Mayor Craig Schubert of Hudson, Ohio is a man on a mission, and right now that consists of getting rid of one high school textbook in particular. He sat in front of a microphone and issued a brief but point directive to the members of Hudson’s board of education earlier this week.
“It has come to my attention that your educators are distributing essentially what is child pornography in the classroom,” Shubert said during Monday night’s meeting. “I’ve spoken to a judge this evening. She’s already confirmed that. So I’m going to give you a simple choice: Either you choose to resign from this board of education, or you will be charged. Thank you.”
Even though the mayor truly made a jaw-dropping ultimatum to the board members affiliated with Hudson City Schools, it drew a tremendous amount of applause and cheers from most of the individuals gathered in the room.
The Background
The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that numerous parents complained about the writing prompts in the “642 Things to Write About” book that has been a part of a college-credit course entitled Writing in the Liberal Arts II at Hudson High School.
More from the paper:
Parents said there was a prompt that asked students to “write a sex scene you wouldn’t show your mom,” and another which said “rewrite the sex scene from above into one that you’d let your mom read.”
Another prompt asked students to drink a beer and describe how it tastes. Parents said they felt these writing prompts and others were not appropriate for high school students.
Shubert is calling for all five members of the school board to resign by the end of September, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
However, the paper did add that they thought it was unclear whether board members can be held criminally liable for classroom textbooks and other material.
“We’ve never heard of criminal charges [filed against a school board] for curriculum,” Ohio School Boards Association Ralph Lusher told the Beacon Journal.
Lusher also told the paper that he presently wasn’t able to determine if the material is “crossing a line or not” because he hasn’t yet seen it.
However, there were some individuals who have already viewed the material, and they were completely outraged by it. One person was so infuriated that they asked for video cameras to be placed in the classroom so that parents could monitor the material being taught to their children. The Beacon Journal also reported that another speaker thought these writing prompts were “disgusting” and amounted to “grooming.”
What Did the School District Say About This?
Superintendent Phil Herman said in his statement that the “inappropriate and offensive writing prompts” were just one part of a supplemental resource used in the high school senior-level College Credit Plus writing sections, the paper reported.
“The district immediately determined this writing resource should not be in the hands of our students, and on Monday, collected the books from the students enrolled in the course,” Herman added, according to the Beacon Journal. “It is important to note that at no time were any of these inappropriate writing prompts assigned as part of the class.”
Here is an extra report from the paper:
High school principal Brian Wilch said the class is offered in association with Hiram College but is taught at the high school. He also said the “642 Things” book has been used in the past.
Wilch told the board Monday that he and his administrative team apologized to the students’ parents. The school is searching for replacement material that is suitable for high school students, he said.
“We did not exercise due diligence when we reviewed this resource and as a result, we overlooked several writing prompts among the 642 that are not appropriate for our high school audience,” Wilch added, according to the Beacon Journal. “… We feel terrible. At no time were any of these inappropriate prompts selected or discussed, but still they were there and they were viewable, and you can’t unsee them.”
Herman also reported to the paper that an independent investigation is under way “to determine how these supplemental materials were reviewed and approved, and if any additional action should be taken.”
“It is clear that as a district we did not properly review this resource, and for that, we sincerely apologize,” the superintendent also said, according to the Beacon Journal. “We take great pride in the instructional experience of our students and take very seriously anything that negatively impacts our mission to provide an educational program that provides for the development of each child in a safe, nurturing environment. Again, we are reviewing our approval processes to make sure that nothing similar happens in the future.”