Parents and Educators Debate Textbook Series

More than 500 parents and educators from the Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District squared off Monday night, debating whether a controversial series of reading texts are stimulating children’s interest in literature or, as some parents claim, whetting students’ curiousity about witchcraft.

The debate focuses on “Impressions,” a series of books published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston of Canada Ltd., and used by the district through sixth grade. Some parents vehemently oppose the books--saying they evoke devil worship, morbid thoughts and sinister images--and want them removed.

“Some of the stories contain wicked and evil thoughts and bloody sayings about monsters,” Vivian Moraga told the school board during the meeting at Cedarlane Junior High School in La Puente. “I feel as a parent there’s enough negative things with drugs and alcohol that they don’t need to read these kinds of stories.”

Assistant Supt. Irv Rem asked the board for three more weeks to review the texts, saying the staff wants more time for comment from teachers and parents.

“We know there are parents on both sides of the issue,” he said. “We’ve been moving to respond sincerely to the concerns that have been raised.”

Rem told the board that the books reviewed by his staff were an early edition of the series and did not contain some of the more offensive passages and poems.

For instance, he said, the edition previewed by the board contained the original “Twelve Days of Christmas” poem. The board received a later edition, however, which contained a more gruesome version called “A Wart Snake in a Fig Tree.”

Rem told the board that “an honest mix-up had occurred.” His comments were greeted by shouts of “Send them back! Let’s get our money back!”

“The stories are fun and lively,” Michelle Davenport, a first-grade teacher, said to a chorus of boos. “The children (as a result) are showing a desire to write. They’re impatient to write.”

“I don’t go for book burning,” said one parent, who declined to give his name. “If you were as old as me, you would have seen a crowd like that in Munich in the ‘30s being led by a gentleman with a mustache.”