John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella about California migrant workers survived a 2015 challenge in Coeur d’Alene.
On Monday night, trustees voted 4-1 to keep “Of Mice and Men” on the Coeur d’Alene School District’s ninth-grade reading menu. A month ago, an ad hoc committee had recommended dropping the novella from the reading list, although small groups could read and discuss it on a voluntary basis.
The committee reviewing the district’s reading list had targeted “Of Mice and Men” because of its profanity.
“We need to trust the judgment of our English teachers to use this book wisely, as we have since 2002,” said trustee Tom Hearn, according to Scott Maben of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
Mary Jo Finney, a committee member who argued against “Of Mice and Men,” said critics had been bulled by the news media.
“It’s shocking that there is such outrage because a person is outspokenly conservative, yet not aghast when students are to read or watch profanity, vulgarity or explicit content on our tax dollars,” said Finney, according to Maben’s report from the meeting.
