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On March 16 2012 09:11 SiN] wrote: nothing in that book will be worse than the bullying that kid will receive for being so soft and getting a teacher to go on leave IMO, its most likely the child said "My teacher read from This awesome book Ender's game and XYZ happened" and then the mom, loses her shit and events ensue.
I must have read ender's game 5-7 times by the time I finished High school (starting in 4th grade) I even read most of the story to my brother before bed when I was in 5th grade or so (he loved it). With that said, I'm racking my brain, and can't think of what passage in the novel the teacher could have read that would be perceived as "pornographic".... I mean for sure the book is violent, but no more so than Call of Duty or any recent PG-13 action movie. So at the risk of being profane, I'd venture to say that mother is full of shit.
I think this incident points to a larger issue going on in our nation's Schools. In particular at the K-8 level. Parents are turning against our nation's teachers. Parents are no longer treating the teacher with any semblance of respect.
I think many of peers will remember the days when the "call home from the teacher" was dreaded; after your mom said "HE DID WHAT?" she proceeded to hang up and bring the fury of hell down upon you. Or the mornings where you said your teacher was awful and you don't want to go to school; and your mother responded "get your ass out of bed you're going to school."
Now teachers are losing their jobs over their students complaining to their parents who then go over the teacher's head to contact the administration, the board of education, or in this case the police. Teachers are now afraid to criticize a student during a parent conference at the risk of the parent going to the principal blaming the deficiency on the teacher(some parents are ABSOLUTELY convinced their child is perfect despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it is simply amazing)
This poor guy, trying to get a bunch of apathetic 12 year olds interested in something that he was so passionate about in his youth, is most likely going to lose his job (unless he has tenure, then he's most likely fine) because this mother couldn't stand the thought that something occurred in her child's classroom without her explicit consent.
Maybe that's why middle school principles are all morons (i'm sure not all of you are), because any intelligent person would kill himself if he had to deal with these types of parents on a daily basis.
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On March 16 2012 09:18 Krowser wrote: Ender's Game blew my mind, twice, when I read it last month.
In 12th grade we had to read bullshit Quebecquer historical novels like Bonheur d'occasion (The boring story of a poor family that never catches a break) and ''Une journée dans la vie d'Emmanuel.''
That book is about the fucked up story of a family who's children have sex with each other to keep warm during the cold Canadian winters.
What the fuck!? I thought so! And I had to write an essay on it too.
The second book sounds pretty out there. Would have loved to read some student essays to see how they dealt with the content.
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If the book was approved for ages 12+ and the kid who reported him was 14 then nothing should come out of this; the "leave" the teacher is placed on is probably just an attempt by the school to make it look like they are "doing something", more than anything else.
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Makes sense. America schools aren't exactly a place of learning anyhow so banning a book which could potentially teach students doesn't seem that unusual. I mean, America has a massive banned book list of which most of the books are banned for political or frivolous reasons. I don't think one teacher reading a book outside the norm is any worse than the million other things wrong at schools, at least this one doesn't cause kids to drop out.
If he broke school policy, then the school is right for doing it. But otherwise, it seems stupid. I read For Whom The Bell Tolls in High school and that book has 2 rather graphic sex scenes in it. It hasn't scarred me at all because I understood the context, plus I wasn't looking at it as a pornographic material.
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Damn. Ender's game was my favorite book growing up. Orson Scott Card's a talented author, he has a knack for making one actually give a damn about the moral quandaries and challenges his characters face.
For those who doesn't know, the book's setting involves humanity's first contact with alien life (the Bugs) and the resultant interstellar conflict. There's sci-fi elements, but the real meat of the book is about a group of gifted kids who are sought out (and in some cases partially engineered) by the worlds' governments, shipped into outer space and enrolled in the ultimate military school, all with the goal of producing genius commanders who could make miracles with Earth's limited space fleet. A large part of the kids' training involves warfare simulation games, and one game in particular called the Battle Room (iirc) which grants enormous prestige. The kids are organized into teams, assigned roles within those teams, spend all their time drilling and strategizing... is this reminding anyone of the starcraft pro scene??!
Whatever one may say about the book's premise, the execution is splendid. The book conveys the core themes of young adult lit: raw, coming-of-age angst, rebellion against authority, conflict and not fitting in with one's peers... yet it is all ultimately tempered by notions of duty, camaraderie, and compassion. A real work of art. I cannot imagine the douchebag that didn't devour this book whole and thank his stars he didn't have to read another antiquated, utterly conventional, coming-of-age family and society American lit piece.
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On March 16 2012 09:18 Krowser wrote: Ender's Game blew my mind, twice, when I read it last month.
In 12th grade we had to read bullshit Quebecquer historical novels like Bonheur d'occasion (The boring story of a poor family that never catches a break) and ''Une journée dans la vie d'Emmanuel.''
That book is about the fucked up story of a family who's children have sex with each other to keep warm during the cold Canadian winters.
What the fuck!? I thought so! And I had to write an essay on it too.
Hey man, you've lived your whole life with electric heating and insulated walls. Don't bash sex-with-family-for-warmth until you've had to survive eight months of winter in a log cabin.
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On March 16 2012 08:42 Maxd11 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2012 07:18 oBlade wrote: Fahrenheit 451 should be required reading for everyone involved in this "story." Fahrenheit 451 is banned in public schools for creating an "excessive sense of individuality". This seriously is batshit crazy. Human stupidity knows no bounds. Its sad because it probably is true.
Google "banned book list". The books on that list will be absolutely insane. Except for when I saw Twilight on there. That made me smile.
