Banned book author to meet with parents - 'Kaffir Boy' causes controversy in Burlingame middle school (San Mateo Times)
BURLINGAME The scene that got "Kaffir Boy" yanked from the desks of roughly 100 Burlingame middle school students describes what happened when a starving 7-year-old child in apartheid South Africa was offered sex in exchange for food. The young boy, Mark Mathabane, had not eaten in several days when members of his street gang pressured him to join them in prostituting themselves for food with a group of migrant workers. Though desperately hungry, Mathabane worked up the courage to run away, an act that set his life on a new path, ultimately leading to his arrival in America on a tennis scholarship in 1978 and a career as a writer. The scene contains a frank portrayal of the boys preparing for their dire transaction, which caused Burlingame School District Superintendent Sonny De Marto to remove the book from four Burlingame Intermediate School classrooms last month after a parent complained about the graphic passage. The book since has been replaced with an abridged edition that clips the scene. Mathabane made the edited version available following past incidents with other school districts.
On Monday, the author will visit the school to discuss the book and the controversy that erupted following its removal. Mathabane will talk with students during the day and then meet with parents that evening in a program that will be open to the public. District Board President Dave Pine called Monday's program "a very positive outcome" to the flap and "an extraordinary learning opportunity for the kids." This was the second year that Mathabane's autobiographical account was on the district's eighth-grade reading list. The book did not generate any complaints last year. Pine said the district was apparently unaware of the abridged version of the book, which is geared specifically toward middle school students, when it first ordered its copies.
Liz Gindraux, a district trustee, said the abrupt removal of the book may have contributed to the controversy. The board asked Da Marto to examine and consider revising the district's policies for handling parental complaints over reading material. "I think we made a very rash decision in removing the book from students' hands," said Gindraux.
"Kaffir Boy" is ranked 31st on the American Library Association's list of the 100 most frequently challenged books, below Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," but above Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." Mathabane said challenges to the book usually come from conservative communities, particularly those in the South, and tend to arise when parents read the brief passage on page 72 out of context. Criticism of the passage also tends to obscure its meaning, which is that, even in the worst circumstances, it is possible for children to stand up for themselves and do the right thing, Mathabane said. Mathabane said his decision that day put his life at risk. He was no longer part of the gang, which viewed him as suspect and disloyal. "After that episode I was a target because I knew that they had done something that was wrong," Mathabane said.
At his mother's urging, he plunged into his schoolwork. Mathabane believes education saved his life, a lesson he preaches when he meets with schoolchildren. The members of his childhood gang are now dead, while the 46-year-old author lives with his wife and three children in Portland, Ore. As a child, Mathabane was sometimes too weak from hunger to do the thing he loved best: Playing soccer in the street with a ball made from rags. Now he lives in a country "where one of the problems kids have is overeating," he said. Mathabane encourages American children to be grateful for what they have and realize that, whatever their problems, "things could be much worse." He also preaches resiliency. "If you meet an obstacle, if you fail, just get up and try again," he said. "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
Mathabane will speak Monday at 7 p.m. in the Burlingame Intermediate School auditorium. Admission will range from $2 to $20. All proceeds will benefit the Magdalene Scholarship Fund in Alexandra, South Africa.
BURLINGAME The scene that got "Kaffir Boy" yanked from the desks of roughly 100 Burlingame middle school students describes what happened when a starving 7-year-old child in apartheid South Africa was offered sex in exchange for food. The young boy, Mark Mathabane, had not eaten in several days when members of his street gang pressured him to join them in prostituting themselves for food with a group of migrant workers. Though desperately hungry, Mathabane worked up the courage to run away, an act that set his life on a new path, ultimately leading to his arrival in America on a tennis scholarship in 1978 and a career as a writer. The scene contains a frank portrayal of the boys preparing for their dire transaction, which caused Burlingame School District Superintendent Sonny De Marto to remove the book from four Burlingame Intermediate School classrooms last month after a parent complained about the graphic passage. The book since has been replaced with an abridged edition that clips the scene. Mathabane made the edited version available following past incidents with other school districts.
On Monday, the author will visit the school to discuss the book and the controversy that erupted following its removal. Mathabane will talk with students during the day and then meet with parents that evening in a program that will be open to the public. District Board President Dave Pine called Monday's program "a very positive outcome" to the flap and "an extraordinary learning opportunity for the kids." This was the second year that Mathabane's autobiographical account was on the district's eighth-grade reading list. The book did not generate any complaints last year. Pine said the district was apparently unaware of the abridged version of the book, which is geared specifically toward middle school students, when it first ordered its copies.
Liz Gindraux, a district trustee, said the abrupt removal of the book may have contributed to the controversy. The board asked Da Marto to examine and consider revising the district's policies for handling parental complaints over reading material. "I think we made a very rash decision in removing the book from students' hands," said Gindraux.
"Kaffir Boy" is ranked 31st on the American Library Association's list of the 100 most frequently challenged books, below Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," but above Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." Mathabane said challenges to the book usually come from conservative communities, particularly those in the South, and tend to arise when parents read the brief passage on page 72 out of context. Criticism of the passage also tends to obscure its meaning, which is that, even in the worst circumstances, it is possible for children to stand up for themselves and do the right thing, Mathabane said. Mathabane said his decision that day put his life at risk. He was no longer part of the gang, which viewed him as suspect and disloyal. "After that episode I was a target because I knew that they had done something that was wrong," Mathabane said.
At his mother's urging, he plunged into his schoolwork. Mathabane believes education saved his life, a lesson he preaches when he meets with schoolchildren. The members of his childhood gang are now dead, while the 46-year-old author lives with his wife and three children in Portland, Ore. As a child, Mathabane was sometimes too weak from hunger to do the thing he loved best: Playing soccer in the street with a ball made from rags. Now he lives in a country "where one of the problems kids have is overeating," he said. Mathabane encourages American children to be grateful for what they have and realize that, whatever their problems, "things could be much worse." He also preaches resiliency. "If you meet an obstacle, if you fail, just get up and try again," he said. "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
Mathabane will speak Monday at 7 p.m. in the Burlingame Intermediate School auditorium. Admission will range from $2 to $20. All proceeds will benefit the Magdalene Scholarship Fund in Alexandra, South Africa.
- Written by Fiona
MARK MOTIVATED ME ALOT BECAUSE OF HOW HIS LIFE
WAS AS HE WAS GROWING UP. EVEN THOUGH OBSTIVLES MOVED IN HIS PATH HE FOUND A WAY TO CRACK THEM AND KEEP GOING WITHOUT THE POBSTICLES LETTING HIM STOP AND LETTING HIM NOT GET WHAT HE WANTED: SUCCEED. MARK MATHABANE, I ADMIRE YOU.
Posted by: MARIA | May 30, 2008 at 12:17 AM