Parents in Steamboat Springs, Colorado are rightfully livid after their highschoolers were made to read a deeply controversial, obscene, and sexually explicit poem without their consent.
According to First Liberty Institute First Liberty, 16-year-old Skylar Cason first informed her father, Brett Cason, of the assignment in her music literature course which is, taught by Mr. Ryan Ayala.
The children were made to read “Howl,” an infamous poem by homosexual beat poet Allen Ginsberg which, if you can stomach it, can be read in full here.
As this poor child soon found out, Howl’s 112 lines not only rail against capitalism and what the author perceives to be the spirit of “Moloch,” but the deeply misogynistic Ginsberg makes countless references to heterosexual and homosexual acts that are not merely vulgar but oftentimes violent and shocking.
The poem, easily Ginsberg’s most famous work, is hardly appropriate for bookstore shelves at all, let alone a classroom full of teenagers!
In a letter to Steamboat Springs School District (SSSD) Superintendent Brad Meeks, First Liberty states that Ayala reportedly “read every word of the text out loud” as students had to listen to him say words such as, “f*ck,” “a**,” “c*nt,” “c*ck,” and then had students “fill-in-the-blanks with the missing words.”
“In the age of #MeToo, it is difficult to conceive how the controversial materials taught in Mr. Ryan Ayala’s Music Literature class could be acceptable to you. We request your immediate action to ward against similar, unconstitutional encroachments in the future,” wrote Jeremy Dys, First Liberty special counsel for litigation and communications who is, representing Skylar.
First Liberty Institute, in the letter addressed to Meeks, also contained the email Ayala sent to Skylar’s parents in which he apologized “for not doing my utmost to create a comfortable learning environment for Skylar.”
Within the letter, Skylar detailed feeling “guilty” and “violated,” saying it felt as “if her skin were crawling, each of the numerous times her teacher vocalized the word, ‘c*ck.’”
“Students should never feel shame and guilt as part of an assignment at school,” Jeremy Dys, First Liberty special counsel for litigation and communications, representing Cason, told Fox News.
“In the age of MeToo and Harvey Weinstein, it’s hard for me to understand why Superintendent [Brad] Meeks would think requiring teenage girls to meditate on a song normalizing sexting would be acceptable,” Dys continued. “If they want to teach on controversial materials, they can, but they should warn parents and give them an opportunity to choose an alternative assignment.”
For his part, Meeks issued a statement apologizing for Ayala’s apparent failure to follow the “procedures in place for when mature content is part of the curriculum and that includes giving parents advance notice and allowing them to opt their child out of participating.”
“For that, we apologize,” Meeks said in the statement.
“We are working to ensure that all of our teachers are aware of proper procedures around incorporating controversial materials and follow them. Students who choose not to engage in the material will be given an alternative assignment,” the statement continues. “We do believe that what occurred this fall was simply an oversight as a result of not understanding the policy. We regret if members of our community were offended.”
The statement adds that a school committee did in fact review “Howl” and other poems that include portrayals and “descriptions of sexual matters” and determine that the works should remain in the curriculum.
Insane!!
If this “teacher” were to use this sort of language around children in virtually any other setting, he’d be behind bars, and rightfully so! But because this filth is being “taught” to them in school, it’s somehow acceptable?!
Not only should this sick teacher be far removed from any minors, the administration of SSSD need their heads examined if they think “Howl” is appropriate material to cover in the classroom!
Call the Steamboat Springs School District and urge them to hold Mr. Ayala to some real accountability, not just a simple apology, and to strike this pornographic material from this and any future curriculum!
If you appreciate the work we are doing to fight the leftist assault on our values, please consider a small donation to help us continue. Thank you so much!
