This was just the wrong day to ask me if 7th graders should be reading graphic books about war. Are any other Portsmouth parents as sick of this as I am?

From: John McDaid
Subject: Re: Home Reading Choice
Date: December 17, 2012 12:27:00 PM EST
To: Tanin Tickner
Cc: Alexandra Phelan, Joseph Amaral, David D. Croston, Lynn Krizic

Hi, Ms. Tickner, Ms. Phelan…
I think it's time to have a larger conversation about the content, not just of these books, but of all the texts our middle schoolers have been reading.

I'm tired of the level of violence in readings like Wringer, Hatchet, and Spirit Bear. What is the point of all this grisly fiction?

I'll be drafting a request to discuss this at a future school committee meeting

Best Regards.
-John
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John G. McDaid
harddeadlines.com
twitter: @jmcdaid

On Dec 17, 2012, at 12:14 PM, Tanin Tickner wrote:

Good Afternoon,

This e-mail is to inform you that for a home reading choice, your child chose one of the texts listed below. Please read the description of these texts and ask your child which one he/she is reading. If you do not approve of the content of this text, please let me know and I will have your child read a different book.

Thank you so much for all that you do for your child,
Ms. Tickner and Mrs. Phelan

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom
Tuesdays with Morrie is a biographical novel by Mitch Albom. It tells the true story of sociologist Morrie Schwartz and his relationship with his student, Mitch Albom. The book chronicles the lessons about life that Mitch learns from his professor, who is dying.
** There is some strong language (very few instances).
** The content (Morrie’s struggle with his disease) is graphic at times.

A LONG WAY GONE by Ishmael Beah
A Long Way Gone is a memoir about a young boy’s struggle to survive in war-torn Sierra Leone. When rebels attack his village, the scared twelve-year-old Ishmael flees for his life. Eventually, he is captured by the government army and he becomes a part of the war’s death and destruction.
**This memoir contains some vivid descriptions of violent acts.

THE DEEP by Claire Nouvian
This book is contains beautiful pictures and detailed descriptions of creatures that live in the deepest part of the world’s oceans.
**Written for adults, contains very challenging vocabulary

THEY POURED FIRE ON US FROM THE SKY by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng and Benjamin Ajak
Across Sudan, tens of thousands of young boys took flight from the massacres of Sudan’s civil war. They became known as the Lost Boys. This memoir describes the struggles of a group of Lost Boys as they attempt to survive civil war.
**This memoir contains some vivid descriptions of violent acts.