Editors note: Be warned, this article contains explicit wording.
This is a cut and paste from my child’s latest ninth grade reading assignment from “Go Ask Alice”. My child is 14 and is in ninth grade. What about decency? This is not the education that my tax dollars are paying for my child to receive. If my daughter walked into class and proclaimed “Another Day Another blowjob” she would be immediately suspended or expelled. The teacher assigned this book without any letter or precaution or permission to the parents. I am not the only parent upset by this. I don’t think the teacher should be censured, I think she should be summarily dismissed. I am disgusted. I am no prude or book burner but I should have a voice in what my child is exposed to and when. If she wanted to read this at 17 or 18 I might still be concerned, but it would be her choice. Not her assignment.
Another day, another blow job. The fuzz has clamped down till the town is mother dry. If I don’t give Big Ass a blow he’ll cut off my supply. Hell, I’m shaking on the inside more than I’m shaking on the outside. What a bastard world without drugs! The dirty ofay who wants me to lay it on him knows my ass is dragging, but he’s doling out the only supply I know about. I’m almost ready to take on the Fat Cats, the Rich Philistines, or even the whole public for one good shot. Goddamn Big Ass makes me do it before he gives me the load. Everybody is just lying around here like they’re dead and Little Jason is yelling, “Mama, Daddy can’t come now. He’s humping Carla.” I’ve got to get out of this shit hole.
Vance County Parent (Anonymous)
unbelievable.
Vance County Parent, I remember the phrase Go Ask Alice from a great short musical ballade by Grace Slick with Great Society and Jefferson Airplane. I also recalled a book of the same name. So a little internet search revealed that book “Go Ask Alice (1971) is a based-on-fact cautionary tale about the life of a troubled teenage girl (15 years old), edited by Beatrice Sparks, written in the form of the diary of an anonymous teenage girl who became addicted to drugs.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Ask_Alice
The book is one include is some high school’s 12th grade advance English class. I doubt our retarded public high schools would be a leader in advance English class for the 12th grade much less the 9th grade. Deception you have been too silent for too long, is Go Ask Alice included over there is Granville County high schools? Teacher, what about you? Is the book Go Ask Alice part of Vance County’s high school reading curriculum?
Vance County Parent, take a deep breath, relax, and “Remember what the dormouse said, Feed your head.”
it would be very interesting to hear a) what your daughter had to say about reading that book, and b) what the rest of the students in that class had to say about reading it? I would have also liked to have control over what my children were exposed to and when, but unfortunately life does not work that way. They were exposed to lots of things at school and with other teens that I wished they had never had to see. You and I have been exposed to lots of things we never wanted to see. It is legitimate to raise questions and to talk with teachers and school officials. But one of the things I welcomed was that in our schools they are exposed to some of these things under the guidance of an educated teacher so that they can perhaps talk about them without the snickers, the lewd comments, and the embarrassment of the bathroom.
Whoever the teacher is–should be dismissed. Being exposed to somethings is inevitable but when it is brought into the classroom by a teacher–it is just plain not acceptable.
Don’t know why you are upset; they are bombarded with this mess at even an earlier age via the internet, movies and TV shows, facebooking and emails. Governments are allowing same sex marriages, TV shows that show a divorced couple(he is gay) living together but yet each one continues to see each other and other partners in the same house. It is the society that we have choose to accept
Anonymous’s research as to the origin of the book is correct — even if much that he posts shows both his cowardice and his prejudices.
I became aware of this book under similar circumstances in about 1973 when my then-12 year old daughter was given it by “someone” in her school as something to be “hidden” from parents. It turned out that too many copies circulated for that story to hold water, and it was subsequently discussed in class. My wife was off the wall and I was a more than a bit perturbed. However, I eventually learned that it was all intended to scare the kids off drugs — and IT WORKED!! That daughter is now a PhD College Prof out in the Mid-West; she never did drugs (even in college) although many in her generation, and even in her college friends, did do drugs.
I tend to feel parents have a right to know, etc etc etc. HOWEVER, ask yourself honestly whether or not your 12 year old (much less your 9th Grader) knows about sex, prostitution, oral sex, and similar items. If you believe they do not know, you are being a self-deceiving fool. YOU knew all of this at that age, and so did I (and I am a generation older than most of you reading this). If a book as gross as this scares the Vance County 9th Graders into saying NO to the druggies who (as all of us know) infest portions of this County, than I am all for it. Drugs and Prostitution are much worse fates than reading a very gross somewhat dirty book at age 9th Grade.
And knowing this community, if one were putting this book to a vote before our School Board, what would happen? Total pandemonium, a complete chickening out on not only this book, but on everything in sight, and rampant Censorship of most other books followed by law suits — all for no purpose whatsoever.
So calm down. If your kid reads this or anything similar, be prepared to counsel them RATIONALLY. (Yelling and screaming and forbidding did not work on YOU when YOUR parents tried it, so do not think it will work on your kids!) Look at this as an opportunity to tell the kids WHY they should not do drugs, or under-age sex, or other evils. Arm them with FACTS not with your anger.
Trust me on this — I’ve been there and my kids turned out fine, as did those of their friends who hung out around our house and whose parents took similar approaches. YOU looked at porno when you were in Junior High, but you don’t have it all over your computer hard-drive. YOU tried pawing each other in the back of a car, but you have (I hope) a stable home life with a sensible partner. YOU need to view this while remembering what YOU did, and the fact that YOU survived.
When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead . Good bumper sticker.
I went to our library to check on the status of my opportunity to check out the book that started this thread. When I turned from the counter what do I see on the wall, a picture of City Councilman Gary Deake. He is holding Green Eggs and Ham, probably the city manager’s justification for doubling the deposit for city water services. The heading of the picture is the word “Read” or is it “Read”. Such as I will read the book before I approve the doubling the deposit or I have read the book and now understand the harm of doubling the deposit.
Good to know the city councilor is on the job finding the hidden shamrock twice in three years and winning $200.00–today the shamrock–tomorrow the bank bag–wouldn’t that be great?
The bank bag loss is a real shame, not just the loss of money, but it was money from people who actually paid their taxes.
I totally agree mingo–we can little afford the apathy that went along with that debacle. Wonder if there have really been any changes–let’s hope so.
I have read Go Ask Alice and returned the copy to the library.
The book is a saga of teenage girl’s angst blended into a world similar to Reefer Madness. Every one of us has gone through our teenage years filled with anxiety and we each dealt with it in our own way. For the vast majority we moved through that period of our lives basically unscathed and wiser for our errors. For some that time of life was very traumatic even fatal. The passage quoted by Vance County Parent begins at the bottom of page 91 and continues through the first paragraph on page 92. In context the story’s author is hitting a bottom and is descriptive of the author’s depth of degradation has she sought acceptance and drugs. It is not a positive picture. The language of the book changes to express the varying transitions of the author. I did learn a new meaning, albeit a despicable meaning for BP (unrelated to British Petroleum or have anything to do with gasoline.) I also learned that meth was available back in the early 70s something society could well do without. I have asked several current Vance County high school students if they ever read the book, alas none had or even heard of the book. If my teenage daughter were reading the book I would not be alarmed.
LBaldEagle (post 6) you say cowardice and prejudices? Please ole great one elaborate. Are saying someone who posts without a name is a coward? If so welcome to the cowards camp. Are saying I am prejudice against Yankees? Prejudice I am not; disdainful of the carpet baggers such as yourself and your kind, yes. I would be first to help load your stuff into a truck for your return to New Jersey.