The graphic novel adaptation of a book commonly read in schools has caused a teacher in Texas to be fired. Local news station KDFM reported that the Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District sent a middle school teacher home after an eighth grade class was assigned a passage from an "unapproved" graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank's diary.
The passage that sparked controversy was one that discusses sexuality. The entry was in Anne Frank's actual diary but it has not been included in the version of the book commonly read in schools.
Mike Canizales, Hamshire-Fannett ISD spokesperson, said the investigation is ongoing, KFDM reported. "As you may be aware, following concerns regarding curricular selections in your student’s reading class, a substitute teacher has been facilitating the class since Wednesday, September 13, 2023," said a statement Canizales provided. "The District is currently in the process of posting the position to secure a high-quality, full-time teacher as quickly as possible. During this period of transition, our administrators and curriculum team will provide heightened support and monitoring in the reading class to ensure continuity in instruction."
The book was deemed "not appropriate" due to descriptions of human bodies, sexuality, and going through puberty. The teacher allegedly had students read passages from the novel aloud in class, which a parent described as "not OK."
"I mean it's bad enough, she's having them read this for an assignment, but then she also is making them read it aloud and making a little girl talk about feeling each other's breasts and when she sees a female she goes into ecstasy, that's not OK," the parent, Amy Manuel, told KFDM.
The adaptation, which was released in 2018, was created by Ari Folman and David Polonsky. It includes a passage from 1944 that mentions aspects of human anatomy and natural body changes, such as pubic hair and sexual desire.
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Anne Frank, who died in 1945 in the Holocaust, began writing her diary at age 12. The Anne Frank Fonds, a foundation started by Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank, and dedicated to the distribution of Anne Frank's diary, has defended the inclusion of original passages from Anne's diary in the past. “We consider the book of a 12-year-old girl to be appropriate reading for her peers," board member Yves Kugelmann said.
The book has been challenged and banned at other schools as well, such as Vero Beach High School in Florida. Moms for Liberty, a conservative advocacy group, had an issue with the book because Anne Frank wrote about asking a friend if they could show each other their breasts. The book was removed from the high school's library after the conservative group challenged it.
