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by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: December 21, 2006 2:00 pm ET
(Charlotte, North Carolina) A book about two male
penguins who set up housekeeping and become parents is being returned to
bookshelves in Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools but the return may be short
lived.
Wednesday Schools superintendent Peter Gorman
admitted he made a mistake in ordering the book to be removed without following
district policy. (story)
Gorman said that he "screwed this one
up," blaming the error on a miscommunication with staff.
Under Gorman's direction three of the district's
senior administrators sent a memo to principals directing them to remove
"And Tango Makes Three" from school libraries and classrooms.
The memo cited three reasons for the decision: it
focuses on homosexuality, it was too controversial, and it was not vital to
primary school students.
But when The Charlotte Observer asked for copies
of complaints about the book Gorman told the paper he realized he had not
followed the district's own policy - an error he blames on miscommunication with
staff.
The policy calls for people with concerns to fill
out an official complaint form. It is then reviewed by an advisory
committee and once a decision has been made it can be appealed.
The policy also warns that a book should not be
removed until the full process is complete.
Gorman has ordered a committee review of the book
and until that is complete, sometime early in the new year, the book will be
back in schools.
"And Tango Makes Three," written by
Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, is based on a true story of two male
penguins at New York City's Central Park Zoo, named Roy and Silo. They set up
housekeeping together in the late 1990s and for six years were completely
devoted to each other and inseparable.
Their chief keeper, Rob Gramzay discovered that
the couple put a rock simulating an egg in their nest and sat on it, keeping it
warm in the folds of their abdomens.
Gramzay finally gave them an abandoned fertile
egg that needed care to hatch.
Things went perfectly. Roy and Silo sat on it for
the typical 34 days until a chick, Tango, was born. For the next two and a half
months they raised Tango, keeping her warm and feeding her food from their beaks
until she could go out into the world on her own.
After "And Tango Makes Three" was
written the penguin couple broke up. For a brief period Roy lived with a female
penguin.
The book has raised objections from conservative
groups and parents in seven states since it was published. Some school
districts, such as Benton Heights Elementary in Monroe, North Carolina and
Shiloh, Illinois removed it after parents complained.
Public libraries, however, have resisted calls
for the book's removal.
©365Gay.com 2006
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Entertainment
Gay Penguins Return To
Charlotte Schools - For Now