7/27/2019 KRRP Letter to Alamogordo Public Schools re: Neil Gaiman's 'Neverwhere'

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A project of the National Coalition Against Censorsh

CO-SPONSORED

American Booksellers Foundation for Free Express

Association of American Publish

Comic Book Legal Defense Fu

19 Fulton Street, Suite 407, New York, NY 10038 212-807-6222 www.ncac.org/Kids-Right-to-Read twitter @KidsRight2Read facebook  /ncaco

Kids’Right toReadProject

NCAC

October 16, 2013

Dr. George Straface, Superintendent

Alamogordo Public Schools 1211 Hawaii Ave

Alamogordo, NM 88310

Dear Dr. Straface,

We are writing concerning a recent challenge to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (Avon) in English classrooms in the Al-

amogordo Public School District. We understand a parent of a student objects to language and a sexual situation in the

 book and that a committee is currently meeting to review the use of the book. We urge you to support the professional

 judgment of teachers and freedom to read of students and retain use of this book.

 Neil Gaiman is one of the best-known contemporary fantasy writers across media, and his works have garnered both

critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Bram Stoker award, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals.

 Neverwhere has been taught in the district for nearly ten years, to hundreds of students and with great success. While ed-

ucators across the country teach Neverwhere because of its educational value and literary merit, the book is also a popular 

and proven tool for engaging reluctant readers. In its review, Library Journal recommended the book highly, stating that

“Gaiman’s gift for mixing the absurd with the frightful give this novel the feeling of a bedtime story with adult sophistica-

tion. Readers will nd themselves as unable to escape this tale as the characters themselves.”

The language and situations in this work, as in any text under study, must be seen in the context of the entire work. The

ethical and literary value of a work is distorted if one focuses only on particular words, passages, or segments. An author’s

 broad moral vision, total treatment of theme, and commitment to realistic portrayal of characters and dialogue are ignored

when protesters focus only on aspects that are offensive to them. While there may be shock value in isolating words and

listing selected passages from a book, this does not reveal anything about the fundamental message or theme in a work or 

 provide insight into its educational and literary qualities, which must be the focus of school ofcials responding to such

challenges.

Alamogordo district policy regarding “Complaints and Challenges to Teaching Methods and Materials” plainly states

that, in the event of an objection to instructional materials: “an attempt will be made to resolve the challenge or complaint

informally” at the campus level and with school personnel. It is our understanding that no initial attempt at resolution was

made. Rather, the parent in question went directly to the district’s administration and the local media. When the complaintwas nally made known to the teacher in question, she willingly offered the student an alternate assignment. Despite this

fact and though the reevaluation of the book is still on-going, teachers were directed to stop teaching Neverwhere, mid-les

son, and to remove the book from classrooms.

While parents are free to request an alternative assignment for their children, they have no right to impose their views on

others or to demand that otherwise educationally worthy materials be removed, merely because they consider them ob-

 jectionable, offensive, or inappropriate. To go further and remove the book potentially violates the constitutional rights of 

other students and parents. What’s more, the practical effect of acceding to any parent’s request to censor materials will be

to invite more challenges, and to leave school ofcials vulnerable to multiple, possibly conicting demands.

7/27/2019 KRRP Letter to Alamogordo Public Schools re: Neil Gaiman's 'Neverwhere'

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/krrp-letter-to-alamogordo-public-schools-re-neil-gaimans-neverwhere 2/2

Curricular choices are uniquely within the discretion of local school authorities so long as they are based on legitimate

educational grounds.  Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, Inc. 68 F.3d 525, 534 (1st Cir. 1995), cert. denied , 516

U.S. 1159 (1996) . Thus, courts have held that a parent has no right “to tell a public school what his or her child will and

will not be taught,” Leebaert v. Harrington, 332 F.3d 134, 141 (2d Cir. 2003), or “to direct how a public school teach-

es their child.” Blau v. Fort Thomas Public School District , et al, 401 F.3d 381, 395 (6th Cir. 2005). See also Parker v.

 Hurley, 514 F. 3d 87, 102 (1st Cir., 2008). Any other rule would put schools in the untenable position of having “to cater 

a curriculum for each student whose parents had genuine moral disagreements with the school’s choice of subject matter.”

 Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, Inc., 68 F.3d 525, 534 (1st Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1159 (1996). See

also Swanson v. Guthrie Indep. School Dist., 135 F.3d 694, 699 (10th Cir. 1998); Littlefeld v. Forney Indep. School , 268

F.3d 275, 291 (5th Cir. 2001)

We strongly urge you to keep Neverwhere in Alamogordo High School classrooms. While one may sympathize with the

 parents’ concerns, the school has a duty to base its decisions on sound educational grounds and constitutional consider-

ations. The students deserve no less.

If we can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Cc: Alamogordo Board of Education Members

Joan BertinExecutive DirectorNational Coalition Against Censorship

Chris FinanPresidentAmerican Booksellers Foundation or Free Expression

Barbara JonesDirector, Ofce or Intellectual FreedomAmerican Library Association

 

Charles BrownsteinExecutive DirectorComic Book Legal Deense Fund

Judy PlattDirector, Free Expression Advocacy Association o American Publishers