Why Tweak the Curriculum?

(Yes the pun was intended. And no this isn't a slam on my parents.)

My nonfiction class was going to read the book TWEAK: GROWING UP ON METHAMPHETAMINES but because the book was too...lets say vulgar, we could not read it. My teacher made a wise decision, a decision backed by research to not have us read the books for our curriculum. If she had remembered to send out permission forms then we would have read it, unless a parent would have disagreed with the material. Which is possible considering the up rise it caused in some schools (primarily on the East coast).

This class is made up of juniors and seniors, the next generation, young adults. Whatever you want to call us... The point being that we are going to go out into the world and not know what to expect because we have been sheltered all our lives. This book, though vulgar, gives us a different perspective to life that our parents don't want to show us because they are too afraid that we might find that life isn't always a bed of roses.

There are reasons to be afraid of what we might uncover while reading this book. But. But it's better than finding out the hard way. It's better to experience this life through a character rather than our own lives. Maybe it is vulgar but we are growing up and we are going to find that life is real and we might even be faced with the decision of whether or not to do drugs. As vulgar as this book might be it could influence our decisions, but if we can't read it then it won't have any impact on us, including a positive impact.

To be ready for the world later we have to have glimpses of what it is really like. This book would not only show some difficult decisions and the affect of those decisions but it also is a good sign of hope. The author has obviously come along way from being addicted to drugs to writing a book. So my conclusion is that if people wouldn't dwell on the negative in this book then they might find a better message, and we might be able to read a book that most of the class was interested in, and it wouldn't cause an up rise in schools.