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I am the mother of this student. I can tell you the facts on our side of this, and you can make your judgment from there, but at least your facts will be right.

My daughter arrived in her English class on the second day of school, (the first day was used for books and roll taking ect)

Since she was not in the school system the year before she was not assigned a summer reading assignment before arriving in her new high school.

Her brand new English teacher asked her to stay after class so he could give her an assignment to read over the labor day long weekend and give him an oral report on the next school day. He gave her a choice of 5 books, 4 of the books were about civil war, the lone ranger and Tonto and military fighting. One book was about shooting pool, or so she thought - This would be Eightball (issue #22). The teacher pointed out eightball and told her this is the one he thought she would like the most. He also told her it might have a little bit of mature content in it.

She said okay and put the comic in her bag and off she went. - The comic stayed in her bag until Saturday when we were all driving in the car heading to a family picnic - My younger children and a friends child are in the backseat with my daughter and I hear a strange giggling coming from the back. Any parent knows the kind of giggling I’m talking about (the kind where you should immediately ask what’s going on). So I said to the group of children - “what’s so funny you guys!” So the kids reply - We are laughing at the reading assignment from her teacher - “The two kids are doing it” - So I said - Give me that!

I took the comic from the kids, and I started reading it.

Now let me tell you, I am not shocked by much, but the first page I turned to was the fluffy blue bunny page - and I was shocked. Why would this teacher think my 13 year old would want to read this! I could not imagine what this teacher had in mind with my daughter by giving her this comic. I was fearful that I knew what might be on his mind!

Also let me tell you that when I went to the police and the school, we were not on a witch-hunt - we weren’t out to get anyone fired and we were really hoping this was all a big mistake. We thought possibly that maybe some kid stuck this in his classroom as a joke and that happened to be the one she picked up thinking it was about playing pool.

I showed the school and the resource officer what was given to my daughter and they were very surprised, this is not part of the allowed reading material for teachers to give. They said thank you and we will be in touch later and let you know what we find out.

So the afternoon goes by and my Daughter gets off the bus, I ask her what happened in his class that day and she tells me that - He pulled her aside after class and asked her how reading that comic made her feel.

She told him that she really thought it was disgusting and inappropriate and he said yes, I told you it might be a little bit mature.

Well when I heard this, I was really disgusted. What can I assume in this day and age was this teachers motives?? I put her back in the car and I went back down to the school. I asked to see the principal again and I told him what was said to her after class.

Now I want to say - this next piece of information was just what I was told by the school - I didn’t hear the teacher say this personally.

I was told that the teacher gave it to my daughter because he thought she would like the material. But - He said he had it as a college graphic Adult reading assignment in a college class several years before.

That was a college class he signed up for and he knew the course material. Not something handed to him by a teacher in high school and told to read.

`Again, I would like to STRONGLY attest to the fact that I am not against mature reading material being discussed in a classroom setting. I have no problems with nudity, violence, or any other topic discussed in a setting that promotes learning. Had this piece of material been given to the class as a whole as an assignment on modern day graphic novels and the literary benefits of them, there would be no problem.

There would be no problem because it would be part of a curriculum, clearly meant for learning.

Had the teacher suggested this graphic novel to my daughter, advising her that it is of mature content, and asking her to obtain it on her own with her parents consent, then I would have no problem with it.

This is where I have a problem. This teacher gave my daughter, and ONLY my daughter, a graphic novel of mature nature, without the knowledge of the administration, as an extra curricular assignment. This was done after class to my 13-year-old daughter. Yes she was 13 at the time of the incident. She has since turned 14. That may help to alleviate any confusion about her age. In dealing with these situations, parents these days can’t take chances. I will never know this teachers true intent, but I do know that he is at least guilty of extremely bad judgment.

I do not have the blind faith to assume that everything is OK. My duty is to protect my children. I will not compromise that.

“Because what’s more likely to stick in the minds of the average person who read the newspaper article is that the CBLDF supports teachers giving sexually explicit material to 13 year olds. And then when the average person reflects on why the teacher gave the 13 year old sexually explicit material it’s not going to lead to either a favorable disposition toward the teacher or CBLDF.”

That’s a leap of logic that has nothing to do with what I actually said. If you check the article, I described the book, I explained Daniel Clowes in context, and I described how the graphic novel medium functions. And for the record, Eightball #22 does not contain any sexually explicit material.

