A recent banned book in an Oregon school district

A parent in the Beaverton School District recently challenged the book “Stick” by Andrew Smith as being inappropriate for the district’s students. Stick chronicles the turbulent life of a 13-year-old boy and explores themes of bullying, homosexuality and physical abuse. Following guidelines, a committee was formed,  which included the concerned parent and several school administrators, among other professionals, to discuss the matter, and eventually came to the decision not to remove the book from the shelves. However, the district’s deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning decided on his own to pull the book from middle school shelves, and limit the title to juniors and seniors classrooms only, ignoring the committee’s decision. This led the ALA and the Oregon Library Association to write a joint letter to the Superintendent, urging him to change his decision. You can read the full article from American Libraries Direct and form your own conclusions, but I think it is sad that the students who are mature enough to handle the contents of the book are being denied the right to read it. Unfortunately, the title is not in our catalog; I was hoping to read it for myself…