Township High School District 214

Township High School District 214 is located in Cook County, Illinois. It is the state's second largest high school district by enrollment. Its headquarters are in Arlington Heights.

One school board member, Leslie Pinney, questioned the approval of certain books as required reading texts for high school students. The books under consideration are: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, and The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan.

Some people, including students and teachers, believed that this action was far too extreme and decried the action giving it a moniker of Book Banning. And yet others felt that including classroom discussions that abortions can lower crime rates (Freakonomics) may not be an appropriate because some teachers do not provide balance and allowance for a pro-life stance. Also, to some parents, it is irresponsible to have students reading a book (A Plant's-Eye View of the World) which references the relationship between humans and marijuana when the author is an activist for legalizing marijuana. The fact that “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is published by MTV and contains graphic depictions of date rape causes many parents to become concerned when this is required reading for the students. Most every news outlet covered the story, yet none could quote the books that most troubled this board member due to decency laws and FCC guidelines.

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