Please reject this amendment! A passing of this amendment would limit us from teaching many works that we read and would really place Virginia behind the rest of this nation in reading. I have worked with students who said they fell in love with reading because of The Bluford High books. Students who, prior to reading this series, refused to open a book. I have had students beg to read The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter, simply because they were eager to discuss the works with their classmates. Under this proposal, these works would be banned, and our students would be inevitably forced to read below grade level. How can we encourage students to read if we are telling them that it is wrong to read great writers such as William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Toni Morrison?

     Most teachers consider the needs and abilities of the students within their classrooms when determining what is being read and discussed during class. More often than not, we make accommodations to suit the needs of all of our students. Do not starve our students of literary nourishment!