A parent has accused a secondary school of ‘brainwashing’ after he learned 14-year-old students were told to read a book that ‘blames them for their white skin’.
James Farquharson claims students were being fed ‘partisan political views’ after the novel, The Hate U Give, was added to the Year 10 reading list at Budmouth Academy in Weymouth, Dorset.
The 53-year-old said the book was making some students feel guilty about being white and left his daughter ’embarrassed and uncomfortable’ after was told to read it out loud.
He has also accused the school of double standards as it has a zero-tolerance stance on swearing yet the book is littered with four letter expletives, including the F-word repeated 89 times.
The US novel, which has since been removed from the school’s reading list, follows an African-American girl who speaks out after witnessing a white police officer shoot her childhood friend.
Mr Farquharson said he has also questioned the appropriateness of another book that was being read out aloud by children aged 12.
He said the book, called Pigeon English, explores sexual themes including female masturbation and is so ‘creepy’ it raised safeguarding concerns for the children reading it.
The books are part of the Drop Everything and Reach (DEAR) initiative which aims to get people to read for a short period everyday.
James Farquharson claims students are being ‘brainwashed’ after the novel, The Hate U Give, was added to the Year 10 reading list at Budmouth Academy in Weymouth, Dorset
Mr Farquharson has now written to the headteacher at Budmouth Academy seeking an urgent review of the titles on the school’s reading list.
He said it is not about banning books but about giving students access to books that are appropriate for their age.
He said: ‘I found out about this last week when my 14-year-old daughter said she and her peers were having to read (The Hate U Give) out aloud.
‘She felt embarrassed and uncomfortable about it.
‘I looked through it and read the first 150 pages and thought “really?”.
‘It is full of bad language, it normalises sex and drugs, and is centred on identity politics, namely race, which blames her for her white skin.
‘It is divisive and is centred on issues of blackness and whiteness.
‘The school shouldn’t be addressing political issues with students unless they are going to balance it with the counter-arguments.
‘It is neo-Marxism being slipped into our children’s minds, not by outright political lectures but via fiction.
‘It is being incubated in their minds that there are goodies and baddies who in this case are the white kids.’
Addressing the book Pigeon English, which his Year 8 daughter is reading, he said: ‘It contains themes and language that one would hope 12-year-old kids wouldn’t be taught in school.
‘A 12-year-old reading out passages about female masturbation is a massive safeguarding red flag.’
Mr Farquharson, a media and communications manager, said other parents at the school have also raised concerns and complaints about the reading material.
Parent Vicki Burgoyne posted: ‘Why are we making our future generations read such tripe?
‘We need to educate and broaden their minds not shrink them with street slang and brain dead literature to shock them.
‘Why are we trying to shock kids by giving them such things to think about. It’s really sad. No wonder child mental health, self harm and suicide is at an all time high if this is what’s filling there heads.’
Mr Farquharson has now written to the headteacher at Budmouth Academy seeking an urgent review of the titles on the school’s reading list
The Hate U Give is a critically-acclaimed coming-of-age novel by American author Angie Thomas.
It addresses racism and stereotypes surrounding black youths and the protection of white communities.
But not everyone is against it being taught in schools.
One parent posted on social media: ‘This has been part of the school curriculum for a number of years now.
‘Rather than being offended by it (which is understandable) some consideration also needs to be given to what its trying to challenge and how it wants to provoke thought processes.
‘This is nothing new in this line of literature.
‘If taught correctly this book is a powerful tool to provoke deeper analysis and understanding of the issues that arise in pop culture today.’
A spokesperson for Budmouth Academy told the Daily Mail: ‘Following a review of our Year 10 reading list, we have taken the decision to remove The Hate U Give.
‘We acknowledge that the novel raises important themes and is promoted as appropriate for readers that are aged 14+.
‘However, after careful consideration, we have decided that there are alternative texts that raise similar themes which are better suited to our students in Year 10.
‘A second book, Pigeon English, is under review but is likely to remain on the curriculum, as it is a prescribed text for GCSE English Literature by the exam boards.’
