Many years ago, a Bedford teacher was caught pushing Marxism on the students in the Personal Finance Class. Instead of children learning how to balance a checkbook or understand simple and compound interest, they were force-fed Marxist ideology.
It was an opportunity missed because the graduates need personal finance skills in the future. Instead, Bedford students were learning why they can’t make it in America.
The parents who brought this pro-Marxist book forward were upset about the message of Jesus being a wine-guzzling vagrant, but the more disturbing part was the Marxist political agenda that was being pushed on the Bedford students.
Since I was a resident at that time, I spoke before the Bedford School Board asking them to teach these kids personal finance! Is it too much to ask that they are educated versus indoctrinated? (1:17)
There were other books that were challenged after that for the explicit content. Tim Mayes, former Superintendent finally conceded and called for a panel of parents to review the books that would be assigned to children in the school. I’m not sure whatever happened after that, but Bedford parents are back to questioning the books that their kids are reading.
Fast forward to today and Lawn Boy is another controversial book that was challenged in Bedford, and during the reconsideration process to remove the book, the panel, Mike Fournier (Superintendent), and School Board all said the book was appropriate for the students.
Here is what parents reported was included in the book:
What if I told you I touched another guy’s d**k? What if I told you I sucked it? I was 10 years old, but it’s true. I put Doug Goebbel’s d**k in my mouth. I was in fourth grade. It was no big deal, he sucked mine too. And you know what? It wasn’t terrible.”
“In fourth grade, at a church youth-group meeting, out in the bushes behind the parsonage, I touched Doug Goble’s d**k, and he touched mine. In fact, there were even some mouths involved.
You can see one parent in Leander, TX talk about the issue she had with Lawn Boy. In this case, like many other parents, they are objecting.
Like all books assigned in school, the questions I ask are, what is the literary value? Will children be able to expand their vocabulary so that they can better prepare for their college essays? Are they reading something that is at grade level or above so that they are continually improving their reading skills and comprehension? Is there a meaningful message in the book that students can learn from? Something that maybe teaches them the virtues of courage, honesty, and integrity.
This is what parents are looking for, not pornographic descriptions of child sex scenes.
When I see something like this, I begin to wonder who would want children exposed to this pornographic material? Does Bedford have another predator working in the school trying to groom children by sexualizing them with this kind of content?
How many teachers have we seen arrested in New Hampshire for sexual assault against children over the last few months? I can recall two. Who benefits from this kind of sexualization of children? Sexual predators.
As a parent, I’d want to know who insists on assigning this book to children in Bedford, and then I’d want to keep mine as far away from them as possible. I have to say, I’ll never look at Mike Fournier, Superintendent the same way again. Why would he think this is ok for children?
Bedford’s parents drove their last Superintendent out of the district when he allowed one of the guidance counselors to speak in favor of a sexual predator who had worked in the district as a guidance counselor. Have they learned nothing from that fiasco?
Parents are fed up with the garbage and mediocrity their kids are receiving in their local public schools. They expect better. There is a reason we have classical literature that has withstood the test of time.
Can these students read the Federalist papers? Have they attained that level of reading in Bedford? If not, then why are they not focusing on quality over this obscene content?
Finally, there are obscenity laws in New Hampshire. I wrote about that here.
If you do not want your child sexualized to benefit predators, then look into challenging obscene materials assigned to your children. Start taking these examples to your County Attorney and ask them to do something.
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NOTE: This is copied from a parent who speaks for many when it comes to the inappropriate sexualized books available to children. Remember, the schools are now tasked with a child’s social and emotional well-being, and they can’t even get this right:
I prayed a long time before I decided to speak out about the reading material at the school. When I did, the last thing I expected was for my phone and messages to blow up with stories from former students, adults and even a couple of strangers. I could do a story a day for the rest of the month but tonight, I’ll only share one story. She was abused as a baby and young child. Now in elementary school, she lives in a wonderful foster home and intense, long term counseling will be in her future for many years to come. She loves playing outside and reading books. One of her favorite things is to do is curl up with a picture book and totally forget her past pain and trauma. Her vivid imagination takes her to a whole new level and she is happy when reading. This child has proactive, educated parents and tons of supported resources, unlike many of our rural, low income abuse students. Her parents long for her to be safe in school, while also having access to the library. Sadly, they can not risk their child’s mental health or life over access to books, especially these inappropriate books. Reading a book from the school library about father/daughter rape, and having to relive her trauma is not a risk they are willing to take. Bristow’s new library policy requires parents to either risk exposing their student to obscenity and explicit material OR opt their child out of school libraries. This is grossly unfair to these young students who are just learning the joy of walking into a library of books. Statistics show that 1 in 5 females and 1 in 9 males will suffer abuse before they turn 18. (And that’s the cases that are reported.) It is time for us to protect the children – we do it online w/ filters; let’s do the same thing with the written material. Let’s go Bristow Public Schools…you have options. Remove the books, not the students!
