Residents Debate Lyons Township High Books

LA GRANGE, IL – A couple of residents on Monday supported books proposed for courses at Lyons Township High School. Many of the books include subjects such as race and poverty.

Meanwhile, another resident suggested indoctrination was taking place because of the lack of alternative viewpoints.

The residents spoke during Monday's school board meeting.

Patch listed some of the books in a story Friday.

Resident Deborah Anderson, who retired as a history teacher from the high school in 2012, said she has read many of the proposed books as part of a book club made up of retired teachers.

"I hope our students get a diverse background and that we don't ever limit the books that our children can read," Anderson said.

Western Springs resident Mary Ann Quinlan also backed the proposal, specifically the books about poverty, wealth inequality, feminism and race.

"The texts listed are worth reading, discussing and rereading for teens and adults," she said.

La Grange resident Tim Penrod, though, said the books seem to come from a "far-left worldview" about race, poverty and climate.

"What disturbs me more than anything is that I don't see any books in the curricular recommendation that offer countervailing perspectives," Penrod said. "I'm not against these books. I'm not against the kids reading them. I think there has to be an offsetting viewpoint, too."

Penrod took particular exception to Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of two of the books in the proposal.

"I'm sure a lot of people won't agree about this, but say what you will about Ta-Nehisi Coates' writing abilities, he's nothing more than a racist and an anti-semite posing as an intellectual," Penrod said. "He views everything through the lens of race and racism."

He pointed to a passage in Coates' "Between the World and Me," one of the proposed books: "'White America' is a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies. Sometimes this power is direct (lynching), and sometimes it is insidious (redlining). But however it appears, the power of domination and exclusion is central to the belief in being white, and without it, 'white people' would cease to exist for want of reasons."

Without alternative material presented, Penrod said, "this becomes nothing more than indoctrination." A contrary perspective could come from books by Thomas Sowell, a well-respected African American economist, Penrod said.

The books about race may be problematic under the Trump administration. Last week, the Department of Education informed states that public schools that feature DEI may be at risk of losing their federal money.

It remains undefined what constitutes diversity, equity and inclusion in the administration's eyes.

During the school board meeting, member Paula Struwing asked whether the school has guidelines to ensure a "broad spectrum" of books.

"I think it's a really slippery slope, especially when we go into reading materials that are selected," Struwing said. "We have to navigate a very careful line of teaching kids how to think, not teaching kids what to think."

Scott Eggerding, the school's curriculum director, said books that appeal to narrower viewpoints tend to be choices, while mandated books are of a "wider nature."

Board member Michael Thomas spoke about DEI.

"From my perspective, diversity, equity and inclusion does not equal the Black experience. The Black experience is an American experience," Thomas said. "There are a whole lot of other things that are encompassing of diversity, equity and inclusion."

"Well said," board President Jill Grech said.

The board is expected to vote on the book proposal in a couple of weeks.