Where the rattlesnake bites…
I can’t resist pointing to this New York Times article, having just blogged about censorship in the previous post.
A book wins the prestigious Newbery Medal award. It is “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron.
It becomes controversial because it uses an anatomically correct word. This word use is fitting with a theme of the book.
And one of the themes of the book is that Lucky is preparing herself to be a grown-up, Ms. Patron said. Learning about language and body parts, then, is very important to her.
With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar – New York Times
This word is used as a descriptor between boys (and overheard by a girl) about the location of a dog’s snakebite. By 9 or 12 years of age, I hope that boys understand that there is another word for their private areas other than “family jewels” or “crotch”–if only so that they can talk with their doctors about jock itch, concerns about development, and what not. I expect that knowing the terms for various anatomical parts well enough to describe a dog’s snake bite will not cause the spontaneous spread of immorality. The boy explained to his friend that his dog was bit on the scrotum. The girl, overhearing, wonders about the word. I’ll bet that a similar book, aimed at the same age group, would be quite acceptable in mentioning that a pup nursed at it’s mother’s teat, or found a nipple to suckle.
“The people who are reacting to that word are not reading the book as a whole,” she said. “That’s what censors do — they pick out words and don’t look at the total merit of the book.”
With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar – New York Times
By the way, all three of my sons know that there are seven continents, and my sons know the terms urinate, bowel movements, and scrotums. They don’t often mention these things in conversation, but if they did, it wouldn’t be for titillation effect–just for factual information.
Read the book. Then decide.
Filed under: censorship, ethics, journalism, media and
Teacher’s and other school proffessionals think they know what’s best for our kids. It’s time for more parents to take more responsibility for the actual “raising” of their kids, and leave the knowledge part to educators. I got some bad news for some of you up-tight, stuffy old- fashioned educators. Most 10 year olds allready know what a “scrotum” is.
Politically, i happen to be extremely liberal. I don’t feel that this book should be banned based solely on one word,that being “Scrotum”. If the word had been used in the slang form such as “nuts,balls,etc. i would be irate over that. The author used anatomically correct terminology for what she wanted to express had happened in that part of the storyline. What the heck ever happened to free speech?
I’d much rather have my child ask me, a teacher,or other responible adult what Scrotum means rather than have her say”What’s ball’s mean?”.
John, I think you are right that many 10 year olds will recognize the word, but that’s just a gut feeling. As a parent, I can ask my own children, but I don’t see myself conducting a survey at school! As an educator, I hope I don’t come across as know it all and stuffy.
I agree with Rhiannon that children should have parents and teachers to answer their questions, and that anatomically correct words should be preferred to slang. I know leaving things to other children to explain to each other is not my preferred style! Thanks for reading and your comments. –Book