How was I able to have Gender Queer removed from Schools in Abbotsford 6 months ago?
“Note that if those books are staying on the school shelves and they hurt children that will be on you, not on me, as a parent I did more than my job, now do yours.”
EMAIL 2
Trustee —–,
Following our discussion yesterday, I am writing to the Board to express my concern about the presence of sexually explicit material in three books that are currently available in our school district. As a concerned parent/community member, I believe it is important to address this issue and take steps to ensure that students are not exposed to inappropriate content.
The three books in question are “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. Each of these books contains graphic sexual content that is not appropriate for children and teenagers. While I understand the importance of providing students with diverse perspectives and thought-provoking literature, I believe that we need to draw a line when it comes to explicit sexual content that could be harmful to children.
I urge the school board to review these books and consider removing them from our school district’s curriculum and libraries. I also request that the school board implements a more thorough review process to ensure that other books with explicit content are not added to our school district’s collection.
Here are the locations of the 3 books mentioned above:
Gender Queer:
Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts (ASIA) – Sumas Mountain Campus
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/36775/search/all?q=GENDER%20QUEER
Abbotsford Senior Secondary School
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/8281/search/all?q=GENDER%20QUEER
The Bluest Eye:
Rick Hansen Secondary
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/28655/search/all?q=the%20bluest%20eye
Robert Bateman Secondary
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/42550/search/all?q=the%20bluest%20eye
Yale Secondary
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/24985/search/all?q=the%20bluest%20eye
Identical:
W.J. Mouat Secondary
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/16272/search/all?q=IDENTICAL
Yale Secondary
https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/24985/search/all?q=IDENTICAL
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Pierre Barns
Excerpts of the Books:
Gender Queer:
The Bluest Eye:
Identical:
EMAIL 3
Hi Pierre.
Thank you for your email and information. I can assure you that this topic will be further discussed by the board. After a call with —–, I was able to physically confirm that the book Gender Queer was in the Abby Sr school library…I signed it out.
Please allow us to follow the appropriate processes and internal discussions to determine the best path forward.
Kind Regards,
—–,
EMAIL 4
Last time I tried to follow the “appropriate processes” as instructed by the superintendent’s office they told me that books were not learning resources so the form they told me to fill out was dismissed by them.
Anyway, what is the progress on this, and what are the appropriate processes for all of you to follow, to review and remove those books from schools?
Note that if those books are staying on the school shelves and they hurt children that will be on you, not on me, as a parent I did more than my job, now do yours.
Let me know if I can help in any way.
Pierre Barns
