Good evening,
My name is David Finkle. I have been teaching in Volusia County Schools for nearly 35 years. I was the district’s 2005 teacher of the year. This will be my final year in a Volusia County Schools classroom, in part because of what follows.
For the past ten years, I have been ending my school year with 9th grade ELA by reading Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s classic book about a futrure where all books are burned. The book is in the Florida BEST standards.
Last week, however, I had one of the teachers on my hall tell me the book was on her discontinued books list. Another teacher on the hall told me it was okay on her list. By now I was panicking. I have taught this book for almost my entire career, since 1990, and my students always find something new in it that I haven’t noticed.
I asked for clarification and found out that I am okay to teach Fahrenheit 451 this May.
But this episode left me feeling a sense of great loss. My classroom library hs been vetted, and apparently it’s okay. But in almost 35 years, almost 35 years, I have never had a parent complaint about any text or challenged.
What I am deeply distrissed by is the fact that every book is now under suspicion. There is no sense of free reading, of valuing books, of being challenged by books. Classroom libaries on my hall are being closed or decimated.
Perhaps you are exercising an overabundance of caution. I don’t want a felony charge either.
But it seems to me we are taking steps toward becoming Fahrenheit 451. As Ray Bradbury said in an interview, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture, just get people to stop reading them.”
Thank you.