Parental Approval Required (PAR)

Parents of school-aged children (particularly young teens):
After much consideration and prayer about this topic, I have decided to start an initiative that I am referring to as PAR (Parental Approval Required). I am asking that teachers/schools obtain parental consent prior to assigning books that contain sexually explicit or graphic material. Along with signing a permission form, the parent should be notified of the questionable content (as is done alongside movie ratings) and the purpose for assigning said book. In other words, what makes the book a sound educational choice despite its explicit content? I am also suggesting that the school or teacher have an alternate text of comparable length and reading level immediately available upon request.

It is my sincere belief that once parents are made aware of the content of many of the books on high school reading lists, they will understand my decision to start this initiative. While some may feel that this is unnecessary or overly protective, it should be every parent’s right to be informed of what his/her child is being exposed to in the name of education. For those who are questioning my judgement on this, I suggest you read The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. This book is one of many (inappropriate, in my opinion) novels on my children's 9th grade reading list. If you find that you agree with me on this matter, please sign my petition. (If you don’t agree, I completely respect your opinion and your right to allow your children to read the books as assigned.)