Search This Blog

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Those promiscuous dictionaries


The Menifee Union School District is forming a committee to review whether dictionaries containing the definitions for sexual terms should be permanently banned from the district's classrooms, a district official said Friday.
The 9,000-student K-8 district this week pulled all copies of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary after an Oak Meadows Elementary School parent complained about a child stumbling across definitions for "oral sex."
The decision was made without consultation with the district's school board and has raised concerns among First Amendment experts and some parents.
Other parents and Menifee residents, though, have praised the district's decision, saying a collegiate-level dictionary is inappropriate for younger children. (Reason Magazine 1/27/2010)
Three cheers for Menifee Union School District! Banning the dictionary will hopefully make its use more enticing, and that would really be a happy accident.

No comments:

Post a Comment