Book not banned; harassment cited
Staff writer
A controversial book, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” that was removed from a freshman reading list was not banned, Marion-Florence school officials emphasized this week. It merely was removed from a particular class assignment list.
The reason, the district said, was to stabilize the classroom environment following ongoing communication, sometimes termed harassment, directed at staff.
The dispute began after parents raised concerns about the novel’s content, particularly references to sexual assault and other mature themes. The novel had been assigned to Marion High School freshmen.
After concerns were brought to the school, an alternative reading option was offered before the novel ultimately was removed from class reading list replaced by “Lord of the Flies.”
Parents initially had the option of having their students opt out, with the district saying it would removed the book from the class if if more than 60% of parents opted out.
That threshold was not met, Superintendent Justin Wasmuth said.
“We only had 7 out of the 21 that were in the class that opted out,” Wasmuth said.
But continued emails and concerns directed at the class’ teacher led to a change.
“The teacher on that Tuesday decided that she was going to just not teach the book and that they were just going to do ‘Lord of the Flies’ as a whole group and move on,” Wasmuth said.
He emphasized that the decision was not made by the school board.
“So no book banning, no decision by the board as far as taking away the book,” he said. “It was a decision by the teacher.”
The shift was influenced in part by ongoing communication from parents and community members, some of whom did not have students in the class.
Wasmuth said the situation created tension both inside and outside the classroom.
“I would say that there was some divisive thoughts on both sides of the book,” he said.
Emotional responses made it more difficult to maintain a productive learning environment, he said.
A statement from the district statement referenced what the district termedcontinued harassment directed at staff, including some in-person confrontations.
“We still have some issues,” he said. “I felt like it was necessary to show support for our teacher and our staff.”
While defending the district’s response, Wasmuth said the district was reviewing how communication with parents could be improved moving forward.
Looking back, he said, providing more detailed information about assigned materials could have helped.
“Giving out more information about the book, that’s something we will definitely do more as we go on,” he said.
He said both the district and parents were responsble for staying engaged.
“There’s some responsibility on both sides, and hopefully we can make it better as we move forward,” Wasmuth said.
Community reaction has remained mixed,
“There’s good people on both sides,” Wasmuth said. “They have every right to speak what they want to.”
The district continues to support its teachers and does not view the outcome as censorship.
“We’re not in the business of that,” he said. “We still trust and support our teachers 100% in what they do.”