Were students asked to read aloud about masturbation? Wake schools is investigating.
The Wake County school system is investigating a conservative activist group’s allegations that high school students read aloud about masturbation as part of a class assignment
The Wake County chapter of Moms For Liberty says a female student at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh was asked to read in front of her peers on Nov. 30 a passage on masturbation. It was from the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie.
Julie Page, the Wake chapter chair, proceeded to read the passage at this week’s school board meeting, in which the protagonist talks about masturbating to pictures of nude movie stars.
“The female student declined to read these words out loud and then she was laughed at by her fellow students and her teacher,” Page told board members. “How is that a safe environment for her? Can you explain why this subject matter should be part of an ELA (English Language Arts) curriculum for any age or grade?”
Wake’s Human Resources Department has interviewed Page and a person who she says witnessed the incident
“The district’s initial review has not substantiated the claim, but we are continuing to investigate this matter,” the district said in an updated statement on Saturday.
The district also said that Stephen Mares, Athens Drive’s principal, has not received any calls, emails or other complaints about the situation described by Page.
Most banned book
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” tells the story of a high school student growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He transfers to an all-white high school where the only other Native American is the school mascot.
The young adult novel has won numerous awards. But its content and themes also have made it the most banned book in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019, according to the American Library Association.
More recently, the book has been pulled from schools across the nation as part of an ongoing culture war over what’s appropriate for students to read in school.
“I always make the joke that these parents trying to ban books don’t seem to be doing much about their kids’ phones,” Alexie said during a September webinar kicking off 2022 Banned Books Week, according to Publishers Weekly. “Any Internet search is far more terrifying than any book. But I think it says something to the permanence of a book that it scares them even more.”
Book ‘inappropriate?’
In Wake County, Moms For Liberty has been raising concerns about the “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and 20 other books since 2021. Page said Alexie’s book is in at least 13 Wake County middle school libraries and 19 Wake high school libraries.
Page said she wished Wake would emulate Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, where The Charlotte Observer reported that two books were recently pulled after they were deemed inappropriate by school officials.
“Let’s Talk About It” and “Sex Plus: Learning, Loving and Enjoying Your Body” were removed after the Mecklenburg chapter of Moms for Liberty complained.
Page said it would be considered sexual harassment if the passage about masturbation was said out loud in a workplace environment.
“The theme of the book may be excellent, but part of the language of the book is inappropriate, especially to be read aloud,” Page said in an interview Friday.
