West Cook News

A concerned parent read aloud graphic parts of books she found on a summer reading list at Lyons Township High School.

Laura Tussing, whose son is a ninth grader at the school, told West Cook News she was disappointed in the content of several books included on a ninth grade reading list.

“They talk about how girls are having sex at the age of 13 or 14,” she said. “There's pedophilia going on — and I mean, it's just horrible. And you just can't help but go, why? Why would you want a ninth grader to read this? What is the purpose?”

Tussing is a former Equity Board member at the district.

In the Nov. 1 board meeting she took her concerns to the Lyons Township High School District 204 meeting where she questioned curriculum standards and the value to the community it serves.

“I apologize to the students that are here,” Tussing said as she read excerpts from books found in the school’s library. “Page 256. She did your homework and you ate her coochie. Page three. Peering through the window, looking at the boy, his pants around his ankles, squeezed between April straddled legs as she lay on top of the teacher's desk. Page 400. I took a deep breath before dropping down on my shaky knees the ground cold. As I reached for his belt buckle, Michael gently pushed my hands away, but I didn't want to stop. If I do this, they'll stop calling me a lesbian.”

In particular Tussing focused her concern on All Boys Aren't Blue. The book is a coming of age tale from a LGBT activist George M. Johnson. It is one of several to receive attention across the country.

“Page two. I was about 13 years old when it happened,” Tussing read. “You told me you can't tell anybody. You then grabbed my hand and made me touch it. It was the first time I'd ever touched a penis that wasn't my own cousins weren't supposed to do these things. Page 266. He reached his hand down and pulled out my dick. He quickly went to giving me a head. I just sat back and enjoyed it. As I could tell, he was, too. I did my best to act dominant, like my favorite porn star.

“His body felt great in my mouth. Page 267 We dry humped and grinded. He pulled out a condom and some lube. I had never done it before. I had one point of reference seven years of watching pornography. Although the porn was heterosexual, it was enough to get the job done. Both of these books that I mentioned are riddled with again.”

Tussing also questioned the repeated use of “fuck,” “shit” and “hoe” in the titles she brought to the board’s attention.

“My number one question is how can you go against your own school policy and approve this pornography for our children to read and to what end?” she said. “I want an answer, and you owe it to the students and the school. How did you expect any of us parents to find this acceptable? If you do think this is appropriate and have high literary value, then I welcome you to come to the next board meeting with printed excerpts and handouts and read it out loud so it's on record and defend the educational value.”

As she approached the three minute mark, the limit for public comment, Board President Karen Dillon asked Tussing to finish her comments at the December meeting but she muscled through raising her voice.

“I'm asking you to please reengage as advocates for the students reengage as proponents of quality education championed higher standards for our district and most important, do not blindly accept governmental policy and agenda as a right or the only path. We are better than that and the students deserve better. I look forward to hearing your responses to the pornography that's in our schools today,” Tussing said.  

Tussing said she was not surprised Dillon tried to stop her comments.

“I went over 20 seconds and then they hit the three minute mark. They immediately cut me off,” Tussing said.

Lyons Township High School teachers recently noted their public participation in a Black Lives Matter study group held at the school. Meanwhile other students have complained of abuses related to setting up clubs catering to conservative ideologies.

Parents and student have held rolling protests at the school regarding its mask policy.

Read the entire contents of Tussing’s speech to the board below:

I’m here to ask about curriculum standards and the Board’s value to the community it serves.  

I’d like to share a some passages that are a part of your approved reading curriculum specifically from the  Summer Reading List for 9th and 10th graders.  

This is from the book Monday’s Not Coming:

Pg 256

“She did your homework and you ate her coochie”

Pg 321

…”peering through the window looking at the boy, his pants around his ankles - squeezed between April’s  straddled legs as she lay on top of a teacher’s desk.”

Pg . 400-401

“I took a deep breath before dropping down on my shaky knees the ground cold. As I reached for his belt  buckle, Michael gently pushed my hands away. .. But I didn’t want to stop. If I do this they’ll stop calling me a  lesbian…”

Another book on the Library shelf at South Campus has these excerpts from All Boys Aren’t Blue:

Pg 200-202

“I was about 13 years old when it happened…You told me, you can’t tell anybody… you then grabbed my  hand and made me touch it. It was the first time I had ever touched a penis that wasn’t my own. Cousins  weren’t supposed to do these things…”  

Pg. 266

He reached his hand down and pulled out my dick. He quickly went to giving me head. I just sat back and  enjoyed it as I could tell he was, too… I did my best to act dominant like my favorite porn star. His body felt  great in my mouth.

Pg. 267

We dry humped and grinded…he pulled out a condom and some lube. I had never done it before. I had one  point of reference 7 years of watching pornography…Although the porn was heterosexual, it was enough to  get the job done.

Both of these books are riddled with fuck, shit, ho and other salty language. Is this what qualifies as quality  literature?

My number one question - How can you go against your own school policy and approve this pornography for  our children to read? And to what end? I want an answer, you owe it to the students and the school. How do  you expect any parent to find this acceptable?

If you do think this is appropriate and of high literary value then I welcome you to come to the next board  meeting with printed excerpts of this to hand out. And read it out loud, so it’s on record and defend the educational value. In addition, please let us know if you will be accepting students English papers that include  literary phrases of sucking dick, fucking and damn ho, as a part of this new literary standard you are setting?  

I have to ask are you really doing your job to ensure the best education for the students?

And maybe that’s the problem. You seem to have tossed aside the basic structure of our democratic society.  You, as elected officials, are put in place to serve the students. We have entrusted you to shape the minds of  the future generation. You are not elected to serve the government. It’s your role to recognize the disconnect  between government regulation and the needs of the students. You have pushed regulation based on the  reasoning that it is State Board of Education policy. Do you not question anything? Our democracy was built  on being able to question policy. Parents have been imploring you to question the policy being handed down,  and you have turned a deaf ear. Instead you have systematically taken each policy and implemented without  question or concern or objections by your parents and students. You have failed to see bad policy.

You are supposed to the be local check and balance for the students. You have not represented anyone’s  interests other than the government’s. You have failed to uphold your end of the democratic relationship.

So I’m asking you, please re-engage as advocates for the students. Re-engage as proponents of quality  education. Champion higher standards for our district and most important do not blindly accept governmental  policy and agenda as the right or only path. We are better than that and the students deserve better.

I look forward to your response regarding this pornography in school.