Wellington school board asks JVS to suspend teaching of "Looking For Alaska;" committee to present findings during JVS meeting Thursday night

The Lorain County Joint Vocational School board could decide during its meeting tonight whether to ban "Looking for Alaska,'' by John Green, a book a parent has questioned for its propriety. The book was brought to the board's attention by Amherst resident Diane Kerecz, who said she was "angered" after finding out the novel was required reading for her ninth grade daughter at the JVS. "I don't think the message in the book is something I want being taught to our teens," she said during a board meeting in November. "Not to mention how sex is so care-free." Several parents have rallied around Kerecz, pointing out content relating to sexuality, substance abuse and suicide. But this is not the first time the book has come under scrutiny. "Looking For Alaska" has been featured on several banned books lists since 2008. "The book is just downright pornographic," said Ayers Ratliff, a board member on both the Wellington school board and JVS board. "It has blatant pages describing oral sex and that is something that does not need to be taught in classrooms. The author, John Green, defends his book on his YouTube channel, Vlogbrothers, in a video titled "I Am Not A Pornographer." He says that the misunderstanding of his book is the reason for its controversy, and urges people to understand the actual literary content before judging specific scenes. He also disagrees with the way that groups of parents underestimate the intelligence of teenagers and their ability to analyze literature. "These are 14-year-olds that we are talking about and to hear that a book like this is being taught, it ought not to be," Ratliff said. "It makes me sick that our 290 ninth graders are being forced to read a book that in our own home district we would never even think about teaching." Following Kerecz's complaints, Ratliff sought a resolution seeking to ask the JVS to suspend reading of the book. That resolution passed Nov. 28 and has been forwarded to the JVS Curriculum Committee, which is expected to make a recommendation to the JVS board tonight on whether the book should remain in the curriculum. Kevin Stump, who was president of the Wellington school board at the time, voted not to restrict the book and said he felt that it was not Wellington's decision on what the JVS teaches. "The book is less about sex and more about the trials of growing up," he said. "It is also not Wellington's business to tell the JVS what to do, only they can decide that." Stump has since resigned from the board, saying it was not because of the disagreements over the book but rather because he had reached the end of his term and did not seek re-election. Wellington Schools Superintendent Ed Weber said he looks forward to the board's decision and said that while he personally would not teach the book, he also does not want to be in a position deciding what people can read. "I am curious to see if the book fits with the school's other curriculum teachings," he said. "I personally don't think books like this should be required reading picked by the teachers but rather make it free reading that the student can decide to read if they would like." Weber said he prefers required readings come from reading lists provided by publishing companies rather than teachers' individual handpicked books. "I also feel that it is less about the book and more about the age that it is taught at," he said. "The book itself is not something we need to restrict, it is simply the age at which it is taught." Lorain County JVS Superintendent Glenn Faircloth said Wednesday that the JVS would refrain from commenting at this time so as to avoid interfering with the Curriculum Committee's process. Contact Lauren Hoffman at lhoffman@chroniclet.com.