Blount County middle school removes book 'Dragonwings' from curriculum after parents express concern

When Kahla Williams first learned her sixth grade daughter was going to read 'Dragonwings' in class, she was excited.

"It's a historical fiction. It's an excellent book... It's a Newbery Award winner," Williams said. "I think it's important for them to learn everything that they can about every culture."

The 1975 novel by Laurence Yep explores the "struggles and dreams of Chinese immigrants navigating opportunity and prejudice in San Francisco," according to its description.

"If something makes you uncomfortable, it's likely that you should be reading it or that you should learn it," Williams said. "We live in a predominantly white culture and so this was an opportunity for her to learn something different."

But after some parents expressed concerns over the novel's content, Union Grove Middle School Principal John Webb told parents they would no longer be teaching it.

A petition circulating online calls for the district to remove the novel from its curriculum because of racism, foul language, underage drinking, violence, drugs, prostitution and alcohol. It had about 130 signatures as of Monday evening.

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/education/blount-county-middle-school-removes-dragonwings-from-curriculum-after-parents-express-concerns/51-6c40df29-2a72-43dd-b5ca-93baa3083dcc
__________________________________________________________________________________
"Oh no, it makes ME uncomfortable, therefore my child can't read it!"