Austinist: Book-Banning at St. Andrew's High School

anonymouxy

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:09:19 -0600

ur writing is kickas*ingly beautiful.

generic cialis

Mon, 29 May 2006 12:21:01 -0600

Its the second time I visited your site. Looks interesting.

Ella Nipson

Fri, 05 May 2006 09:30:36 -0600

I love (LOVE!) Austinist and hope this isn't taken the wrong way by others, but Spencer is the best writer and a tremendous boost to this site. Really, everyone here does a truely great job but Spencer's writing is such a nice lick of polish. Thank you, Spencer!

kevin

Thu, 04 May 2006 20:06:54 -0600

He moved his children to Westlake High School? Isn't that the one where police "detained" 150 or so students and parents last year for a "Fight Club" ? I'm sure Mr. McNair will be proud of his choice of violence over love. Maybe as seniors they'll get to read "Rocky".

Jooley Ann

Thu, 04 May 2006 15:10:03 -0600

How depressing. I can't express how relieved I am that St. Andrews stood by their guns, but honestly -- pulling your kids out of school over an Annie Proulx story? The woman is a brilliant writer. The story has no explicit homosexuality in it. It's a beautiful, thoughtful work about soooo much more than gay cowboys. (Not to nit, but it's actually a short story and not a book; it can be found in her Close Range: Wyoming Stories collection, all of which is excellent.) McNair was attempting bribery, in essense (take my money...and do what I tell you do to), and it speaks very highly of the powers that be at St. Andrews that they didn't buy into it.

Kyle

Thu, 04 May 2006 14:55:12 -0600

While I disagree with McNair's choice of action, I don't think he can be faulted for not wanting his children to read a book that he deemed to have questionable content. At least he takes an active role in his childen's upbringing and recognizes the influence that a school system has on children, valuing his morals over the allure of the private school name.

Kristina B

Thu, 04 May 2006 13:44:41 -0600

"...went home to take refuge in the New Testament, misinterpreting nearly every word as he read along with silently moving lips." Hilarious! What a great article!

lize burr

Thu, 04 May 2006 13:13:29 -0600

I've been following this story through friends with children at St. David's over the past year. As the graduate of exactly the type of elite private school that St. Andrews was established to emulate, I can't help but wonder if these parents really want the kind of education for their children that those East Coast elite schools provide. Clearly, they haven't read the memo on "Acknowledging The Supremacy of The School on All Matters," which is what makes having a child attend these school meaningful--the acceptance of the school's superiority to one's personal beliefs, experiences, and values. My kids go to school across the creek at Bryker Woods. Let's hear it for AISD one more time.

Jessica

Thu, 04 May 2006 13:09:12 -0600

Props, Spencer. Nice read.

Myackie

Thu, 04 May 2006 12:16:54 -0600

I love that line "Shocked that money couldn’t actually buy everything that he wanted..." I don't think I've ever seen it written before.

Charles the Native

Thu, 04 May 2006 12:08:29 -0600

Reading that article just makes me glad I went to St. Stephen's.