School Bans the Dictionary

[aduidarnenye]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/ar...the-dictionary

A Southern California school board has pulled the Merriam-Webster dictionary off its shelves after a parent complained about the entry “oral sex.”

The collegiate-level dictionary was being used in grade four and five classrooms. The school now promises to begin a thorough scouring of the dictionary for other offensive entries.

“It’s hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we’ll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature,” Menifee Union School District spokesperson Betti Cadmus told the local The Press-Enterprise newspaper.

Merriam-Webster defines oral sex as “oral stimulation of the genitals.”

The dictionaries were originally intended for use by children working at advanced reading levels. Now the California town, pop. 70,000, looks like the staging ground for a First Amendment battle.

“If a public school were to remove every book because it contains one word deemed objectionable to some parent, then there would be no books at all in our public libraries,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, told The Press-Enterprise. “I think common sense seems to be lacking in this school.”

A spokesperson for Merriam-Webster pointed out that they also publish dictionaries for elementary- and intermediate-level readers, dictionaries that don’t include sexually explicit explanations.

“We are a bit surprised to hear about the controversy,” Merriam-Webster spokesperson Meghan Lieberwirth told thestar.com Tuesday. “The job of the dictionary is to reflect language. Unfortunately, some of those words are going to be the sort you don’t want grade-school kids using ... We don’t recommend the use of our college-level dictionary at the grade-school level.”

Nonetheless, the decision has divided parents. While some supported the idea of an “age appropriate” reference book, others saw the decision in terms of free speech.

“Censorship in the schools, really?” Emanuel Chavez, the parent of second- and sixth-grade students, said to the Press Enterprise. “Pretty soon the only dictionary in the school library will be the Bert and Ernie dictionary.”

[Abandon]

rofl

[ZarakiKujata]

whats even worse is it has the word Dick in the title.

“Censorship in the schools, really?” Emanuel Chavez, the parent of second- and sixth-grade students, said to the Press Enterprise. “Pretty soon the only dictionary in the school library will be the Bert and Ernie dictionary.”

Clearly that parent is clueless since Bert and Ernie are avowed homosexuals and a corrupting influence on our youth. Also, Bert is a member of Al Qaeda so thats pretty bad too

[aduidarnenye]

Clearly that parent is clueless since Bert and Ernie are avowed homosexuals and a corrupting influence on our youth. Also, Bert is a member of Al Qaeda so thats pretty bad too

Yeah, that was exactly my first thought as well!

[Ramor]

are you fucking serious, c'mon people can't someone just step in and say "no, you're wrong and that's a dumb fucking idea and we don't care that one parent has a giant stick in their sandy mangina"

god damn people.

[Murdock]

"after a parent complained"

Sounds like the parent needs to grow up, and get with the times. I knew what oral sex was before i was in grade 4/5, and that was 15+ years ago. Kids these days are already well aware of things like this from TV, video games, socializing at school, and the internet. If they are not, they are sure living a sheltered life.

[ZarakiKujata]

are you fucking serious, c'mon people can't someone just step in and say "no, you're wrong and that's a dumb fucking idea and we don't care that one parent has a giant stick in their sandy mangina"

god damn people.

If any school administrator did that the district would get sued and they would lose their job.

"after a parent complained"
If they are not, they are sure living a sheltered life.

I think the type of parent that would complain would probably heavily shelter their kids as well.

[Yuri-G]

Come on, looking through the dictionary for dirty entries is a time-honored tradition among kids. I definitely did it when I was a kid, and it was awesome, like you were getting away with something but not really doing anything wrong.

[Julian]

Come on, looking through the dictionary for dirty entries is a time-honored tradition among kids. I definitely did it when I was a kid, and it was awesome, like you were getting away with something but not really doing anything wrong.

This. Good times.

[Jodwahh]

God dammit not this shit again, we're not fucking gay!

[Kaelan?]

Samuel Johnson wrote one of the first Dictionaries of the English Language. Soon after, there was a party and gathering of various noblemen to celebrate this achievement, during which he was approached by a group of 'Respectable Ladies':

"Delightful work, Mr. Johnson!"
"We're congratulate you on not having included any indecent words."

"Ladies", said Johnson, "I congratulate you on your ability to thoroughly look them up."

Insert comment on the nature of censorship here, etc.

[Ramor]

If any school administrator did that the district would get sued and they would lose their job.


I think the type of parent that would complain would probably heavily shelter their kids as well.

that's my point, you shouldn't be allowed to get sued by one goddamn person for that reason, it's insane, all these lawsuits about frivolous shit are ruining our society, i don't care what you want to teach your kids at home but you shouldn't be able to control what's being taught to other kids

[Headspace]

Why is that kid even looking up oral sex in the dictionary in the first place?

Shouldn't they be at home watching 16 and pregnant or Teen Mom?

[zoobernut]

This whole thing is actually over. They did an interview with a representative of that school board this morning. She said they were following protocol, anytime any parent challenges material they pull it temporarily from the classrooms automatically and then review the material.

They reviewed the dictionary and they are now being returned to the classrooms.

[Fhloston]

read this article out loud to my fiance, turned to her and said "and you wonder why I want to leave this country..." lol

oh, and lolcalifornia.

EDIT: inb4 loltexas comeback.

[Baha]

Come on, looking through the dictionary for dirty entries is a time-honored tradition among kids. I definitely did it when I was a kid, and it was awesome, like you were getting away with something but not really doing anything wrong.

Oh yes. Teachers didn't even go "what's all that giggling about?" when they'd handed out the dictionaries. They knew what was up too!

[dejet]

As that was fast. Happy to see they are back, now all the kids will all look up the word, good job mom you did a justice. Every kid in the school now knows the meaning and will find more dirty words!

[Fhloston]

As that was fast. Happy to see they are back, now all the kids will all look up the word, good job mom you did a justice. Every kid in the school now knows the meaning and will find more dirty words!

right? love how great justice like that happens on its own.

[zoobernut]

Yeah it doesn't make any sense. However I think that any parents that are worried about their kids looking up dirty words can opt out and the teachers will not let their kids use a dictionary. Ah the ignorant passing their traditions on to their kids.

I think the funniest part of the whole interview this morning was when the school board representative said she googled "oral sex" to "check out what the kids might potentially see".

It made me laugh.

[Jodwahh]

Yeah it doesn't make any sense. However I think that any parents that are worried about their kids looking up dirty words can opt out and the teachers will not let their kids use a dictionary. Ah the ignorant passing their traditions on to their kids.

I think the funniest part of the whole interview this morning was when the school board representative said she googled "oral sex" to "check out what the kids might potentially see".

It made me laugh.

Those search results must have been fun lol.