Round Rock ISD Superintendent says ttyl to controversial book, "ttyl"

(UPDATE: Due to a handful of threatening comments I have received (seriously, this is so unbelievable), I am forced (again) to close all comments related to "ttyl". According to my tracking software, the disturbing comments are from readers who have been routed to this blog from the author's blog. I have no idea what the author has said and will not dignify the situation by visiting the blog, but I have been warned by several of her readers that my site will be "hacked" in the next 24 hours. I find it ironic, as well as disturbing, that those who are crying "censorship" seek to "censor" or even "attack" positions that run contrary to their own. Hmmm.... What is particularly confusing to me is that I don't even have the power to remove the book, nor do I have any influence over the Superintendent who ultimately made the decision to do so. Perhaps, they should take the issue up with RRISD school officials.)

Breaking news from Keyetv.com regarding the controversial book, "ttyl" that was made available in middle school libraries in Round Rock, Texas:

The Round Rock ISD Superintendent, Jesus H. Chavez, has decided to pull a controversial book from the Round Rock middle school libraries.

Back in September, more than 150 Round Rock parents signed a petition asking for a “Mature Readers Only” label to be put on “T.T.Y.L.” by Lauren Myracle.

As CBS 42 News reported at that time, the book has curse words, stories about drinking and seducing a teacher.

“T.T.Y.L.” has been on library shelves for several years. However said in a letter he released today to two of the parents that considering age, maturity levels and social development, he believes the book is not educationally suitable for middle school libraries.

I would like to commend the parents that initiated this battle (Wes and Sherry Jennings) and in doing so, exposed themselves to criticism from those in the community and elsewhere (including the author of the book who poked fun of them on her own blog). Based on the fact that I did one blog post on the controversy and received some of the most vitriolic comments to date on this blog, many of which falsely accused me of being a "book banner" (amongst a few other things), I can only imagine the persecution these brave parents have faced. The easiest path would have been to do nothing and say nothing. Bravo to these parents for speaking up and doing something. I have never had the pleasure of meeting the Jennings, but I can tell you that they are my kind of folk.

Here is an excerpt of the statement made by the RRISD Superintendent that was sent by email this morning to Sherry Jennings:

“In my capacity as the legally designated educational leader o f the District, I will instruct that the book in question be removed from the District middle school libraries. My determination is that considering the age, maturity levels and emotional and social development of our middle school students, especially the younger students in the middle schools, the book is not educationally suitable for inclusion in middle school libraries. While the book may be appropriate for some students, it is not appropriate for all of our students in middle school and should not be made generally available in a middle school library open to all middle school students. If parents wish their individual student to have access to the book, there are ample alternatives for the book to be made available to students at parent discretion.”

As I've said before, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

One thing worthy of mentioning is that the local news station I was watching mentioned that they had spoken by telephone with the author of the book and that she had said something to the effect of being caught off guard when the book gained popularity with middle school girls and in hindsight, now wishes she had toned down some of the excerpts that are in question. I'm not sure if that is an accurate representation of her comments, but if it is, I appreciate her willingness to admit that. As an author, I can attest to the fact that it is often out of our control when a book is picked up by a younger audience than the intended target audience. We need to have a better system of checks and balances in the future before it reaches a point where a school district Superintendent has to step in and make the decision.