Dictionaries Banned in Southern Californian Schools
135 replies, posted
[quote=The Guardian]Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for "oral sex".
Merriam Webster's 10th edition, which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the "sexually graphic" entry is "just not age appropriate", according to the area's local paper.
The dictionary's online definition of the term is "oral stimulation of the genitals". "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the paper.
While some parents have praised the move – "[it's] a prestigious dictionary that's used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern," said Randy Freeman – others have raised concerns. "It is not such a bad thing for a kid to have the wherewithal to go and look up a word he may have even heard on the playground," father Jason Rogers told local press. "You have to draw the line somewhere. What are they going to do next, pull encyclopaedias because they list parts of the human anatomy like the penis and vagina?"
A panel is now reviewing whether the Menifee ban will be made permanent. The Merriam Webster dictionary joins an illustrious set of books that have been banned or challenged in the US, including Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, which last year was suspended from and then reinstated to the curriculum at a Michigan school after complaints from parents about its coverage of graphic sex and violence, and titles by Khaled Hosseini and Philip Pullman, included in the American Library Association's list of books that inspired most complaints last year.[/quote]
*[i]Dick[/i]tionary joke here*
Whoops, forgot source.
[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/25/oral-sex-dictionary-ban-us-schools[/url]
god forbid a child learns something in a learning institution
also, source?
Oh no my ten year old knows that oral sex means the oral stimulation of genitals what will I do!?
Oh my god. This is the most retarded thing I've heard in ages.
I'm actually getting upset over this. :argh:
I remember being 9 and looking up vagina.
I heard about this.
I don't get it.
People are really so stupid.
One wonders what kind of flawed logic they're using... "IF MY CHILD FINDS OUT WHAT ORAL SEX MEANS THEN HE WILL SUCK THE COCK OF ANOTHER BOY AND SHAME MY FAMILY NAME AND THEN AIDS AND DIE."
I mean for fuck's sake the kids won't even know what those words mean.
And this is why i hate liberals/religious nuts crying and whining.
The kids WANT to learn about it.
OR they'll just laugh and say 'eww gross'
[editline]12:30AM[/editline]
Fucking :ninja:s.
What. I live here and have heard nothing of this. Oh well, time to sell my pocket dictionary for $60.
They're only banning one brand of dictionaries. Can you people read the first few sentences?
[QUOTE=TehGman;19850443]And this is why i hate liberals/religious nuts crying and whining.
The kids WANT to learn about it.[/QUOTE]
...Liberals? Are you one of those far right Americans that think communism and fascism are the same thing?
Looking up naughty words was half the fun about Elementary.
Dear Southern California,
Thanks for giving us another great reason you should [i]all fall into the ocean and die[/i].
Regards,
Publius
[QUOTE=Kyle902;19850516]They're only banning one brand of dictionaries. Can you people read the first few sentences?[/QUOTE]
Dictionaries have the same words in them. Can you use your brain for a few seconds?
[QUOTE=deathgod;19850548]...Liberals? Are you one of those far right Americans that think communism and fascism are the same thing?[/QUOTE]
I might be on the right but but dont support them on certain issues but when Liberals walk into a picture they are like this "HJMSSDKLSK>F OMFG MY KID R LERNED BOUT DEM SEX"
I remember a friend and I looked up "sex" in first grade. We just thought it was funny, I thought that sexes was even funnier because it was plural. I didn't realize that it had to with gender not some screwed up orgy.
[QUOTE=Publius;19850610]Dear Southern California,
Thanks for giving us another great reason you should [i]all fall into the ocean and die[/i].
Regards,
Publius[/QUOTE]
Dear Publius,
If every state or country that had faults fell into the ocean, we would all be dead.
Regards,
zeldar
Love my state.
God, these people are retarded. My 6th grade year, kids would always look up naughty things like ass or vagina or boob or vaginaboob (family guy reference). We all laughed, and the librarian didn't give a shit. Of course, I do live in Ohio, not california that will fall into the ocean
[QUOTE=zeldar;19850695]Dear Publius,
If every state or country that had faults fell into the ocean, we would all be dead.
Regards,
zeldar[/QUOTE]
Dear zeldar,
Sounds good to me.
Regards,
Publius
Oh man even the first paragraph made me rage, why do people have to be so over the top and stupidly retarded! seriously you can't keep up the "cotton wool kids" era ffs parents are too overprotective as it is, the 10 year old will probably giggle because they aren't mature enough and life carries on, no damage done even if they do remember it what's the goddam problem WOOHOO they learned a naughty word! they're going to be physically and emotionally scarred even though most kids hear they're parents shout and swear on a regular basis! :argh:
Why doesn't the school just white out the inappropriate parts instead of just removing all the books?
[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;19850814]Why doesn't the school just white out the inappropriate parts instead of just removing all the books?[/QUOTE]
because that would take effort
[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;19850814]Why doesn't the school just white out the inappropriate parts instead of just removing all the books?[/QUOTE]
why should they have to even do that? its something every kid is going to hear/see in some form or another regardless of reading a dictionary........
What does it take for a teacher to just say to a kid, "You'll learn when you're older."?
Seems to me that overreacting like this would cause them to learn about what it really means sooner.
When I was a child I would always look up "Sex" in the dictionary.
"Sex" - Noun
- The fact of being male or female
----Animals of the male sex produce sperm to fertilize the eggs made by females
- prefix that means six
----A Sextet is a group of six singers
[QUOTE=Source;19850848]why should they have to even do that? its something every kid is going to hear/see in some form or another regardless of reading a dictionary........[/QUOTE]
I mean, I can see why people might complain, but there's no reason to remove ALL the dictionaries, besides I'm sure there's some "child friendly" dictionary somewhere.
[QUOTE=TehGman;19850667]I might be on the right but but dont support them on certain issues but when Liberals walk into a picture they are like this "HJMSSDKLSK>F OMFG MY KID R LERNED BOUT DEM SEX"[/QUOTE]
But what if the mother who complained wasn't a liberal? She could have right-wing views, you don't know... I mean, I agree that certain liberals are just plain stupid, but it doesn't actually say whether that woman was liberal or not and, well, it's bad to just make groundless assumptions.
Correct me if I'm wrong and I'll rate myself bad reading.
tem wurdz r 2 smrt 4 tem i ges
In other words, why (or better yet, how) the hell do you ban dictionaries?
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