Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools (The Tale of the Troubling Textbook) - Part Three
his Is Not About Monkeys
While researching what I hope will be an upcoming book about the “wall of separation” as it relates to public education, I came across as case which has fascinated me far out of proportion to its actual importance. Since I try to keep the published stuff concise and balanced and semi-professional, I’m getting the rest of it out of my system here.You’re welcome.
I’ve already written about Mozert v. Hawkins (6th Circuit, 1987) in Part One and Part Two, and fully intend to wrap it up here in this final post – so you can realistically expect Part Four sometime early next week. *sigh*
The Story So Far
Parents in Hawkins County, Tennessee, led by Vicki Frost, objected to a literature textbook being used in their kids’ public school. The families were fundamentalist Christians, and the stories in the reader were all about imaginary places and events, appreciating different cultures, and asking important questions about what’s truly important – the antithesis of their faith, they insisted. When the school refused to let their kids opt out of using this particular book, they took them to court.
The case began in the Eastern District of Tennessee under Judge Thomas Hull. He rejected a number of their complaints as outside the purview of the federal bench, CONTINUE READING: Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools (The Tale of the Troubling Textbook) - Part Three | Blue Cereal Education