It's the start of a new school year and your child comes home with a notice telling you that a book will be removed from the school curriculum, or library, because it's sexist, racist, or biased. You're asked to sign a release agreeing to the removal. What should you do? Novelist and York Humanities professor Susan Swan has some suggestions.

    "Many of the classic school books are considered racist or sexist," says Swan. "At the public school level, the decision of whether to remove them is difficult. Children don't have the ability to understand that the authors of the past may not have had the political values of today." Swan suggests that 'problem' books need to be offset by books that don't have any racial or gender bias, and that students need to be guided through the perils of politically incorrect literature by teachers.

    But Swan sees high school literature in a different light. At this stage, students should be capable of discerning the values of the past and interpreting them in the light of the present. "Don't throw out the classics," she says. "Controversial books can be a stimulus for educating and for intellectual discussion. Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, for example, is an accurate reflection of the values of democratic America in his day."

    As for making a decision for yourself about an issue of literary bias, Swan suggests you make certain it is an informed decision. Read the book. While a piece of literature might be overwhelming, shocking, or oppressive, ask yourself whether it gives you a deeper understanding of, or challenges, cultural traditions. If it does, does it make the book worthwhile? Only you can decide.