Controversial Autobiography : Book Is Cut From List at Vista Schools

Rejecting praise and support for a critically acclaimed autobiography, Vista school board members have decided to remove from a ninth-grade reading list a controversial book about a black woman’s upbringing in the South.

The five board members of the Vista Unified School District, following Supt. Rene Townsend’s recommendation, voted unanimously Wednesday to suspend further use of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” an autobiography by Maya Angelou.

The book has been simultaneously praised within literary circles for its poignant tale of childhood suffering and assailed by parents, who were disturbed by several passages that depict in detail the rape of an 8-year-old girl.

Townsend recommended that the book be excluded from the district’s ninth-grade literature list for the remainder of the school year and asked a curriculum committee to assess whether the autobiography is suitable for the 11th grade, during which students study American history and the civil rights movement.

“We were following the superintendent’s recommendation to pull the book, because she felt that the option of moving the book to another grade level had not been thoroughly discussed,” School Board President Marcia Viger said Thursday.

“I really think it’s unfair that this has become a censorship issue,” Viger said. “My understanding of censorship is an act, when you edit or delete, to deny someone an opportunity to see certain material. We are not denying anyone an opportunity to read this book.”

Viger added that “people seem to forget that there is still a choice in this situation. We are only questioning whether this book should be required reading. As far as I’m concerned, forcing someone to read something can be just as bad as censoring something.”

Townsend could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The book, which has been on the state Department of Education’s approved reading list since 1985, was being used by 93 ninth-grade honors students at Vista High School when a handful of parents complained about its content, Principal Bruce Harter said.

Regardless of the autobiography’s literary merit, parents expressed their concern that some explicit passages were inappropriate for ninth-graders and demanded that it be removed from the core reading list, which includes mandatory assignments.

Parents Objected

In October, several parents asked the District Language Arts Committee--the panel of teachers responsible for establishing the curriculum--to remove the book from the required reading list. But the teachers instead voted, 19-3, not to heed the censorship calls by parents who said the book contains “pornographic” and “sexually explicit” chapters.

Many teachers disputed the “X-rated” labels the parents attached to Angelou’s autobiography. They defined pornography as photographs or writings intended primarily to arouse sexual desire. The teachers argued that that was not Angelou’s motive and said the controversial chapters should be viewed as the harsh reality the author endured.

The autobiography was also praised by the committee for providing students with a valuable lesson about courage, dignity and perseverance.

Appealed Decision

But many parents were not persuaded by the teachers’ arguments, and after being rebuffed by the Language Arts Committee, they said they would appeal the decision before the school board.

On Wednesday they won the battle.

“I take my hat off to the superintendent for a swift and responsive action to a highly emotional question,” said Frank Mercardante, whose daughter is a freshman at Rancho Buena Vista High School. “And I’m very glad they have decided to have the entire core list reviewed by all the teachers in the district for suitability and grade-level appropriateness. I think that’s very important.”

Literary Value

Mercardante, like many other critical parents, agreed that the book had literary value, but said he could not support its use because the sexually explicit chapters undermine parents’ responsibility in raising their children.

“I read the entire book,” Mercardante said. “It is not a bad book and I agree that it is well-written. And there are some lessons that can be learned from it. But I believe there are other books that can do the same task equally, if not better, without raising the issue of sex.”

Viger said the school district would have been negligent had it not addressed the parents’ concern.

Voice for Parents

“I think a greater issue is the right of the parents to have a voice in what affects their children,” Viger said. “Obviously teachers have a very large say in what is done in the classroom, and rightfully so. But at the same time I do not believe that teachers should solely dictate what should and what should not be taught. The responsibility of educating our children is a partnership of the community, the teachers and the parents.

“If we were not responsive to the parents’ needs, we would be violating the educational system,” Viger said.

Should the curriculum committee approve the book for older pupils, it would not be added to their reading list until the next academic year.