Texas school Defends Teachers After Backlash Over 9/11-Themed Book with profanity Assignment
Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”
A Texas school superintendent went viral on Facebook after defending teachers accused of assigning an “inappropriate” book to students. The controversy began when a social media commenter allegedly called the teachers “demons” for assigning a passage from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close—a novel centered on a young boy grappling with the loss of his father in the 9/11 attacks.
Abilene Independent School District Superintendent John Kuhn responded to the criticism in a Facebook post that garnered thousands of shares and comments. He expressed frustration over the online backlash, noting that while the book contains some profanity and crude humor, it is an award-winning novel recognized for its literary value.
“I get to my hotel room and find some social media commenter calling my teachers ‘demons’ because they assigned a chapter of the amazing book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” Kuhn wrote. “Yes, it contains a few crude words and jokes, but it’s written from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy—accurate to the age and context.”
Kuhn acknowledged that the book may be more appropriate for older students, but emphasized that it was selected for a freshman honors English class because other 9/11-related material was deemed too simple for advanced readers.
“These teachers are trying to challenge high-achieving students. They made a good-faith effort to find appropriate material, got peer approval, and chose a critically acclaimed novel,” he explained.
Kuhn also pointed out the hypocrisy in the online comments. “They called the teachers ‘demons’ and used vulgarities themselves, including ‘a-s–ts’ and acronyms like ‘WTF,’ but no one objected to that language,” he said. “It’s selective outrage.”
He said the passage in question included the word “s–t,” a crude joke, and the term “p—-,” used in the book as the name of the main character’s cat. The content was taken out of context, he argued, to paint the book—and teachers—in a negative light.
Amid the controversy, Kuhn also criticized recent Texas legislation impacting public education, including Senate Bill 2, which allows education savings accounts he believes drain funding from public schools. He also raised concerns over Senate Bill 13, requiring teachers to catalog every classroom book, and House Bill 8, which changes standardized testing procedures.
“There is a political movement to strip authority from local school officials and centralize control at the state level,” Kuhn wrote. “People like me are constantly demonized and regulated into submission.”
Kuhn said the book has been temporarily pulled from classroom use and will be reviewed by a committee to determine whether it is appropriate for the school district’s library.
“My understanding is that it is rated for ages 14 and up,” he told Fox News Digital.
The original social media post that sparked the controversy has since been deleted or made private, Kuhn noted.
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