Great Amercian Literature? Hardly!

May I revisit the "culture wars" discussion today?

One of the 3 books on my son's summer reading list for American Lit. is The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Controversy had surrounded this book for decades. It is less so now, but this is one parent who is still concerned, and I share it with you because I'd like you to be troubled along with me for a moment--especially if you have children in public school.

In this book the Lord's name is used profanely about 300 times, there are multiple uses of the "F" word, along with references to casual sexuality and drunkenness. The 16-year-old main character (Salinger himself, really) has become the icon for teen-age rebellion and defiance.

When I asked for an alternate reading to The Catcher in the Rye I received this reply:

Hello Mr. Cardillo:

I understand your concern with the profanity. We have had extensive articulation regarding what each grade level needs to be exposed to regarding literature.

After much discussion with all of the high school teachers, as well as the Curriculum Supervisor, we decided The Catcher in the Rye was an essential element to the study of American Literature. If you would like, I could research an edited version for Matthew to use during the study of this novel.

What makes this "an essential element" to the study of American Lit? I guess if a couple of liberal magazines like Time and The New Yorker rave about your book and publicize it for you, and a curious public in the early 1950's begins to buy it, and it winds up on the New York Times best seller list--well, you are a great American novelist... and high school students are doomed to read your second rate work for at least the next 50 years.

I have thought about taking this book into a Board of Education meeting. I could read a few choice selections. I'm quite certain the board members would be squirming in their seats at the end of my 3 minute time allotment. But it's OK to ask our children to read it quietly in the privacy of our homes.

I don't think the educators are saying: "Here kids, read and understand--it's good to rebel; we encourage you to be defiant; it's OK to use profanity; it's fun to experiment with casual sex." And yet the reading itself is an affront to the innocence of youth, and that is worrisome. When I was in high school a parental permission slip was required to read this very same book... apparently it's not needed now, and it seems they may actually be unwilling to excuse our son from reading it!

One wonders what truly great pieces of America Lit are being left off the reading list to make room for The Catcher in the Rye. The book still sells 250,000 copies a year! Who, I wonder is doing all this buying and keeping the book alive? Well, Pineland's Regional High School is doing its part to keep the circulation up.

In his last sermon, Steve Cassarino referred to Satan as "a master strategist and corrupter of the human race..." Satan's strategies are flourishing in the public school, but then, as someone reminded me when I last whined about this, what was I expecting!

Educating Children

Few parental responsibilities carry more impact potential than their children’s education. The Bible is clear that parents in general, and fathers in particular, are to have the primary teaching role in their children’s lives. You don’t have to teach your kids math or science or physics, but you do have to instill in your children the over-all Christian theology that governs all these subjects (and theology does indeed govern all these subjects). Also you and I do have an inescapable responsibility to guard our sons and daughters from error-filled education that counters a Christian world-view.

The Law of God, recorded in Scripture, which is what we are to teach our kids, has something to say about all manner of topics. Proverbs also presents an astonishingly broad teaching curriculum for parents. This means that parents are called to lead the way in teaching their kids about a vast array of topics for all of life. Along the way they certainly may delegate some teaching roles to people they trust, but it remains the parents’ duty to guard their children vigilantly from the effects of less trustworthy teachers. Being aware of the radically anti-God philosophies (atheism, evolutionism, materialism, hedonism, feminism, egalitarianism, relativism, etc.) that saturate most public education contexts, parents who choose that option will have to commit to a consistent and thorough deprogramming of their children when they arrive home from school. This can be done, but the work is hard and long and arduous.

The education decision tilts on which of three options (home schooling, private schooling or public schooling) best meets the needs and fits the circumstances of each family. It should be obvious that the further one is removed from home schooling, the harder it becomes to fulfill at least the protecting and world-view instilling responsibilities I’ve mentioned, since an increasing amount of the teaching is delegated to others who may or may not share your Christian world view and values. Fathers, whatever option you choose, you remain responsible to oversee, review, monitor, influence, and have primary control over everything your children are taught. This is what family shepherds (parents in general and dads in particular) do for the sheep in their fold.

Friends, these are matters for which much counsel is needed. Do not make these decisions apart from the input of your wife and your pastors. Seek out the wisdom of those who have considered all the options carefully and have gone before you in the decisions you have to make. The stakes are high here; don’t gamble with your children’s future, or their souls.

Of Teachers and Millstones

During the final week of school the librarian at my daughter's elementary school figured she'd offer the 4th grade classes a treat and give them a scary story. She chose a movie about the Jersey Devil. That night, our sweet 10 year old Susanna cried herself to sleep.

In the opening scene of the movie (before Susie asked to be dismissed to another section of the library), Mother Leeds is in the process of birthing her 13th child, which she had promised to the Devil. In the grip of despair and intense pain, as she is pushing this unfortunate creature from her womb, she curses the little devil. "Curse you! CURSE YOU!" she screams at the baby. The librarian also informed the 4th grade students that, as legend has it, the Jersey Devil once entered a home somewhere in south Jersey, and murdered an infant in her bed.

I called the school speaking first to the principal, and then to the librarian. When I questioned her judgment, she informed me, among other things, that she did not believe in censorship. Could she have given a more stupid reply? She works with elementary school kids! She then took my concerned phone call as an opportunity to lecture a backward parent. I was the only parent out of 800 (she informed me) to raise an objection to the film. When the principal had asked to see the movie (for I had previously spoken to him) she readily informed him that unfortunately she could not give him the movie since a parent had come to her asking to borrow it in order to show it to her children at home.

So, you see... I am the one with the problem. And, something is wrong with our Susanna for being so disturbed at the sight of a woman cursing her child during delivery. My wife and I have tried to portray pregnancy and childbirth as a beautiful thing... a gift from God. After this conversation with the librarian it seems we should take Susie to a psychiatrist to find out why she would cry herself to sleep after viewing the birth of the Jersey Devil.

The librarian did tell me that she had intended to shelve the movie until after the principal could review it. But, lo, on the following day there was an outcry from the 3rd graders... "YOU SHOWED IT TO THE OTHERS... WE WANT TO SEE IT." Of course, she would not deprive them of a good scary tale, and so the 3rd graders also watched it. And, I suppose, since this woman does not believe in censorship, the Chuckie series, or something X-rated will be next? Especially if the kids scream loudly enough for it?

It's not a good thing when jaded adults forget that there is an innocency about childhood that ought to be protected and left in tact for as long as possible. Public schools have their share of jaded individuals, and the devil delights in using them to do harm to these little ones. Some of these educators might do themselves a favor by trading in their teaching certificates for a millstone to wear around their neck...