{"id":2128278,"date":"2023-12-18T16:23:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T21:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-school-board-president-sworn-in-with-pornographic-books\/"},"modified":"2023-12-18T16:28:21","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T21:28:21","slug":"pennsylvania-school-board-president-sworn-in-with-pornographic-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-school-board-president-sworn-in-with-pornographic-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania School Board President Takes Oath Amidst Controversial Books"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpennsylvania-school-board-president-sworn-in-with-pornographic-books%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2128278&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>\n      <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>A Controversial Swearing-In Ceremony<\/h2>\n<p>A\u2062 recently\u2064 elected Pennsylvania school board president made \u2064her priorities clear this month when she was sworn in using\u200c controversial books, \u2064including \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/masterpiece-cakeshop-christian-baker-on-trial-again-this-time-sued-by-transgender-activist\/\" title=\"Masterpiece Cakeshop Christian Baker On Trial Again: This Time Sued By Transgender Activist\">sexually explicit material<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On \u2064Dec. 4,\u2062 Karen Smith, a Democrat who was elected to lead the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buckscountyeducation.com\/school-districts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">third-largest<\/a> school district in November, was sworn in\u2062 with a stack \u200dof books, including sexually explicit \u2062material.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for your trust \u200din me, I do not\u200d take this hand lightly,\u201d Smith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/pennsylvania-school-board-president-sworn-into-office-sexually-explicit-book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> when\u2064 she became president of the Central Bucks County\u2064 School Board. \u201cTo my supporters, I am so \u200cvery thankful. To\u200b those of you \u2064who have challenged me, \u200bI will do \u2064all I can to hear your\u200c voices\u2062 and concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However,\u2064 based\u200d on the \u2063books upon\u2062 which she swore an \u2064oath, Smith\u2019s pledge to keep \u200ban open mind\u200d to parental concerns was hardly austere.<\/p>\n<p>According to Fox \u2062News, \u2062one of the books used in the swearing ceremony included <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Flamer-Mike-Curato\/dp\/162779641X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Flamer<\/a>,<\/em> by Mike Curato, published in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[[<em>Flamer<\/em>]tells the story of a character who is bullied at a Boy Scouts \u2063summer camp for \u2018acting in a manner \u2062considered stereotypical of gay men,&#8217;\u201d Fox \u2064News\u200c reported. \u201cThe graphic novel includes characters discussing \u200cpornography, erections, masturbation, penis size,\u2063 and an illustration that \u200cdepicts naked\u2062 teenage boys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other books included in the stack upon which she was sworn in were <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Night-Elie-Wiesel\/dp\/0374500010\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1J7K8SRTQ3WAF&#038;keywords=night+book+by+elie+wiesel&#038;qid=1702925948&#038;s=books&#038;sprefix=night+book+e%2Cstripbooks%2C205&#038;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Night<\/a><\/em>, by Elie Wiesel; <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Bluest-Eye-Vintage-International\/dp\/0307278441\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XJ85936AZEPK&#038;keywords=the+bluest+eye+by+toni+morrison&#038;qid=1702925964&#038;s=books&#038;sprefix=the+bluest+eye%2Cstripbooks%2C306&#038;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Bluest Eye<\/a><\/em>, by Toni Morrison; and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/All-Boys-Arent-Blue-Memoir-Manifesto\/dp\/0374312710\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DMG478DZFHHR&#038;keywords=all+boys+aren%27t+blue&#038;qid=1702925986&#038;s=books&#038;sprefix=all+boys+aren%27t+blue%2Cstripbooks%2C173&#038;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">All Boys Aren\u2019t Blue<\/a><\/em>,\u200c by\u200b George M. Johnson. At \u200bleast three of \u2062the \u2064books Smith was sworn in on\u2062 were listed in the top 5\u2064 of the\u2062 American Library Association\u2019s (ALA) \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ala.org\/advocacy\/bbooks\/frequentlychallengedbooks\/top10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most challenged books<\/a>\u201d of 2022. The national library\u200c group\u2019s activism promoting these \u2064books in local curriculums has \u200dled conservative policymakers in at least nine states to begin severing ties with the ALA. Last week, Texas, which ended its tax-subsidized affiliation with the \u200dALA in August, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/15\/texas-education-board-votes-to-protect-kids-from-sexually-explicit-books-in-school-libraries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> new rules to\u200d keep \u201csexually explicit\u201d books out of school libraries.<\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s decision to use\u200c material endorsed by far-left activists to infiltrate \u2063classrooms illustrates how identity politics has become embraced \u2062as a cynical, secular religion. Had Smith been genuine with\u200c a\u200d pledge to hear district parents\u2019 concerns, \u2062she might have chosen different material to \u200dbe \u2063sworn in on.<\/p>\n<p>Silvi\u2063 Haldipur, \u2063a \u2064mom of two boys in Bucks County schools, said she was previously\u2064 \u201chorrified\u201d by LGBT and antisemitic remarks\u200c in the boardroom\u2063 of the east Pennsylvania district. However, parents in this district could have more difficulty being involved in their children\u2019s education moving forward. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-school-district-drops-one-acronym-for-another-while-claiming-theyre-a-symptom-of-white-supremacy-culture\/\" title=\"San Francisco School District Drops One Acronym For Another While Claiming They\u2019re A \u2018Symptom Of White Supremacy Culture\u2019\">school board\u2019<\/a>s\u2062 new \u200dDemocrat majority\u200b immediately voted to \u201cfreeze two policies \u200brelated to library books that passed last year \u200calong with other policies.\u201d\u200b This includes halting a previous \u200cupdate to\u2064 the Library\u200d Materials \u200bpolicy that \u2062allowed parents \u2064to challenge certain books in\u200d the classroom.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr>\n<h3>Author Information<\/h3>\n<p>Tristan Justice \u200cis the western correspondent\u200b for The Federalist and \u200cthe author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative \u2063newsletter on \u2064culture,\u2063 health,\u2064 and wellness. He has \u2063also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has \u200balso been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox \u200dNews. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored\u200b in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan \u2063or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.\u200c Sign \u2063up for Tristan&#8217;s email \u200cnewsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-image data-amount=\"5\">\n<h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u200cHow have conservative policymakers responded to Smith&#8217;s decision, severing ties with the\u2063 American Library Association and \u2063implementing stricter rules for school libraries, and what implications does \u200dthis\u200d have for the future of education policies and the promotion of certain books in schools<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u2062Rial containing explicit content during her swearing-in ceremony has sparked controversy and raised concerns \u200bamong parents and conservative policymakers. The recently elected Pennsylvania school board president, Karen Smith, chose to use a\u2062 stack \u200cof books, including sexually \u2063explicit material, to take her oath of office on December 4th.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, a Democrat who was elected to lead the state&#8217;s third<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-schools-can-reopen-safely-without-vaccinating-teachers-against-covid-19\/\" title=\"CDC: Schools Can Reopen Safely Without Vaccinating Teachers Against COVID-19\">-largest school district<\/a> in November, expressed\u200d her gratitude to her supporters and\u200b vowed\u200d to listen to the concerns of those who have challenged her. However,\u2062 the choice of books\u200d she used for the ceremony\u200b has raised questions about her\u200b commitment to keeping an \u200dopen mind to parental concerns.<\/p>\n<p>One of\u200b the books\u200c used in the swearing-in\u200d ceremony was &#8220;Flamer&#8221; \u200dby\u200b Mike Curato, published in 2020. According \u200dto Fox News,\u200d this graphic novel tells the story of \u2064a character who is bullied\u2064 at a Boy Scouts summer camp for &#8220;acting in a manner considered stereotypical of gay \u200cmen.&#8221; The \u200bbook includes explicit discussions about \u200cpornography, \u200cerections, masturbation, penis \u200csize, and \u2063even an illustration depicting naked teenage boys.<\/p>\n<p>In addition \u200bto &#8220;Flamer,&#8221; other books included in the stack Smith used during her swearing-in\u200c ceremony were &#8220;Night&#8221; by\u200d Elie\u200d Wiesel, &#8220;The Bluest Eye&#8221; by \u2063Toni Morrison, and &#8220;All Boys Aren&#8217;t Blue&#8221; by George M. Johnson. It is noteworthy \u2063that at least three of these books \u200bwere\u200c listed in the top 5 of the American Library Association&#8217;s (ALA) &#8220;most challenged\u200d books&#8221;\u2063 of 2022. The\u200c ALA&#8217;s advocacy \u2063for these books in local curriculums has led conservative\u2064 policymakers\u200b in nine states to sever ties with the organization. Texas recently\u200c passed new\u2062 rules \u200dto prevent &#8220;sexually explicit&#8221; books from being included in school libraries after \u200cending its affiliation with the ALA.<\/p>\n<p>Smith&#8217;s decision to use material containing explicit content during her swearing-in ceremony has prompted discussions about the appropriateness of such books \u200bin\u200c school settings. Many \u2062argue that\u200b exposing students to sexually explicit material at such a young age is inappropriate and \u200cgoes against parental values. Conservative policymakers have taken concrete measures to protect children from such\u200d books by \u2064severing ties with the\u200c ALA and\u2064 implementing stricter rules \u200dfor\u200c school libraries.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy surrounding Smith&#8217;s swearing-in ceremony highlights the ongoing debate over the inclusion of explicit content in school curriculums and libraries. While some argue for the\u2063 importance of diverse and inclusive literature, others emphasize the need to \u200bprotect \u200bchildren\u2064 from potentially harmful and age-inappropriate material. \u200bIt remains\u2064 to\u200b be seen how this controversy\u2063 will shape the future direction of education policies and the role of the ALA in promoting \u200dcertain books in\u2062 schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Pennsylvania school board president, Karen Smith, elected in November, made her priorities evident during her recent swearing-in ceremony. She used a collection of controversial books, some containing sexually explicit content, to emphasize her stance. This action has sparked discussions within the state&#8217;s third-largest school district<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2128279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2128278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2128278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2128279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2128278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2128278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2128278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}