My statement: “Frankly, I find the fact that somebody has left their job over this particular work deeply troubling.” Means exactly what it means. It means that it is troubling that this book, which has won several major awards and is recognized for its literary merits, should be the cause of someone losing their job. It casts no judgment upon the parents in this matter, who were well within their rights to bring this to the school’s attention. Similarly, it does not show a sympathy towards the teacher.

usrngrx says:

“Charles Brownstein spoke all through the article and even wrote on blogs about this article that it is a grave injustice that a teacher resigned over assigning a Daniel Clowes comic. The CBLDF clearly feels that this course of events is completely innocent. Clearly, the CBLDF and Charles Brownstein have no problem exposing you children to this type of material and don’t feel there is any need to approve reading material before handing it out to students.”

This is another baseless and damaging assertion that bears no relationship to anything that I actually said. I never stated that this was a grave injustice. I don’t have enough information to say one way or another whether this course of events is completely innocent. No one relying upon the news coverage of this event does.

What I do have, per the news coverage, is the knowledge that this matter is being investigated by Guilford police. That places this incident outside the realm of an internal school matter and into the realm of being a possible criminal matter.

In all matters related to the justice system, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty, which is why I called for people to stop accusing the teacher of harmful motives. We simply don’t know enough to call this person’s character or motives into question, much less pass judgment on them. Doing so with the information we have is harmful and does go against the legal presumption of innocence. This isn’t a matter for Internet court, it’s a matter for the justice system.

I think everyone can agree that this is an unfortunate event. I think that vilifying either the teacher or the parents at this point is wrong.

Likewise, I think vilifying the book as pornographic or obscene is also wrong. Whether it is appropriate to this particular teenager is nobody’s business but the parents of that teenager. Whether it is appropriate for teen readers is a topic for open debate, although authoritive sources, notably School Library Journal, seem to think that it is.

I understand that this is a topic that arouses passion, but in matters of law, passion must be submissive to fact. Once this left the principal’s desk and hit the police’s desk, this became a matter of law. As such, we should let the law run its course and stop assigning motives when we just don’t know enough to do so. Right or wrong, a life is at stake. We should be respectful of that fact and leave the discovery of motive to the professionals.

Beyond Repair!

They’ll turn into homeless, thieving, violent crack whores who’ll eventually end up in jail and cause my tax bill to go up!

Sorry for the overkill there, but at age 13 I was exposed to much more adult material than Eightball 13. I suspect all of us were, including the concerned parents. I agree a parent should and does have a right to control (as best they can) what their kid gets exposed to, but we should stop trying to THROW PEOPLE IN JAIL if somebody shows them reading material the parent isn’t comfortable with. Because I seriously doubt the reading material is going to ‘damage’ the child in any way.

Sounds like a regular Judy Blume novel, doesn’t it?
Gee, what was everyone worried about?

Eightball #22 by Daniel Clowes

p26

Blue Bunny

Blue Bunny: I’m back in town, kids, fresh-sprung from prison!

Blue Bunny: I paid my dues! It’s all about me this time!

(bunny passes people on streat)

Blue Bunny: Wha’ choo lookin’ at, doosh?

(blue bunny passes female on street)

Blue Bunny: Hey red, how’sabouta suck-job? I been living on state pussy for eighteen months!

Blue Bunny: That’s alright for you then, bitch!

(bunny passes sign “now hiring”)

Employer: Sorry, but the position has already been filled.

Blue Bunny: Who needs your shitty job? I won’t starve!

(bunny passes old lade with purse in on the street)

Blue Bunny: Hand it over, grammaw!

Blue Bunny: GIVE IT!

Policeman: Hold it right there!

Blue Bunny: Yowsa!

Blue Bunny: You won’t take me down!

Blue Bunny: I’m on my third strike!

(bunny shoots flamethrower into crowd of police)

Blue Bunny: I’ll roast you all!

(bunny throws dynamite into crowd of police)

Blue Bunny: My excuse is I had a lousy upbringing!

(explosions all around)

Blue Bunny: Top o’ the world, ma!

Blue Bunny: That’s more like it! Eat shit losers!

This isn’t the worst of what is in Eightball 22

- Two young kids have sex than kill another kid because he was gay and retarded, bury him in a hole, then piss on the grave.

- A man masturbates on a toilet

- A cave man killing another caveman and then rapes his mate.

The School Library Journal has rated this book for 10th grade or above, but who is the School Library Journal and what authority do they have to rate reading material for schools.

The real problem with this is the fact that a teacher gave this student this type of reading material after class as an additional reading assignment. This 13 yo girl was the was the ONLY one that received this material. The school had no knowledge of this as stated by the superintendent.

The teacher resigned in order to avoid a lengthy wrongful termination hearing in which he would have had to prove that his actions were condoned by the school board, which it has already been reported that it wasn’t.

Charles Brownstein spoke all through the article and even wrote on blogs about this article that it is a grave injustice that a teacher resigned over assigning a Daniel Clowes comic. The CBLDF clearly feels that this course of events is completely innocent. Clearly, the CBLDF and Charles Brownstein have no problem exposing you children to this type of material and don’t feel there is any need to approve reading material before handing it out to students.

