Norwin director wants to ban book that uses derogatory term he used on social media

Norwin School Board member Alex Detschelt last week called for the district to ban another book from its curriculum.

Detschelt has courted controversy since he was elected to the board in 2021. His latest target is “Al Capone Does My Shirts,” Gennifer Choldenko’s 2005 young adult novel that was a Newberry Honor book.

Detschelt asked for the title to be pulled from the fifth grade curriculum because it uses derogatory terms in describing an autistic girl and contains passages with male and female sexual references, including nudity. The book also contains references to male sexual awareness that are inappropriate, Detschelt said.

“I think the book needs to be pulled immediately,” Detschelt said.

The novel is set in 1935 on Alcatraz, a prison on a San Francisco Bay island, and is narrated by a 12-year-old boy.

Among the passages Detschelt took issue with are remarks from a character who says the autistic teenage girl depicted in the book was “not (mentally disabled). Stupid then.”

A psychologist whom Detschelt said he consulted about the book wondered “who the heck ever thought it was appropriate for a fifth grader.”

Detschelt criticized those who may have been on the school board who approved the book’s use in the curriculum.

The book is a supplementary title used in fifth grade classes, the school administration said in a statement. Each text used as a core instructional resource is approved by the school board, and the supplementary books are selected by professional staff members to support the district’s educational goals and meet the learning needs of students, the district said.

In his selection of passages from the book, Detschelt didn’t mention that the autistic girl had taken off her clothes in her residence on a hot day. Detschelt also didn’t mention the author’s sister, to whom Choldenko dedicated the book, had severe autism and was the inspiration for the character.

Assistant Superintendent Natalie McCracken said not all fifth graders have read the book and she would look into how it was used.

The board did not take any action on Detschelt’s complaints. Board President Darlene Ciocca said she would wait for McCracken to provide the board with a report at its February meeting.

Director Shawna Ilagan, who said her fifth grade son was not aware of the book, said she is not trying to ban books but she thinks “Al Capone Does My Shirts” is inappropriate for fifth graders.

The word Choldenko used instead of “mentally disabled” was also contained in a meme that Detschelt posted on social media prior to the November election. Detschelt, a conservative Republican, said he posted that meme in October in response to a Halloween costume-themed meme criticizing Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democrat who won the U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania. That meme used a word referring to a sex act. Detschelt was censured by his fellow board members for his social media posting that was deemed offensive.

After Detschelt read several passages of “Al Capone Does My Shirts,” Director Robert Wayman said the word used in the book to describe the autistic girl was inappropriate, whether it was attached to a Halloween costume meme, an apparent reference to Detschelt’s meme or another use.

“It (the book) is totally unacceptable,” Wayman said.

The book was one of two “honor books” recognized in 2005 by the nonprofit Association for Library Service to Children for its “truly distinguished” contribution to American literature for children. It chronicles the family’s challenges in raising an autistic child, the girl’s behavior, the reaction from other girls to her behavior and the family’s desire to have her enrolled in a special education school, for which the girl’s brother enlists the help of Al Capone.

The American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom found only two previous challenges to the book, one in Oregon in 2018 and the other in Texas in 2009.

“There could or could not be other challenges out there that have not been reported,” said Raymond Garcia, a spokesman for the Chicago-based library association.

This is the second time in the past four months that Detschelt raised a question about a book used in a classroom.

In October, he objected to a second grade teacher reading a picture book, “All Are Welcome,” which highlights diversity in a school that includes interracial couples, same-sex couples and single mothers. Detschelt claimed the book may be pushing a gay pride agenda with its depictions, including the rainbow colors in the drawings of the fictional school.