Bending convention, an Alabama high school teacher distributed a summer reading list to his students that featured conservative writers such as Michael Savage, Ann Coulter, Thomas Sowell, Charles Colson and Ronald Reagan.
The list went viral via social media, which led to the school district scrapping the list.
Gulf Coast News Today reported Spanish Fort High School pulled the list assigned to students in AP Government & Economics after parents and other complained it was too conservative.
Teacher Gene Ponder asked his students to read one book from a list that included Savage’s “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder: Savage Solutions,” “The Political Zoo,” “The Enemy Within” and “Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama’s Attacks on Our Borders, Economy and Security.”
Parents asked school officials if the district had endorsed the list, and Baldwin County Board of Education President Shannon Cauley responded with news that the assignment was to be canceled.
“As a courtesy, the school principal called to let me know that the list had been removed and assignment canceled,” Cauley said in a Facebook post, according to Gulf Coast News Today.
“He’ll be sending an email to all senior students/parents to notify them that there will be no summer reading assignment for this AP government class.”
Savage, noting his books were prominently featured on the list, told WND the district’s move was “the current version of book burning.”
Eddie Tyler, superintendent of Baldwin County Schools, said the list was removed because it wasn’t pre-approved by the district.
He explained the district has “a process to vet and approve reading lists so that a variety of sources are used.”
“I expect all employees to follow our processes, procedures and policies,” Tyler said.
Other authors on the reading list were Walter Williams, Steve Forbes, Ron Paul and Mark Levin.
Ponder unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary for Alabama lieutenant governor in 2009. He was quoted by AL.com saying one of the main reasons he wanted to become lieutenant governor was because the federal government has violated the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which requires that powers not specifically granted to the federal government be left to the states or the people.
The reading list:
