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If one of your students is a comedy writer's kid, expect nothing less than mild public humiliation should you screw up.
When The Daily Show writer Daniel Radosh's son Milo came home with a permission slip requiring parental consent to read Fahrenheit 451,Radosh sent back a note highlighting the absurdity of such a request.
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According to the original permission slip, Milo is in a book club that will begin reading Fahrenheit 451, the dystopian Ray Bradbury novel about book burning and censorship. The note mentioned plot points that might be viewed as problematic for other parents. For this comedian, however, it wasn't the novel's subject matter that stuck out.
Here's Radosh's snarky response:
I love this letter! What a wonderful way to introduce students to the theme of Fahrenheit 451 that books are so dangerous that the institutions of society -- schools and parents -- might be willing to team up against children to prevent them from reading one. It's easy enough to read the book and say, 'This is crazy. It could never really happen,' but pretending to present students at the start with what seems like a totally reasonable 'first step' is a really immersive way to teach them how insidious censorship can be. I'm sure that when the book club is over and the students realize the true intent of this letter they'll be shocked at how many of them accepted it as an actual permission slip. In addition, Milo's concern that allowing me to add this note will make him stand out as a troublemaker really brings home why most of the characters find it easier to accept the world they live in rather than challenge it. I assured him that his teacher would have his back.