What’s next, shall teachers hold kids after class and give them additional assignments in the proper way to give oral sex, and than ask for a demonstration?

Where do we draw the line?

There is a reason why reading material is first approved by the administration before hand. This is not a censorship issue, no one is calling for censorship. A line has to be drawn on what material is used as reading, and once defined, that line should never be crossed, because we trust the school administration to follow through with the policy they create.

-A concerned parent

Exactly.

I think it’s ironic that this guy has apparently admitted to doing what Gordon Lee in Rome,GA has being wrongfully accused of doing: He deliberately gave a mature-themed comic to a minor.

A lot of us had special teachers that were the first people to treat us like adults. My 9th grade art teacher has been my friend now for almost thirty years. But he didn’t give me any issues of Heavy Metal at school.

I have a feeling this guy’s not gonna turn out to be the “Mr. Holland’s Opus” type. We’ll see.

If it were me I would have discovered more information or at least made more appropriate distancing remarks before appearing to jump in on the teacher’s side.

Because what’s more likely to stick in the minds of the average person who read the newspaper article is that the CBLDF supports teachers giving sexually explicit material to 13 year olds. And then when the average person reflects on why the teacher gave the 13 year old sexually explicit material it’s not going to lead to either a favorable disposition toward the teacher or CBLDF.

Evidently though there are those who in the community who like the teacher and so now the girl is getting traumatized. And CBLDF is perceived to be on the side of the bullies.

Hopefully, CBLDF will be making public statements to avoid these negative perceptions.

Yes, this is a case that free press champions _could_ get behind, if criminal charges end up being filed against the teacher. It is regrettable that the parents reacted the way they did, although I must also support their right to protect their child from what they think is inappropriate material, however I may personally disagree with their assessment. It would have been better if they’d had dealt directly with the teacher first.

If that had been one of my first comics, I would probably not be the fan of them I am today. Seriously dude? Eightball, to a 13 year old girl?!??

NERD!!!!!!

;P

Again, I am concerned about the teacher’s intentions. In fact, that is ALL that I am concerned about. The girl will be fine, except for perhaps the bullying, which she will get over.

It looks to me like the whole thing is being blown way out of proportion by the girls parents, the school, and of course the media.

I had a high school teacher lend me Naked Lunch when I was in grade 11.
To this day it’s one of my favorite novels.

Red Stapler: “I’d give a mature 9th grader Eightball long before I handed them JTHM.”
I agree completely.
But I wouldn’t hand them either if I was a teacher.

Everyone please read the story that Charles Brownstein linked to above. The girl has been the victim of cyber-bullying because her parents got the cool new teacher fired.

From the father of the girl:
“I’m extremely upset with the administration for not following through with their word of contacting the parents,” the father said. “It looks like we got some teacher fired (over) a Harry Potter novel or Catcher in the Rye.”

I would like to hear from the (former) teacher. I’d like to know exactly what he was thinking.

I wouldn’t call EIGHTBALL pornographic by any stretch of the imagination, but any sensible teacher who had read the book would KNOW it was inappropriate to dispense without parental approval. And probably not then either.

Unless there’s some truly incredible special circumstances, this guy was WAY out of line.
And it’s another black eye for comics.

Let’s say, instead of getting it from her teacher, she picked up Eightball on her own.

Would you still be upset?

You seem more upset about the content than how she obtained it.

What about the dozens of 8th graders on upwards I see reading Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, because they loved Invader Zim and wanted more material by Vasquez?

I’d give a mature 9th grader Eightball long before I handed them JTHM.

This story http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18835279&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8
in the New Haven Register says, “The book, one of a series of comic book novels by Daniel Clowes, is called “Eightball #22.”

Eightball #22 was republished in its entirety with some additional material as the graphic novel Ice Haven in 2005. That book was reviewed by School Library Journal as appropriate for Grade 10 and up.

All we know at this moment is that a high school English teacher was placed on administrative leave and later resigned for giving a comic book story that authoritive sources classify as appropriate for 10th graders to a 9th grader. We know that it is the subject of local outrage. We know that a criminal investigation is pending. Everything else is opinion and rubbernecking.

Speculating as to the teacher’s motives, and worse, casting libelous aspersions upon his character with the limited information we have is unhelpful at best, and destructive at worst.

Likewise, referring to the comic book as pornographic displays either an ignorance towards the actual comic’s content, the definition of pornography, or both.

Of course, I also read Elfquest from the time I was about 8, so I guess the University of Minnesota campus bookstore should be retroactively sued for corrupting me.

Kids can literally see worse on prime time TV than what’s in Eightball.