what the &%$#?

Today, I am taking a look at an article on a book (Shooting Star) under review by the Broken Arrow school district. I think this article really speaks to the necessity for parents to have a home-based system of "censorship," for lack of a better word. Every family decides what they think their children should or shouldn't hear about or see or learn, right? So why is it that some parents feel it is their place to put their own restrictions on every other family in the school district? Sure there are swear words in Shooting Star (Fredrick McKissack Jr), but does that negate the message? Surely not. The words of a text are a way to tell a story. If this story takes place in a setting where a swear would be heard, is it really useful to leave them out at the risk of making the text sound unreal? Some parents may think so, and so it is up to those parents to make sure they read what their children are reading in order to make informed decisions about what books should be brought home and which should be left at the library or seen in the classroom. Most teachers seem to have no problem with assigning a different reading if a parent is strictly opposed to a certain text. I think censorship on a large scale is absurd and ties up time and resources that could be better utilized in other areas. As one person commented on the article, "I know we've been having hot weather, but has it really hit Farenheit 451 in Broken Arrow?"