A Mississippi teacher assigned a controversial chapter in a book. Now, she's out of a job

When Sherman Alexie’s novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” was released in 2007, it received critical acclaim and won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. But over the years, the book ― which is told from the perspective of a 14-year-old Native American boy ― has been the subject of controversy, in part for its depictions of violence, poverty, and sexuality.

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom named it the most banned and challenged book from 2010 to 2019. And recently, passionate complaints about Alexie's work reached the Mid-South.

An eighth-grade teacher is no longer in her position at DeSoto County Schools after parents expressed outrage that she assigned her students at Lake Cormorant Middle School a passage focused on masturbation. It was not immediately clear if the teacher who assigned the passage resigned or was fired and DeSoto County Schools did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The district has not publicly identified the teacher.

The parent who has most vocally complained is Tambre Wells, whose daughter was in the class assigned the book section. In late August, she posted a picture of it on Facebook, and wrote, “OMG OMG this is SENT HOME READING MATERIAL for my 8th grade girl???????!!!!! I’ll be at the school in the morning.”

In an update on the same post, she wrote that she had gone to the school and met with the principal, Lisa Steiner, who allegedly told her “No matter the excuse, it is inexcusable in our school.”

“This appears to have been a rogue teacher. They are only allowed to copy and print certain parts of the book, but this teacher did more, even though the clean edited version was provided to her by a colleague,” Wells said in the update. “The teacher has been dismissed and in disgrace. The principal was humble, and I could tell this was weighing on her very much.”

Her post quickly caught fire, receiving more than 1,000 comments and shares. The majority of other commenters also expressed outrage at the passage being assigned to students at the school.

School board reaction

Wells read the passage that had been assigned to her daughter at the DeSoto County Board of Education meeting on Sept. 6 ― a portion of the excerpt reads: "Yep, that’s right, I admit that I masturbate...I’m proud of it. I’m good at it." ― and questioned the presence of the book in the classroom or school library. She also asked the board for an audit of the reading curriculum and library books with potentially inappropriate content.

“This book has bullying, teen drinking, shoplifting, racism, and sexual content,” she said at the public meeting. “As a parent with conservative values, I'm not alone in requesting an audit of the curriculum and library schoolbooks… It's important for us to provide a safe and respectful learning environment to our children that aligns with our morals and values that we hold dear.”

DeSoto County Schools Superintendent Cory Uselton expressed frustration that the passage had been assigned and noted actions being taken as the district looks ahead.

“I contacted the board last week after that came to our attention,” he said at the meeting. “I would say within a matter of almost minutes, but hours, it was addressed from the superintendent-board level. However, also, what you're talking about as far as library books, I've met with each of our directors who are over the primary schools or immediate schools, middle schools and high schools. They're going to be meeting with principals individually to discuss this concern.”

Added Charles Barton, the board chairperson, on the assignment:

“We met within a couple of hours,” he said. “And 5-0, we all agreed, that's not going to be put up with, that's not going to be tolerated – not for one minute.”

'I trust the teachers'

However, not all DeSoto County parents are furious about the use of the passage from Alexie’s book.

Jennie Wade is a real estate appraiser who grew up in Memphis and has lived in Olive Branch for almost 25 years. She has two children in their twenties who graduated from DeSoto County Schools and a nine-year-old who currently attends a school in the district.

She told The Commercial Appeal that if the teacher had been explicitly told not to assign the passage and did it anyway, she “may have deserved some punishment,” giving an example of a suspension. But Wade also said she didn’t “think it was fair for the teacher to be fired so quickly.”

Wade also said she places her trust in teachers, at a time when she believes their job has become particularly challenging.

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"I trust the teachers and I trust the administrators to teach my child," she said. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have them in public school. I would homeschool my son, or I would find a charter school or private school."

And as she read Facebook comments from people infuriated over the reading assignment, she decided to learn more about Alexie’s novel, beyond just the passage focused on masturbation. She liked what she found: the story of a Native American teenager and talented cartoonist, who grows up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and decides to attend an all-white farm town high school.

“When you read about another kid in another type of community in a whole different region of the country that might be going through the same thing you are, it helps,” Wade said. “I think it's just it's good for our kids to be educated with a lot of different perspectives, and not just what we feel comfortable with.”

John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at John.klyce@commercialappeal.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Sherman Alexie assignment upsets MS parents; teacher no longer at school