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in support of free expression
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LAST UPDATED APRIL 2005
©Copyright 2005 NCAC
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Jeanne Criscola Criscola Design
NCAC Censorship News Issue #65:
OF MICE AND MEN "Inappropriate" in Illinois
Another attempt to keep students from reading books selected by their teacher has happened in Peru, Illinois where eighth-grade teacher, Dan Brooks, has been told to stop teaching Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. After 13 years of using the book, Brooks was told it was "inappropriate" following three anonymous complaints to the principal.
A perennial favorite of the censors, Steinbeck wrote compassionately about the lives of migrant workers. Peru School Superintendent John Jacobson described Of Mice and Men as a "quality piece of literature" while permitting its restriction.
NCAC wrote the Superintendent and School Board members:
"It is appalling that some educators would restrict a book because unnamed critics would find offensive elements in the work of one of America's most important authors writing about the humanity of itinerant laborers. The reaction of the Peru administration to such complaints does a deep disservice to the students in your schools. The losers are your students who depend upon teachers (who are in the best position to choose) to decide which books will encourage their intellectual growth and their love of reading at a particular stage of learning."
NCAC also pointed out that the absence of clear policies for selection of materials and for responding to challenges leaves teachers, students and administrators vulnerable to whimsical censorship assaults. NCAC offered to assist in developing policies.