Personally, I think some of the things we read or watched were too mature for the age or maturity level I was at. Especially being autistic, developmentally delayed and very emotionally sensitive. Some of the following media wasn't necessary or educational and even if there was a good reason for exposing the students to it, all I remember are the parts that mentally scarred me. And I don't recall ever being given trigger warnings or opt outs.

Middle School

Books

(Language Arts - 6th grade) The Giver by Lois Lowry - Euthanizing babies

(Language Arts - 7th grade) Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper- Abusive dad threatens to put kitten in oven and kill them

(Language Arts - 8th grade) Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury - Woman ODed on meds and had to have her stomach pumped

(the school library was giving out free books on a cart and this was one of them) Amplified by Tara Kelly - sex and alcohol

Videos

(Health class - 6th grade) My Girl - Thomas's death

(Science - 7th grade) - Dante's Peak - 2 people are boiled alive

(Health class - 8th grade) Supersize Me - disturbing abuse of food and obesity shame and spreading false information.

(Language Arts - 8th grade) The Twilight Zone: The Eye of the Beholder - Forced plastic surgery to conform the protagonist to beauty standards by creepy pig headed people

High School

Books

(Language Arts - 9th grade) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - boy bullied for hydrocephalus and girl has bulemia

(Language Arts - 10th grade) The Feed by M.T. Anderson - Violet was dying and lost control of bowel movement resulting in feces covering the walls

(Language Arts - 11th grade) The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - puppy is tied to a landmine and blown up

(Language Arts - 11th grade) The Jungle Kids by Evan Hunter - teen girl strangles baby to death, teen boy breaks leg trying to get heroin, boy shoots himself in the head playing Russian Roulette (The Last Spin)

Videos

(Urban Agriculture - 9th grade) Food Inc. - Grotesque animal cruelty

(Biology - 9th grade) Gattaca - Jerome incinerated himself

(English - 10th grade) The Simpsons Movie - Bart's genitals visible and made fun of Christian faith

(Geometry - 10th grade we only watched a little bit in class and I went home and watched the rest on YouTube) Flat Land - deformed baby shapes forced into the "right" shape and many died from the procedure. Also the 3D shapes protesting outside of Messiah Incorporated and all were shot down in a bloody massacre.😭

College

Books

(Theology) Foreign Bodies by Alphonso Lingis - detailed descriptions of different torture methods used in Hell such as exploding people

(Author visited campus and handed out free copies to students) Slave by Jabali Smith - HORRIFIC child abuse (sexual assault, brain washing, starvation, restraint, kept in a closet, forced to steal and farm cannabis). The content in this book still haunts me almost a decade later 😨

Videos

(Anthropology) An old animation about the indigenous South American myth of vagina dentata - the line, "There's a piranha in her kooka!" was vulgar and imagery disturbing. Thankfully unlike K-12 I chose secondary education so I simply stood up and left class without saying anything.

Summary

helloo!! not dead, still writing, but also studying and getting my grades up and working and writer's block :))

so as we go into april, please know i am thinking of you guys and this story and how much it will grow when i get the time!