Greg and Tina Angeletti have complained to high school officials about the book "Song of Solomon," which their daughter was reading for English before she transferred classes. They believe the book to be lewd and unsuitable for high school students, and plan to discuss the issue with the board of education.

"As far as I'm concerned this is pornography," Greg Angeletti said. "How can we raise our kids to be good, quality people, bring them to church every Sunday and then put stuff like that in their hands?"

English teachers at Newark, Heath and Licking Valley have the discretion to assign books they believe to have literary merit. All schools offer students alternative reading material if they object to assigned books. All three high schools have books on their reading lists that are among "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000," compiled by the American Library Association. "Song of Solomon" is on that list, and so is Morrison's "Beloved," which is also assigned to Newark students.

Both Dana Herreman, Newark director of curriculum, and Kim O'Dell, Newark High School English department co-chair, pointed out that Morrison has a Nobel Prize for literature and said her work has literary merit. Joe Jones, Heath High School English teacher, agrees.

"I think Toni Morrison is appropriate for certain advanced classes. She's difficult to read," he said. "I certainly would not hesitate talking about a Toni Morrison work."

But the Angelettis do not agree that Morrison's "Song of Solomon" or books similar in nature have a place in a public school classroom.

"If a student came in and started talking like how this book is written, there would be disciplinary action," Tina Angeletti said, referring to racist, violent and sexually explicit language.

"That may be very true," Herreman said, "and it would be true for 'Of Mice and Men.' I hesitate to take anything out of context."

"Of Mice and Men" is also on the most challenged book list, as is "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- which is on Heath's and Newark's assigned reading lists.

"Sometimes it's difficult to find a meaningful book void of all those things," Jones said about violence, sexual content and racist language. "What happens is people who object to a novel don't look at its entirety, they focus on one word ... or one passage."

The Angelettis haven't completely read "Song of Solomon," but have ordered a copy so they can do so.

Rhonda Aller, Licking Valley English teacher, said while teachers don't encourage students to behave like some characters in books do, it would be irresponsible to ban books, because literature is supposed to reflect society. Aller, Herreman and O'Dell said that if books are not realistic, students will not buy into them and may lose interest.

Aller used "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers -- which is on the most frequently challenged list -- as an example of students buying into a book. The story is about the Vietnam War.

"If one of the men (in the book) gets blown apart and someone next to him doesn't swear, (students) would find that to be so false they wouldn't want to read it," she said.

Tina Angeletti disagrees that Morrison's book is a reflection of a type of culture and ethnicity.

"A lot of people don't live and talk like that no matter what nationality or era of life," she said.

The Angelettis plan to discuss their concerns about "Song of Solomon" with the board of education and officially file an objection to its presence in Newark High School. If they officially object, a committee will read the book and make a recommendation to the superintendent as to whether he should remove the book from the classroom. The committee consists of a library/media specialist, three teachers and a parent. The district appoints a committee at the beginning of every school year.

In the past a Newark committee recommended the removal of "My Brother Sam is Dead," a book about the Revolutionary War by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, from a fifth-grade reading list. The superintendent upheld the recommendation.

Herreman said she has faith in the process provided to parents for challenging assigned books.

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Mom Thinks Book Assigned in High School is Porn

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