Photo by: parents of students in the Puente club
A Puente teacher at Logan was sent home on paid leave on October 9th because of a parent complaint on October 7th concerning an assigned reading that included an explicit scene. Local news sources have created a few articles about the incident, which only had the voice of the parent who complained, a comment from the district, and a photo of the page with the explicit scene. No one spoke to the students of Puente.
In high school, I’ve had to read about three books with explicit scenes, which never bothered me or my peers. Sexual acts are a part of life and are nothing to overeact about, especially at the age of sixteen. The teacher’s students didn’t have a voice in the news articles, so I want to give them the opportunity to tell their side of the story.
As I entered the suspended teacher’s classroom, the air felt heavy. Everyone was either working on their assignment or had their head down, which concerned me with their wellbeing. I remember going into the class when he was in class before the incident, and the teacher was talking to students in the Puente club. Everyone was participating, it felt so lively. But from just one glance at the room it looked and felt like something important was missing.
“Class is now really boring and quiet. We don’t learn. All we do is turn in assignments,” junior Natalia Martinez stated. This not only affects the education of his hundreds of students in Puente but also their mental health.
The majority of students in Puente voiced how they are young adults who are more than capable of reading an explicit scene.
“We’re young adults, we’re not kids anymore. Sometimes in college topics like this can come up in high school, it’s just preparing us for college,” Daisy Antonio Luis stated, TA from Puente and a former student of this Puente teacher.
“It’s something that should be discussed in school and no one had any problems with it the prior years before,” junior Andrew Sheridan said.
“It’s something that we’re supposed to learn about eventually and is part of our lives as we’re growing into young adults,” Elanna Minchaca said.
Andres Quinones addresses how the book was not offensive: it was a prompt given to them and that’s how he took the information. He did his work and read the book, not giving a second thought to it like most of his peers.
“It’s a book about identity; a Chicana going through her trauma and overcoming it, finding herself,” Quinones said.
Rather than the content itself, it was the way this book was selected as part of the curriculum that raised more questions.
“I wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but I was kind of concerned and confused, especially with how we got it in the first place,” said Juliana Cowgill.
The Puente teacher acquired the book as a part of the winter program and winter project, which was approved by the state Puente Board. He didn’t choose the book at random, as it was assigned to him and his students by the Puente program.
“I get it, it’s uncomfortable reading it, but honestly, things that we face throughout life are uncomfortable,” said Natalia Muniz. “And if we bring it into classrooms, we’ll learn how to not be so uncomfortable in those situations.”
Students of the Puente teacher have heard outrageous rumors of him being a pedophile, preying on his students, forcing them to watch explicit scenes, and dating his students. All these claims were reported false by all his students, who explained with great concern that hearing all the rumors have negatively affected them.
“He’s extremely caring and he cares for all of his students,” sophomore Coral Malagon said. “It’s so horrible to see that he is pictured in such a horrible way when in reality, he is just an amazing teacher.” Parents spread rumors of him being a pedophile and preying on his students on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook.
“He’s nothing like what the rumors depict him to be. That’s one of the classes that everyone goes to, for anything,” Melissa Tecanhuehue, a junior, said. Melissa is a part of the Puente board and has a close student-teacher relationship with him. She has known him for a couple years and finds him to be reliable. In fact, she looks forward to that class everyday. She is not alone.
“He’s the guy that would be there for you whenever you need it,” Andrew Sheridan said. “If someone is crying in the hallway, he would stop class and bring a tissue box outside to make sure that person is getting the support they need.”
Regardless of the acceptance of the reading in the past, there is no denying that the national perception of what teachers should be allowed to teach is changing. There are examples of censorship and oversight in other parts of the country from banning books in school libraries to having teachers submit lesson plans for a course to the public. All of these developments have only made things more difficult for all involved.
“In today’s world, as educators, we must be hyper sensitive when dealing with controversial issues,” Logan principal Ron Polk said. “There are many items in literature that can be deemed as controversial. As educators, we need to discern whether or not something is appropriate for the grade level that is being taught. As with all things, people learn at different speeds; therefore, we need to check in with our young adults and their guardians in terms of dealing with these controversial issues. All in all, we have to consider all scenarios. Education is a difficult field for all.”
Currently, no decision has been made on the future of the Puente teacher who was placed on leave. The class has had to make due with that unknown. When asked if the reading assignment caused feelings of discomfort Paulina Castro responded eloquently.
“If anything it affected me negatively in the fact that now my teacher’s gone,” Castro said. “It’s still my world studies class and I expect to still be taught.”
