Sean C. Morgan
Students may continue reading “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” next year, but it must be one of two choices offered in eighth-grade language arts at Sweet Home Junior High School.
Following a sometimes heated discussion, the District 55 School Board unanimously agreed to a compromise Monday night that will allow parents a choice between two novels, including “Part-Time Indian” and another selected by the teachers.
The board initially voted on whether to uphold Instructional Materials Review Committee’s recommendation and superintendent’s decision from February, but the motion failed on a 4-4 tie. Leena Ellis, Kevin Burger, Jenny Daniels and David Vanderlip voted for the motion. Chanz Keeney, Dale Keene, Jason Redick and Mike Reynolds voted against the motion.
The February decision allowed teachers to continue using the book at an age-appropriate level with informed parental consent. Based on the expertise of the language arts teachers to determine age appropriateness, Supt. Don Schrader decided the book would remain in the eighth-grade classroom.
Keeney offered the alternate motion, which requires the teachers to offer parents a choice between two books. The board voted 8-0 for the motion.
This year, most parents signed permission slips allowing their children to read the book, while 13 read novels from a list of 20 novels in the school library under the guidance of Principal Colleen Henry.
“I’m happy the book gets to stay in the eighth grade,” said language arts teacher Chelsea Gagner.
Rachel Kittson-MaQatish, who appealed the superintendent’s decisions to the School Board, said she hopes that the teachers heard the parents this year and that “the options are presented both with the same enthusiasm and that they’re not suggested with a bias or a slant toward one book or the other.”
“I appreciated the conversation,” she said.
“I think it validates both sides,” Henry said. “Teachers get to choose the curriculum, and parents get to have a voice in what their child is exposed to.”
She compared the board’s compromise to the “wisdom of Solomon.”
Implementation is still a question mark, she said. She and her teachers will have the rest of the year to map out how that’s going to work.
Five parents objected to the novel earlier this year with concerns about profanity, sexual objectification of women and sexual vulgarity, along with images that are offensive to the religion of some students.
Brian Gold and Gagner taught the book in their language arts classes as part of a multicultural unit on Native Americans designed to expose students to a perspective outside the mainstream. The book, a largely autobiographical work by Sherman Alexie, tells the story of a Native American boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his adventures traveling off reservation to a nearby white high school.
The book has won awards and critical acclaim as a novel for young adults, Gold told the board, and he has never taught another book that engages students so well.
It’s not the profanity that hooks the students, he said. He stressed that the book draws students in emotionally. The controversial language throughout the book is usually the setting. It’s like the villain.
“It’s the thing against which (Junior) struggles in the novel,” Gold said. “It is a deeply intellectual novel. I think there’s a lot of beauty in there.”
Board members offered wide-ranging perspectives on the book.
“I would hope at some point in time, you could find some material and not have to worry about controversy and could include 100 percent of the kids,” Reynolds told the teachers.
“I would let my children read it at that age,” Daniels said, but her children know the standards at their house.
Keeney said “he has no problem with the book being in the school library, but he believes there are other books that can teach the same lessons taught by “Part-Time Indian.”
Redick said he believes the book pushes the discussion onto parents when they may not be prepared to have that discussion.
“It’s really up to a parent when those themes are discussed with their kids,” he said.
Each child is different, he said. Of his two children, he believes he would have been ready to have that discussion with one at that age, but he didn’t think it would have been appropriate with the other one.
“I read the book, and it reminded me of being 13,” Burger said.
Ellis supported using the book because it enticed students to read.
The eighth-grade students were scheduled to attend a field trip to Willamette University in Salem on Tuesday to meet Alexie, who was already planning the visit. He invited the students after hearing about the controversy.
Keeney said he was concerned that the trip was planned “in a secretive manner” and, given the controversy, he thought the board should have heard about it prior to planning the field trip.
Schrader said it was an opportunity “that doesn’t come around very often.
“They’re going to meet an author, a person who has been successful writing a novel,” he said. “This is an opportunity that just presented itself.”
“The opportunity to meet an author did not occur to me as something that would be controversial,” Gold said.
Most parents signed permission slips for the field trip, Gold said. In his class, some couldn’t go because they had other obligations.
Four students who did not read “Part-Time Indian” in Gagner’s class received permission from their parents to attend the field trip, and one of the parents is joining them.
In other business, the board:
n Appointed Jason Van Eck to the board, filling a vacancy left by Mike E. Adams. The board voted 8-0 to appoint Van Eck after turning down a motion to appoint board veteran John Fassler 5-3. Voting for Fassler were Ellis, Keeney and David Vanderlip. Royce Cantrell also applied for the position.
n Hired Sweet Home High School teacher Luke Augsburger as principal at Foster Elementary School.
n Accepted the retirement of Keith Winslow, principal at Sweet Home High School. He will continue to work on special contract through next school year.
n Hired Larry Horton on special contract to continue as part-time principal at Holley Elementary School next school year.
n Hired Elena Barton to continue part-time as student services director through next school year.
n Accepted the retirements of Sweet Home High School science teachers Billy Snow and Cheryll Munts.
n Hired Julie Emmert as confidential secretary to the superintendent. Lynn Stauffer retires from the position in August.
n Appointed Don Hopkins to the Budget Committee, which still has four openings. Anyone interested in serving on the committee should contact Stauffer at (541) 367-7126. School Board keeps ‘Diary’