A school district in Texas has terminated a teacher who assigned eighth-grade students an unauthorized graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary. The Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District recently confirmed that it had hired a substitute teacher while it conducts a search for a permanent replacement.
The district communicated the situation to parents via email, stating, “As you may be aware, following concerns regarding curricular selections in your student’s reading class, a substitute teacher has been facilitating the class since Wednesday, September 13, 2023. The District is currently in the process of posting the position to secure a high-quality, full-time teacher as quickly as possible. During this period of transition, our administrators and curriculum team will provide heightened support and monitoring in the reading class to ensure continuity in instruction.”
Anne Frank’s original diary has long been regarded as an essential read, documenting the struggles of a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust. However, the graphic adaptation known as “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation,” written by Ari Folman and illustrated by David Polonsky, has generated controversy. Portions of the adaptation depict Anne Frank engaging in discussions about nudity and explicit body parts.
Despite claims by the school district that the book was unapproved, reports indicate that the novel appeared on an approved list provided to parents at the beginning of the school year. An investigation is currently underway to determine the discrepancies between the district’s statements and the reported facts, as confirmed by the district’s communication coordinator.
The organization responsible for publishing the graphic novel, Anne Frank Fonds in Basel, Switzerland, expressed its condemnation of book banning via an email to HuffPost. The foundation highlighted the fact that the adaptation is based on the writings of a 12-year-old girl who tragically never experienced freedom in the modern sense but passionately advocated for it. They emphasized their concern over increasing attempts by ideological groups to ban books not only in dictatorships but also in free societies, posing a threat to the achievements of enlightenment.
The dismissal of the teacher aligns with a broader conservative-led movement aimed at banning books that touch on topics such as race, sex education, and gender identity. Texas has notably been at the forefront of this book-banning effort, having the highest number of attempts to ban books in schools compared to other states, according to the American Library Association. Controversial literature related to the Holocaust, like Anne Frank’s diary or Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale,” often becomes the target of conservatives. Complaints from parents often revolve around explicit content or nudity, though many historians and librarians argue that these objections mask a deeper attack on teaching students about racial injustice and antisemitism.
In recent years, incidents involving the banning or censorship of books have increased. In Georgia, a fifth-grade teacher was dismissed for reading “My Shadow Is Purple” by Scott Stuart, a children’s book that addresses gender identity. In South Carolina, students objected to discussions about systemic racism prompted by Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” in an Advanced Placement Language Arts class, after the state legislature banned such conversations. In Louisiana, a school librarian faced online threats after speaking out against censorship.
The push to restrict books and discredit teachers seems to be part of a larger trend among conservatives. In fact, the reading of a book has become a potentially punishable offense for educators. This alarming development raises concerns about the freedom to educate and the dissemination of knowledge in today’s society.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘1621685564716533’); fbq(‘track’, “PageView”); var _fbPartnerID = null; if (_fbPartnerID !== null) { fbq(‘init’, _fbPartnerID + ”); fbq(‘track’, “PageView”); }
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
