Murphy's argument could not be more misguided. To compare a Pulitzer Prize winning novel with an issue of Playboy is just downright stretching it. Morrison's novel depends on its raw material to communicate how bitter life was during that period. Take that bitter reality away and a watered-down, short story is the result. What's more, it is wrong to take away a teacher's autonomy in the classroom.
Teachers have reasons for what they teach in their classes.
Schleifer said the novel complements his student's history class, and it follows the state's recommendation to include more multicultural material in the classroom. Of course, every parent deserves a role in their child's schooling. But this debate has made it clear that under a parent-endorsement process, classroom decisions would be made by parents who really don't know what they're talking about. It is obvious that those who are arguing for the book to be banned are scrutinizing just these passages and taking them out of context. To give such decisive power to parents who want to ban a book before they have read it undermines a healthy academic environment.