N.J. High School Pulls Books With Gay Sex Scenes
A New Jersey high school recently pulled two books from a required summer reading list after receiving complaints that the content included homosexual sex scenes.
Chuck Earling, superintendent of Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown, N.J., admitted they missed the inappropriate content when scanning the books.
"We were not trying to create controversy," he said, according to Fox News. "We were just trying to get students to read."
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Monroe Township Public Schools had revised their summer reading program for 2011 to reflect the requirement that all incoming 9th through 12th grade students read from their assigned academic/grade level, the school website states.
The goal of the summer reading program "is to instill a love for reading, while giving students an opportunity to make learning a year-long endeavor."
"We believe that even the most reluctant readers respond when they find a book that engages them."
Parents were shocked, however, to find a lesbian sex scene between a young teen and older woman and a drug-fueled, homosexual orgy in Norwegian Wood and Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines, according to Gloucester County Times.
Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council, commented to Fox News Radio, "Here we see the intersection of parental values being offended, the hyper-sexualization of our youth and the homosexual agenda being pushed.
"This just illustrates why a lot of American parents are not willing to entrust their children to the public schools anymore.”
Norwegian Wood, written by Haruki Murakami, was listed in the 10th grade honors English list. Tweak, which details the author's, Nic Sheff's, addiction to drugs and later recovery, was listed in the 12th grade honors list.
The reading list was compiled by a committee of teachers, librarians and school administrators. According to Earling, they did not feel the books were inappropriate "based on the language that's used, common language used on the street," as reported by Fox News.
Nevertheless, the school is addressing parents' concerns and plans to work on a new summer reading list, Earling said.
