide the fate of the book.
You can read more about the local coverage of the story here.
I can't help but remember the work that I and many other teacher educators and k-12 teachers did last year in creating the CD-ROM and E-book versions of Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels, which offers statements of summary, use, reputation, and value for 108 different graphic novels. Stuck in the Middle wasn't one of them, but I wonder if troubles could have been avoided if a rationale for the text had been available. Of course, the challenge for this book regarded its place in a library rather than a classroom.
This case reminds us that comics need our help and our vigilance regarding their inclusion in schools and libraries and that we need to fight for students' rights to read them,
2 comments:
Here's my email to RSU10 superintendent Dr. Thomas Ward (better late than never, I guess):
Dear Dr. Ward,
Greetings. I am James Bucky Carter, a professor of English Education at the University of Texas at El Paso and a comics-and-literacy scholar who has presented around the nation and internationally on comics and education and who has published on the subject with MLA, NCTE, ALAN, Corwin Press, Educational Leadership and other outlets.
I want to thank you for your leadership revolving the graphic novel _Stuck in the Middle_. While I and many still feel the committee's decision to enforce parental permission regarding accessing the book does violate young people's rights to read, I appreciate that the book remains in the stacks of Region 10's libraries.
I also want to draw your attention to a resource I and a team of teachers and teacher educators created last year. Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels, available as an ebook or as a CD-Rom, offers rationales for 108 different graphic novels. The rationales are statements of the texts' educational utility, their reputation and their hotspots and how to address them in the classroom. Lesson ideas and ideas for textual pairings are also included for each text.
You can learn more about this resource and see free examples here: http://maupinhouse.com/index.php/rationales-for-teaching-graphic-novels.html
Perhaps it would be a good addition to the professional resources section of your district's libraries.
As well, I would like let you know that I am always available to give presentations and in-services on comics and education. I've been an NCTE speaker on the subject in NY and NH, for example, and have also spoken on the subject in conference in RI and NYC. Or, I can put you in contact with comics-and-literacy scholars and practicing teachers closer to you than I, like Maureen Bakis (Boston), Michael Bitz (NY/NJ), and others, if you like.
Sincerely,
James Bucky Carter, Ph.D.
I have received a very nice response from Dr. Ward.
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