Kamloops parent wants this 'pornographic' reading assignment banned | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kamloops parent wants this 'pornographic' reading assignment banned

A Kamloops father wants to ban the book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" from schools.
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SEX, DRUG USE AND CURSE WORDS

KAMLOOPS - The father of a Grade 10 student at South Kamloops Secondary wants a book banned from the school reading list as he considers its content inappropriate, including 'pornography.'

Dean Audet expressed his concerns to School District 73, saying "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" contents are 'pornographic' and should be taken off of the reading list. Audet says he learned of the book through a discussion with his son about his latest reading assignment.

Audet says his son "wasn't thrilled" with the book. Audet read the book himself and determined it's not suitable for high school English students.

"I was so neck-deep in pornography that I couldn't think of anything else," said Audet in a phone interview. "We live in a day and age when there's so many choices on literature. This is not one of them."

Audet voiced his concerns to school administrators, then to the district's Board of Education. He read the book two more times and prepared a document outlining specific page numbers on inappropriate content—sex, drug use, intoxication, and several expletives.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky is a fictional narrative of a young boy, Charlie, in his freshman year of high school. Charlie struggles as an introvert as he attempts to fit into his high school community. Some topics within the book range from depression, suicide, sex, and sexual abuse.

"I'm a hockey coach," Audet says. "If I were to use pornography as a teaching tool, I would be hung from the rafters."

Superintendent Dr. Terry Sullivan says teaching resources, including books, are reviewed and approved by the Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium, a province-wide organization. The consortium supplies school districts with a list of approved resources.

"If a parent disagrees with a book, then a student can choose another book," Sullivan says.

The process for banning a resource requires an application to the consortium, which instigates a second review which determines if it should be removed from the list. Parents can appeal if they disagree with the decision.

Audet has made a formal application to to ban the book.

To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— What do you think? Have you read the book?

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