In the Fall of 2022, I picked up my copy of The Glass Castle. I only knew bits about Jeanette Walls’ book. Still, I knew I was excited to discuss themes such as poverty, generational trauma, alcoholic parents, and dysfunctional families with my peers in Sophomore English.
During the pre-reading discussions, many of my peers expressed that they believed a person who comes from a dysfunctional family will eventually be a dysfunctional adult.
I was shocked that they thought someone’s environment would automatically dictate their future. I wanted to prove that even though kids can’t control their environment, they can control their individual fate.
Real-World Insight
As someone who has grown up in differing cities and social climates around Oklahoma, Edmond is one of the most important places to read Walls’ story. Many people don’t realize the advantages provided by Edmond Public Schools.
EPS is in the top 3 for best school districts in Oklahoma. During Covid, students were not faced with the worry of going without wifi because we were told that, if needed, wi-fi would be issued through the school. The school offers 34 clubs and literature that caters to a variety of student interests.
For students who could relate to Walls’ chaotic coming-of-age story? Many of our everyday struggles were finally highlighted to our peers. We were shown that success and stability are attainable, even for those who were not born into a successful, stable environment.
Porn in EPS Libraries?
So, why is The Glass Castle leaving shelves?
The Glass Castle is no longer a group read in EPS due to opposition from a small minority in the community.
The State Department of Education, headed by Ryan Walters, pushed the agenda to ban the memoir, asserting that there was pornographic content within the pages. Edmond will continue to push a legacy that’s more in line with Hugh Hefner than academic excellence, Shared State Superintendent Ryan Walters from his X account on February 20th.
However, the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected the State Department of Education’s attempt to ban the memoir within the district.
There is still a copy of The Glass Castle available in our school library for personal reading. It is also an option for literature circles at the Junior level.
Despite exposure concerns, banning someone’s story about their traumatic experiences can demonstrate that their adversities are an obstacle to overcome, rather than a key to success.
If a student did not want to read The Glass Castle with their class, there was an alternate option; Everything Sad is Untrue by David Nayeri.
Guide to Success
After our group read, we were given an assignment to write personal narrative essays. Inspired by Walls, I wrote about my experience with poverty.
My essay became my first award-winning piece, published in the 2023 OKCTE Young Writers Anthology.
My essay not only was published in the Young Writers Anthology but also led to my future in writing. I was published for a second time in the 2024 OKCTE Young Writers Anthology, and have been a proud member of the Newspaper staff for two years. In the future, I aspire to share psychology journals as a research psychologist.
Now, all students are losing the chance at having their perspectives broadened by Walls’ memoir.
“My book has ugly elements to it, but it’s about hope and resilience, and I don’t know why that wouldn’t be an important message.” Walls states in an interview with Dallas News.