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Parents want book containing expletives removed from reading list

ATHENS, Ga. — Clarke County parents are trying to get the book, "And the Earth Did Not Devour Him" removed from a required reading list for 12 year olds because it contains profanity.

A teacher at Burney Harris Lyons Middle School chose the work by Chicano author Tomas Rivera from a list provided by the International Baccalaureate Program for use in an advanced language arts class.

Beth and Chad Lowery were shocked when their 12-year-old showed them an expletive-filled passage from the book during a discussion about not allowing her to see a movie with bad language.

"We were blown away," said Beth Lowery. "Very, very surprised."

The Lowerys went to visit the teacher, who offered to provide an alternative reading for their child.

"I said 'She's already finished the book and she's read the passage so I don't want an alternative reading,'" said Beth Lowery.

The Clarke County school system echoed the response the school superintendent gave the Lowerys in February, writing in an email to Channel 2's Jeff Dore that one paragraph in the book doesn't overpower the other literary elements that the book can offer students.

The Lowerys, who say they don't want the book banned, are appealing to the state board of education.

"We want to remove it from the required reading list so that the student is not required to read it," said Beth Lowery.