South Dakota Middle Schools Pull ‘Stuck in the Middle' Graphic Novels
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By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 11/30/2009
Two Sioux Falls, SD, middle schools have pulled Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age (Viking, 2007) from their general collections, giving only teachers access to the graphic novel anthology but not its intended audience: students.
The Sioux Falls School District's school board made the decision on November 9, following the unanimous recommendation of a committee of two teachers, two parents, one administrator, and Ann Smith, the district’s library coordinator.
“Most of the [stories] were just fine, and there was no problem,” says Smith, of the decision to restrict the book. “There were just a few that we wrestled with and had to determine if they were really age appropriate.”
The comics, which deal with the difficult world of middle school and contain four-letter words and some drug and sexual references, are now only available to students at Edison and Patrick Henry Middle Schools if their teachers use them during class. Only two out of five middle schools in the district had copies of the books in their libraries.
The issue came to light when Shelly Miller, the mother of a Patrick Henry sixth grader, complained last August to the school librarian and principal about the language, sexual references, and pictures of teenagers smoking in the books. The parent then filed a request for a reconsideration form regarding the stories, and after about one month, the committee agreed to restrict its use.
Featuring cartoon-illustrated stories, including one from Daniel Clowes, whose comics were morphed into the Oscar-nominated Ghost World, each piece grapples with the anxieties of junior high—from making friends to going on a first date.
Ariel Schrag, who edited the book, understands that parents have the right to choose what their children get to read and watch.
“But my intent in editing this book was to help children who might be experiencing some of the things the characters in the book experience—bullying, rejection, acne, depression, etc.—feel less alone,” says Schrag in a statement. “The goal was also to let kids who aren't experiencing these things, but who might be engaging in some of these negative behaviors (i.e., the bullies) read the book and think about how kids who are dealing with these problems might feel.”
Nevertheless, as far as Smith and Sioux Falls are concerned, restricting the book, rather than banning it, was a move that made sense for the school, district, and community.
“The general local reaction has been this was the right decision to make,” she says.
