Northville Mother Upset About Seventh Graders Reading Unedited 'Diary of Anne Frank'

Northville Patch ^ | April 24, 2013 | Rebecca Jaskot

[Altariel]

A Northville mother is upset about the unedited version of "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" that her seventh grade student is reading in school.

According to an article on myfoxdetroit.com, parent Gail Horalek filed a formal complaint with the Northville school district about a passage in the book that she thinks is too graphic for students that age.

In the passage, Anne Frank discusses the discovery of her genitalia.

[MeanWestTexan]

Fair enough point.

But, alas, typically it’s a prudish conservative. The stereotype of us exists for a reason.

[MeanWestTexan]

Doesn’t surpise me, either.

But I just re-read the chapter and, in context, it’s clear she is just going through puberty.

[ansel12]

That is twice that you have misrepresented my post to you where I said “I know that more and more I click on the direct link to articles rather than to the freerepublic threads because I get tired of all the cussing when I’m trying to read and think, even in the religion threads it is all over the place.”, in defending your DU language.

Now you think that being conservative in public writings and utterings is inappropriate and better saved for “spiritual” life.

I never thought that my simple comment would stir up such a determined defense from you, social conservatism includes not throwing filth and mud into public speech.

[rarestia]

Huh? You quoted yourself and said I was misrepresenting your post even though that’s what you said?

I’m not defending anything, nor am I apologizing. I told you if you didn’t like what I said, feel free to report my post. I have no problem with that.

As far as my public writings, feel free to peruse my history. I’ve been here since 2004, so you might want to get comfy.

You would be hard-pressed to find an overuse of vulgarity, and considering I’ve spent my adult professional life opining on the declination of linguistics in our modern society, you’ll probably find that it’s few and far between.

I have numerous degrees in English and am very proud of my usage, grammar, and vocabulary. When I swear, it’s for a reason. I was fired up this morning due to a plethora of garbage posts, and I let one fly in a post. You decided to opine on my use of the word “bullshit,” and immediately went on the defensive inferring that you are bypassing the meat of the comments due to foul language.

If you’re that thin skinned, the Internet isn’t the best place for you to be browsing. There are plugins for popular browsers that censor your Internet experience if you’re overly sensitive.

[ansel12]

Yes you misrepresented my post, and misunderstood it, and it’s point.

You said “and you make it a habit of reading just the article”, Habit?

In another post you said “”I do the opposite of you. I read the FR thread to get the visceral feeling from other conservatives on these issues.”” You do the “opposite” and feel the need to describe something I wouldn’t know about or do?

You clearly misread my post “I know that more and more I click on the direct link to articles rather than to the freerepublic threads because I get tired of all the cussing when I’m trying to read and think” like you said, you will go to extremes to be utilitarian in your public writing and speech.

[rarestia]

Where did I say that I would go to extremes to be utilitarian my speech?

[rarestia]

Okay okay I think I see where we went wrong in this conversation. I meant no malice in my posts. So I’m sorry if this went off the rails the way it did.

[cycjec]

I don’t think even the edited version is a really
good choice for school reading. I don’t have the quotes
handy. I don’t think literature is the way to educated
about the Holocaust. I would recommend the JPFO “Innocents
Betrayed” but I don’t think that has much of a chance of
being accepted in schools now. Amoral, G-dless schools can’t
teach genocide prevention, with respect to Jews or any
group.

[Tired of Taxes]

Well, this has been an educational thread. I didn’t know there were two versions of the book. Based on the few passages I’ve found online, so far the passages in question sound innocent. She is simply making observations about herself like a typical adolescent would. But maybe there are other passages that are more graphic...?

Nevertheless, given the maturity of the average seventh grader, even the more innocent-sounding passages might not be appropriate. Just picturing the kids making inappropriate jokes and comments in reaction to those passages...

[Tired of Taxes]

Ah, I see now. I didn’t see that particular passage before. IMHO, it’s not prudish to object to seventh graders reading that passage. In fact, it’s really a shame that such private writings of an innocent young girl would be made available for everyone to read. That passage should’ve been edited out... for her sake. If she made similar comments about a young man, for example, my opinion would be the same. This was her private journal.

[momtothree]

It was definitely interesting to me because my daughter was initially sure of her position. Now.. since this thread.. we have talked and we have both concluded this: the teacher was asked by several class members if she was lesbian or bisexual. The teacher didn’t respond. The reason I think she didn’t answer was based on political correctness and I will explain why: if she said that no... Anne was simply going through puberty and not in the best of circumstances (no close girl friends, fear, living in an attic etc) and she simply wrote what she felt... she could be seen as “anti-gay”. If she said yes... (and that would be inaccurate).. it wouldn’t be factual and it would be wrong and promoting an agenda. Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? I wrote out on #40 the paragraph that had her entire class wondering. IMHO, the teacher did an injustice simply by not telling them this was simple curiosity. To be fair to my daughter and her class... they are at the age where people are “liking” other people and their bodies are changing. With so much in the media, on t.v., movies, etc... about homosexuality... it is fair to say that they questioned these passages based on today’s society pressure. Their question was really innocent in a way... leaving it unanswered did way more damage than good. IMHO.

[Tired of Taxes]

It does sound like political correctness. Maybe the teacher feared punishment if she answered “no,” or maybe she felt uncomfortable engaging the students in that discussion and ignored the question so that she wouldn’t have to deal with it.

It’s a shame those entries weren’t either destroyed or better-protected as the private thoughts of an innocent young girl.

[mbj]

I too am offended by degenerate language: thank you for having the moral courage to write your response, Ansel12.

With such a rich language of hundreds of thousands of words available to us all, there are far more effective and evocative ways to convey one’s thoughts than crude cursing...if only people would take some time to think, broaden their knowledge and clean up their vocabulary!

I’d rather be uplifted, encouraged and challenged with precious and thoughtfully worded ideas than re-read the same stinking foulness over and over.

Which is one reason that the version of Anne Frank’s biography should be the one her father chose to share with the world rather than the personal diary that she never intended for the public: our children in school shouldn’t be compelled to publicly (in class, that is) review material that would tend to make them feel awkward and embarrassed. There are more wholesome and profitable ways for students to spend their time.