Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.insight From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE;SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 11:35:36 EST Message-ID: \SE FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE;SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL \BY INSIGHT *****Revolt. In principle, Lynne Curtis has nothing against the late Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, a book that parodies popular children's stories using scatological and violent imagery. But when she found out that her daughter had been read passages from the book by a teacher, she put her foot down. Curtis told the Associated Press that she was shocked when her daughter, a sixth-grader at Rogers Middle School in Rockland, Mass., described a class in which the teacher read aloud Dahl's version of "Cinderella," which features the prince calling the heroine "a dirty slut." Then there's the brutal decapitation of the infamous ugly sisters. Cinderella also suffers the embarrassment of having her dress ripped off by the prince as he tries to keep her from leaving the ball. "She ran out in her underwear but left one slipper on the stair," Dahl wrote. School Superintendent Ronald Gerhart says the teacher was trying to demonstrate how the same story could be told with different literary styles by comparing and contrasting the Walt Disney version of the famous fairy tale with Dahl's. Principal Norman Pulaski says the teacher picked Dahl's story because it was more violent. Curtis was unimpressed with the official explanation and told school administrators as much . "This is all well and good for adults, but it shouldn't be taught to 11-year-olds," Curtis told the AP, an opinion that is shared by Insight Public Defender Joseph McGaughey. Curtis's actions paid off. Days after the initial complaint, Gerhart issued a press release announcing that Revolting Rhymes will not be part of Rockland's kindergarten through seventh-grade curriculum (though it still will be available in the middle school library). Gerhart said that after meeting with "parents, teachers, administrators, advisory groups, committees and the clergy," he decided there was an "inappropriate preponderance of violence" in Dahl's story. The brouhaha has not changed the teacher's view. Gerhart says she still believes the book is appropriate fare. *****DO YOU KNOW OF: * A shocking waste of taxpayer money? * A wacky college course or professor? * An instance of revealing media arrogance? * A public utterance better never uttered? * A ridiculous case of hype? * A lawyer or lawsuit run amok? Let us hear about it. The first contributors of published items will receive a handsome memento depicting the Insight Public Defender. Write to: Insight, For the People, By the People, 3600 New York Ave. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. Or better still, fax us: (202) 529-2484. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM