Banned Book in Dade County

Controversy brews over a book assignment in dade county. rents say the novel may be award-winning...  More »

Controversy brews over a book assignment in dade county. rents say the novel may be award-winning, but it uses strong language and belittles christianity. well, now the book is out of the classroom and up for review. but should the book be banned? news 12's shelby coates has the story. . from dade county. : as a parent this is smut to me. : mechele berry was outraged to learn her 10th grade son was reading is book for class. . .the absolutely true diary of a part- time indian. : their description of mild profanity and mild sexual content, to me was extreme. : berry signed a permission slip allowing her child read the book. but once she started turning the pages she became outraged by the language, sexual material and the depiction of jesus as an everyday person burping and passing gas. : to me, jesus is more than a man. he's the king of kings, and you don't mock him. : berry isn't the only one upset. after several compints dade county school officials pull the novel from the classroom and libraries. : just kind of looking at the procedures and some of the policies in place. : the book tells the story of a teen who leaves his indian reservation to attend an all- white school where he's bullied. :it is a story about loss. it's a story about heritage and identity. : english professor dr. abbie ventura says the novel is perfect for high school students. : we're not talking about books. we're talking about our culture attitudes toward children and how we think we need to protect them. : the controversy over this book has actually helped the school system develop media committees that will read over and make decisions on books with unquestionable content. : we realized we need to make sure our media center committee is arranged properly where we have people from the community and teachers on it. : as the committee reviews the book, students are now reading another work of fiction. : when you know that you know that your beliefs are right, you stand on them. : in dade county, shelby coates, wdef news 12. sherman alexie is the author of the book in question. the novel is based on his life. and it ranks secondn the list of "most challenged books in public schools."  « Less