The Dictionary is No Longer Banned in California Classrooms

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece describing how some busybody parents got their undergarments in a tangle when they discovered that the term “oral sex” was listed in the dictionary in classrooms of 4th graders on up.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “The dictionary will go back to the classroom but the parents will be given the option to determine if they want their kids to have access to that dictionary,” said Betti Cadmus, a spokeswoman for the Menifee Union School District in southwest Riverside County. Students will take permission slips home and parents who don’t want them to use Webster’s 10th Collegiate Edition can opt for alternative dictionaries.”

You may remember Ms. Cadmus from such quotes as, “It’s hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we’ll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature.” Hopefully, she can now spend her time creating and discovering “alternative” dictionaries.

The original story received global coverage. Blogs and news websites from England and Australia picked up the story. I think the sheer ridiculousness of the story coupled with the puritanical ideas expressed by the school leaders made for an eye-catching headline. It’s easy to imagine that the news coverage had some influence on the school board’s sudden change of heart.

Back in September President Obama said to “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer that cable news and blogs, operating on a 24/7 news cycle, “focus on the most extreme elements on both sides. They can’t get enough of the conflict” While I do feel badly for people who end up on the internet’s bad side, sometimes the global village’s desire to shame works as a democratizing force.