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Reading deeper it seems like the story is wrong and Enders Game was not the material question that was offensive.
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On March 16 2012 09:37 stokes17 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2012 09:11 SiN] wrote: nothing in that book will be worse than the bullying that kid will receive for being so soft and getting a teacher to go on leave IMO, its most likely the child said "My teacher read from This awesome book Ender's game and XYZ happened" and then the mom, loses her shit and events ensue. I must have read ender's game 5-7 times by the time I finished High school (starting in 4th grade) I even read most of the story to my brother before bed when I was in 5th grade or so (he loved it). With that said, I'm racking my brain, and can't think of what passage in the novel the teacher could have read that would be perceived as "pornographic".... I mean for sure the book is violent, but no more so than Call of Duty or any recent PG-13 action movie. So at the risk of being profane, I'd venture to say that mother is full of shit. I think this incident points to a larger issue going on in our nation's Schools. In particular at the K-8 level. Parents are turning against our nation's teachers. Parents are no longer treating the teacher with any semblance of respect. I think many of peers will remember the days when the "call home from the teacher" was dreaded; after your mom said "HE DID WHAT?" she proceeded to hang up and bring the fury of hell down upon you. Or the mornings where you said your teacher was awful and you don't want to go to school; and your mother responded "get your ass out of bed you're going to school." Now teachers are losing their jobs over their students complaining to their parents who then go over the teacher's head to contact the administration, the board of education, or in this case the police. Teachers are now afraid to criticize a student during a parent conference at the risk of the parent going to the principal blaming the deficiency on the teacher(some parents are ABSOLUTELY convinced their child is perfect despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it is simply amazing) This poor guy, trying to get a bunch of apathetic 12 year olds interested in something that he was so passionate about in his youth, is most likely going to lose his job (unless he has tenure, then he's most likely fine) because this mother couldn't stand the thought that something occurred in her child's classroom without her explicit consent. Maybe that's why middle school principles are all morons (i'm sure not all of you are), because any intelligent person would kill himself if he had to deal with these types of parents on a daily basis.
i used to coach high school sports and I would get hell from parents for not starting their child because 'he starts in club level' or 'you don't appreciate how good he is' etc even when they're clearly not first choice by any stretch of the imagination. Sometimes there would be lettees sent to the sports master and even though he would agree with me he'd tell me to starr the kid because the drama isn't worth it. Needless to say I stopped coaching at the level.
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Public school parents these days...They make me shake my head in shame.
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wow, this is so ridiculous. Ender's Game is a great book and could easily get someone more interested in reading
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i agree its not for 14 year olds for some kids its ok but every kid reacts differently
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On March 16 2012 08:42 Maxd11 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2012 07:18 oBlade wrote: Fahrenheit 451 should be required reading for everyone involved in this "story." Fahrenheit 451 is banned in public schools for creating an "excessive sense of individuality". This seriously is batshit crazy. Human stupidity knows no bounds.
That book is banned in some places in the US? Lol it was required reading for me and the teacher had trouble getting students to read it cause they thought it was boring.
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I can't see "Ender's Game" causing an uproar, something else must have happened that isn't being reported on (or was reported incorrectly). If that isn't the case then geez... I read a lot of "violent" books when I was very young, e.g. the Bible.
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On March 16 2012 07:29 Funguuuuu wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2012 07:27 Requizen wrote:On March 16 2012 07:23 Aberu wrote: The objection which many people are plainly missing was that the teacher did not use the proper procedures to get the book authorized. If that teacher had done their job right this wouldn't have been a fiasco. If the school had notified police like it is procedurally required to, then none of this would have happened. It's not so much about the books contents as it is the school and teacher just doing whatever they'd like. I'd agree with you if it was actually a controversial book. But Ender's Game has been used in schools across the countries for probably over a decade, read by children of all ages, and is considered a Sci-Fi classic. It's a thinking book, but there's really nothing all that offensive in it. It'd be like raising hell over The Giver. The Giver is actually a pretty widely banned book. People mis-interpret it and think it supports the use of Euthanasia to make a utopian society, but anyone who read the book would know the opposite is true.
How ironic.
Or just sad.
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United States7483 Posts
Being upset over the students reading a book is ridiculous, regardless of the content. What, you're going to keep teenagers from experiencing culture? Hell, Adult Swim on cartoon network advertises that they think their content is appropriate for people 14 years old, not younger (and they're on the safe side).
Orson Scott Card is a raging asshole though, I know I would never buy any of his books or support him in any way, but that's a different matter.
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OSC stated himself that his book was mainly ANTI war, he wrote it when his brother was in korea and he himself dreaded the combat training he would have to do, hence why it takes place at a battle school
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On March 16 2012 07:26 FFGenerations wrote: and god forbid a teacher working his brains out day in day out to help educate our kids not bother to get a reading book authorised
Parents are so uneducated....
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This country is so full of stupid, over-protective parents nowadays
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On March 16 2012 09:49 Slaughter wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2012 08:42 Maxd11 wrote:On March 16 2012 07:18 oBlade wrote: Fahrenheit 451 should be required reading for everyone involved in this "story." Fahrenheit 451 is banned in public schools for creating an "excessive sense of individuality". This seriously is batshit crazy. Human stupidity knows no bounds. That book is banned in some places in the US? Lol it was required reading for me and the teacher had trouble getting students to read it cause they thought it was boring.
it's actually pretty ironic that Fahrenheit 451 is banned since the whole book is about censorship and the destruction of intellectual materials..
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