Dangerous Words: Censorship in Public Schools
This essay discusses the problems raised by book challenges in the public schools and offers practical and philosophical responses to censorship. It also summarizes the legal history of book censorship in schools and libraries and provides a list of often challenged books that should be used in the classroom. We cannot protect our children from this world, which is a scary place. The only thing we can do is help them develop an inner strength to meet the inevitable challenges they will face. —Young Adult Novelist Katherine Paterson, Foerstal Interview, pp. 168-69. Imagine you are a new ninth-grade language arts teacher, fresh out of college, filled with big ideas, and inspired by the large number and wide variety of books for young adults. You assign your class a novel by well-known (and critically-acclaimed) young adult author Chris Crutcher, and everything seems to be going well. The students appear to like the book, the class discussions are lively, and you are certain you are teaching them about reading, interpretation, and argument. Best of all, students actually seem to be enjoying themselves. Then your principal calls you into her office, closes the door, and tells you there’s been a complaint by one of the parents—
The lovely bones : a novel
This deluxe trade paperback edition of Alice Sebold's modern classic features French flaps and rough-cut pages.Once in a generation a novel comes along that taps a vein of universal human experience, resonating with readers of all ages. The Lovely Bones is such a book - a phenomenal #1 bestseller celebrated at once for its narrative artistry, its luminous clarity of emotion, and its astoniishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world."My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on eath continue without her - her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable traged and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy"A stunning achievement." -The New Yorker"Deeply affecting...A keenly observed portrait of familial love and how it endures and changes over time." -New York Times"A triumphant novel...It's a knockout." -Time"Destined to become a classic in the vein of To Kill a Mockingbird...I loved it." -Anna Quindlen"A novel that is painfully fine and accomplished." -Los Angeles Times"The Lovely Bones seems to be saying there are more important things in life on earth than retribution. Like forgiveness, like love." -Chicago Tribune
Water Quality Aspects of Irrigation and Drainage: Past History and Future Challenges for Civil Engineers
This paper presents a brief history of irrigation and drainage related to ASCE activities on its Jubilee. This paper discusses legislation and policies that affect irrigation and drainage practices, water quality constituents of increasing concern in irrigation and drainage practices, and presents a prognosis on the future of declining freshwater resources available for irrigated agriculture and growing water quality problems in irrigation and drainage. Civil engineers in ASCE’s Irrigation and Drainage Division have compiled an 80-year history of highly meritorious service and accomplishments. In the next millennium, civil engineers will face a formidable challenge in managing and protecting the precious freshwater resources in the U.S.