Some parents of West Linn middle school students are angry that their children were exposed to vulgar language by their teacher. They hoped to share their frustrations with the school board Monday night.
The parents complained that they were never asked or even told that their children’s librarian was going to write and use profanity as part of a lesson on controversial books.
However, when they heard what happened afterwards, from their 8th grade children, the parents said they were furious and in disbelief. They said the teacher exposed their kids to more than a dozen curse words.
“There was the “F-word” and another foul word written on the board. The teacher yelled them at the kids and then asked the kids to yell them back at him," said parent Elizabeth Thiede. She also explained that her child was upset by the display that was apparently carried out as part of a language arts unit at Athey Creek Middle School.
For nearly 10 years, the school has discussed banned and controversial books as part of a successful First Amendment curriculum. But never before has profanity been used in such a way, school district officials admitted.
"I didn't believe it, to tell you the truth. It's like, it had to have been exaggerated a little bit. But then after talking to other parents whose children were in those classes on Monday, it was quite apparent that it was indeed an actual occurrence," said parent Pamela Alarcon.
A spokesperson for the district confirmed that the event happened but disputed that the children were ever required to repeat the words aloud. Thayne Balzer said the librarian’s lesson was "inappropriate" and included language that was "not approved" by administrators.
In a letter to parents obtained by KGW, Principal Carol Egan said, “It was meant to provoke student understanding and experience how words, taken out of context, can lose their significance.”
While the district would not discuss what if any punishment might come to the Athey Creek librarian, the school board issued an apology.
"The way it was approached was not keeping with the values of the district. I think we all agree with that and we're very sorry it was handled this way,” said School Board Chairman Jeff Hallin.
Board members were careful to point out that they were not apologizing for the banned and controversial book curriculum, just the particular way it was presented. They said this would not happen again.
