User:Vlp5/sandbox

Final Draft

Charlotte Case Write Up
     In Charlotte, North Carolina, Peter Gorman, the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), along with other members of the school board, removed And Tango Makes Three (Tango) from school libraries on December 20, 2006 . A miscommunication and failure to follow procedure allowed for the ban .
     Among the leadership of the school board and county, there was discourse on the propriety of Tango. The GOP county commissioner in Charlotte, Bill James, had communicated to Gorman that he was “opposed to any book that promotes a homosexual lifestyle to elementary school students as normal” and wanted to know if CMS had the book . Additionally, CMS administrators, Ruth Perez, Ronald Dixon, and Gloria Miller, were in favour of banning of the book, as they stated in their memo addressed to the principals . These administrators asserted that Tango “focuses on homosexuality” and they “did not feel that such information was vital to primary students” nor would the book “stimulate growth in ethical standards” .
     The discovery of the administration’s failure to follow the procedure to ban a book occurred when the Charlotte Observer requested copies of the complaints which would have initiated the process to ban a book according to CMS policy . However, it was found there were no complaints on file . Robert Avossa, the chief of staff for superintendent Gorman, had done research on the process for book removal for CMS schools after Gorman asked him to do so after discussing the book with parents and the county commissioner . Superintendent Gorman thought that procedure had been followed when Avossa told him about CMS procedure regarding the removal of books, hence the ban .
      After the realisation of the oversight, Superintendent Gorman returned Tango to schools. The case concluded when CMS officials made a statement that “the book [would] be reviewed only if parents ask for its removal, which hasn't happened” .

Authors/Background
      Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, the two authors of And Tango Makes Three are married, with one daughter . Richardson is a professor of psychiatry, as well as a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Columbia University . Richardson received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University . Parnell is a playwright whose works have been performed at The Public Theater and Broadway in addition to many other venues .
      The idea for Tango came after Parnell and Richardson read the New York Times article, “Love That Dare Not Squeak Its Name” by Dinitia Smith . The article began with Roy and Silo’s story . Reading the article aloud, Richardson states that the life of Roy and Silo “started sounding like a children’s story” . While writing Tango, Parnell and Richardson “visited the zoo several times so that [they] were able to write from what [they’d] seen” . The two authors also took care to erase anthropomorphism within their drafts of the book . In an interview with The Guardian, the authors stated that, “We didn’t want to put thoughts and feelings into the heads of the penguins.” .
      The motivation for writing Tango was the way Richardson and Parnell believe the subject of homosexuality is approached by parents . According to Richardson, “One of the areas that parents find very difficult to discuss with their children is homosexuality” and they intended Tango to be a device to ease this difficulty parents experience in addressing homosexuality .
      During the writing process both Richardson and Parnell “expect[ed] a negative reaction” to Tango . Although Tango never explicitly mentions homosexuality, “homosexuality and talking to children about sexuality have been highly politicised” states Richardson . The editor of Tango at Simon & Schuster, David Gale, stated that those working on Tango “never expected a reaction to such an extent” . Vlp5 (talk) 18:18, 28 November 2016 (UTC)vlp5

Updated Sources

Here are the references I have used thus far, I'll put their ref ids with them if you want to check them while you're reading my draft.

Works Cited
ref id 9
ANN DOSS HELMS, AHELMS@CHARLOTTEOBSERVERCOM, STAFF WRITERS EMILY S ACHENBAUM, JEN ARONOFF, DEBORAH HIRSCH, LUKAS JOHNSON, CARRIE LEVINE, AMY RAINEY AND LENA,WARMACK CONTRIBUTED. "Picture Book is Banned by Cms - Story of Apparently Gay Penguins is Removed without Following Policy." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1A. Dec 20 2006. Web.

ref id 11
ANN, DOSS H. "Penguin Book Back in Schools - Cms Chief Calls it Error to Ban Same-Sex Story without Panel Review." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1B. Dec 21 2006. Web.

ref id 16
ANN, DOSS H. "Cms: No Review for Penguin Book - Re-Evaluation would Only Come if Parent Asks for Book to be Removed." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1B. Jan 10 2007. Web. ---. "Penguin Book Back in Schools - Cms Chief Calls it Error to Ban Same-Sex Story without Panel Review." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1B. Dec 21 2006. Web.

ref id 23
Lea, Richard. "March of the Penguin Protesters." The Guardian.May 23 (2007)Print.

ref id 17
Lee, Jennifer. "A Baby for the Gay Authors Behind the Daddy Penguins." City Room. October 2, 2009 2009. Web. November 19, 2016 <http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/a-baby-for-the-gay-authors-behind-the-daddy-penguins/?_r=0>.

ref id 20
"Peter Parnell." Web. November 19th, 2016 <http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Peter-Parnell/707666>.

ref 19
Richardson, Justin. "Justin Richardson, M.D." Web. November 19th, 2016 <http://psychoanalysis.columbia.edu/people/faculty/justin-richardson-md>.

Vlp5 (talk) 18:09, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

Authors/Further Background

Again, note that the reference ids in parenthesis are for my benefit when I add the sources to the page.

      Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, the two authors of And Tango Makes Three are married, with one daughter (ref id 17). Richardson is a professor of psychiatry, as well as a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Columbia University (ref id 19). Parnell is a playwright whose works have been performed at the Public Theater and Broadway in addition to many other venues (ref id 20).
      The idea for Tango came after Parnell and Richardson read the New York Times article, “Love That Dare Not Squeak Its Name” by Dinitia Smith (ref id 23). The article began with Roy and Silo’s story (ref id 23). Reading the article aloud, Richardson states that the life of Roy and Silo “started sounding like a children’s story” (ref id 23). While writing Tango, Parnell and Richardson “visited the zoo several times so that [they] were able to write from what [they’d] seen” (ref id 23). The two authors also took care to erase anthropomorphism within their drafts of the book (ref id 23). In an interview with The Guardian, the authors stated that, “We didn’t want to put thoughts and feelings into the heads of the penguins.” (ref id 23).
      The motivation for writing Tango was due to the way the subject of homosexuality is approached by parents (ref id 23). According to Richardson, “One of the areas that parents find very difficult to discuss with their children is homosexuality” and Tango could be a device to ease this difficulty parents experience in addressing homosexuality (ref id 23).
      During the writing process both Richardson and Parnell “expect[ed] a negative reaction” to Tango (ref id 23). Although Tango never explicitly mentions homosexuality, “homosexuality and talking to children about sexuality have been highly politicised” states Richardson (ref id 23). The editor of Tango at Simon & Schuster, David Gale, stated that those working on Tango “never expected a reaction to such an extent” (ref id 23). Vlp5 (talk) 02:44, 21 November 2016 (UTC)vlp5

Charlotte Case Write-Up

Note that the reference ids in parenthesis are for my benefit when I add the sources to the page.

     In Charlotte, North Carolina, Peter Gorman, the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), along with other members of the school board, removed And Tango Makes Three (Tango) from school libraries on December 20, 2006 (ref ID 9). A blunder in communication and failure to follow procedure allowed for the ban (ref ID 9).
     Among the leadership of the school board and county, there was discourse on the propriety of Tango. The GOP county commissioner in Charlotte, Bill James, had communicated to Gorman that he was “opposed to any book that promotes a homosexual lifestyle to elementary school students as normal” and wanted to know if CMS had the book (ref ID 9). Additionally, CMS administrators, Ruth Perez, Ronald Dixon, and Gloria Miller, were for the banning of the book, as they stated in their memo addressed to the principals (ref ID 9). These administrators asserted that Tango “focuses on homosexuality” and they “did not feel that such information was vital to primary students” nor would the book “stimulate growth in ethical standards” (ref ID 9).
     The discovery of the administration’s failure occurred when the Charlotte Observer requested copies of the complaints which would have initiated the process to ban a book according to CMS policy (ref ID 9). However, it was found there were no complaints on file (ref ID 9). Robert Avossa, the chief of staff for superintendent Gorman, had done research on the process for book removal for CMS schools after the superintendent asked him to do so after discussing the book with parents and the county commissioner (ref id 11). Gorman thought that procedure had been followed when Avossa told him about CMS procedure regarding the removal of books, hence the ban (ref id 9).
     The case concluded when CMS officials made a statement that “the book [would] be reviewed only if parents ask for its removal, which hasn't happened” (ref id 16). Vlp5 (talk) 00:38, 20 November 2016 (UTC)vlp5

Planning

As someone from North Carolina, I have particular interest in the political climate in the state. So, there is a case concerning And Tango Makes Three that took place in Charlotte in 2006. This is the case I will elaborate on in my contributions to the page. Additionally, I plan to change the page to give more information on the authors. I want to address their purpose in writing the book, as well as, what they have said regarding the controversies which surround the book.Vlp5 (talk) 03:11, 14 November 2016 (UTC)vlp5

Works Cited

Ann Doss Helms, AHELMS@CHARLOTTEOBSERVERCOM, STAFF WRITERS EMILY S ACHENBAUM, JEN ARONOFF, DEBORAH HIRSCH, LUKAS JOHNSON, CARRIE LEVINE, AMY RAINEY AND LENA,WARMACK CONTRIBUTED. "Picture Book is Banned by Cms - Story of Apparently Gay Penguins is Removed without Following Policy." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1A. Dec 20 2006. Web.

Ann, Doss H. "Penguin Book Back in Schools - Cms Chief Calls it Error to Ban Same-Sex Story without Panel Review." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1B. Dec 21 2006. Web.

---. "Tango (Now 6) has Girlfriend." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 1B. Dec 22 2006. Web.

Foerstel, Herbert N. Banned in the U.S.A. : A Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries. Westport, US: Greenwood Press, 2002. Web.

Karolides, Nicholas J., Bald, Margaret., Sova,Dawn B.,. 120 Banned Books : Censorship Histories of World Literature. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2011. /z-wcorg/. Web.

Observer Staff - Editorial. "`tango' Tangle - Book-Ban Decision Deserved More Consideration than it Got." Charlotte Observer, The (NC): 14A. Dec 21 2006. Web.

The most Banned Children's Book of the Year: And Tango Makes Three. Dir. Richardson, Justin,, Parnell, Peter., Gale, David., Recorded Books,Inc., MyLibraryDV.,. Distributed by Recorded Books, MyLibraryDV, 2007.

Scales, Pat,,. Books Under Fire : A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children's Books., 2015. /z-wcorg/. Web.

Young, Craig A.,. The Creation of Controversy: A Case Study of "and Tango Makes Three"., 2010. /z-wcorg/. Web.