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Save Greg Van Voorhis

November 10, 2009 by Morbid  

Filed under: Crime, teacher 

Save Greg Van Voorhis

New York — During an English class at The Bronx School of Law and Finance popular English teacher Greg Van Voorhis gave students studying for the Regents Exam the graphic and sexually explicit short story “Guts” written by one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk. Fans of Palahniuk are very aware of the short story as it is engraved in our brains forever and ever. For those of you who have not read it, you can do so here – but be warned – it is delightfully sickening. Anyway, when the Department of Education found out about this, they removed Van Voorhis from the classroom and re-assigned him to an administrative office, pending the outcome of an investigation. His students, as well as other teachers, are now trying to save his job.

Image and video hosting by TinyPicReading the news reports on this, Van Voorhis seems like a pretty cool guy, and not just because I wholeheartedly agree with him handing out Palahniuk material to read. But for an English teacher to get these kind of comments:

“I don’t feel there was nothing bad about it. It was just a story. We read it outside of class, so why can’t we read it inside class?” Lauren Henriquez said. “He’s a really, really good teacher,” she said. “He understands. You can speak to him about anything.”

“I’ve known him all my life, and I know he had the best of intentions,” friend and fellow English teacher Alec Nightengale said. “And he only wants what’s best for the kids.”

“He understands students more than other teachers. He’s a more relaxed, understanding teacher. I think the environment in his class helped us learn more,” Jay Stuart said.

Of course I am just cherry-picking some good comments made about the guy, I am sure there are some old-fashioned folk out there who feel Mr. Voorhis was way out of line and should quit relating to the students and stick to the lesson plan.

Students have rallied around the teacher and have created a Facebook Group titled Save Mr. V. If you guys reading this would like to show support for a teacher that seems to actually connect with his students, please join up. I mean come on – these were friggin’ 11th graders for God’s sake. The story centers around masturbation…something most 11th grade males are well versed on and attempt to do every hour. Besides, if you read “Guts” then you can see how Voorhis may have just saved someone’s life. :)

Save Greg Van Voorhis
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Comments

  • Annabelle Lee
    But I find Michael Crichton’s works to be entertaining and engaging. I don’t expect his works to be studied in any self-respecting lit class, though.


    My son's 11th grade advanced placement English class was recently assigned Crichton's "State of Fear". Then again, they also read "Fast Food Nation" so times have certainly changed since I took that course.
  • Rory28
    The BooB Lady...

    "Children" go to Elementary Schools,"Teenagers/Young Adults" go to highschool,Many of whom by grade 11 have been given the power and ability to be in control of a motor vehicle,and also hold employment... So,your suggesting they hold the power to take on that responsibility,yet there somehow to fragile to read?!...

    Hmmmmph...
  • Rawrehz.
    mmmm...
    hes kinda cute... SAVE MR V! SAVE MR V!
  • unraveled_bear
    To me, this story pales in comparison to things I had heard from classmates already by that age. I'm sorry if that upsets anyone, but teenagers are raunchy little buggers, and most have access to the internet. And, well, this kind of thing gets teenagers' attention.

    By 15 and 16, I was reading Vonnegut and Stephen King (okay much earlier on King, I learned what a blowjob was reading Cujo in my preteens). I understood them, I loved them, and those are authors with some pretty graphic imaginations. I'd have to say, I'd read more intense violent and sexual imagery in King by 16 than there is in Guts. I don't consider that this would 'damage' the kids a valid argument at all.

    However, in terms of literary merit and place in the classroom, I can see both sides. I believe it's a valid choice, but it depends on what purpose he was using it for. I read the work as a cautionary tale about how societal shame and guilt can lead us to very dangerous ends. Used as a punchy way to draw kids into a discussion along these lines, I think the selection has a great deal of merit. Used to discuss the roles and purposes of shock media as a way to lowball social commentary, definitely. There's a lot to chew on in the right hands.
  • mopar
    Mayhaps Morbid and I have more in common than I thought. This man should teach my children. I am a big fan of explaining life instead of hiding it.
  • thebooblady
    Rory,

    My intitial horrified thoughts took place within the first few lines. I continued to read and I can not believe a teacher thought this story was appropriate. If he is indeed a great teacher, then maybe a reprimand is in order instead of him losing his job. Still, shame on him for having such bad judgement. I would be furious if I was one on the children's parents.
  • Rory28
    The Boob Lady - *But, that story has no place whatsoever in a school. I only read the first few lines*

    ...And just how many stories seemingly may have 'no place' when taken at face value,by 'the first few lines'?!... I wonder how many books would be left for anyone to read if those people given the task to rate banned/un-banned books in schools ect did there jobs based on 'the first few lines'...*sigh

    BitMe - *There’s appropriate materials and not so appropriate, I don’t think its up to one teacher to decide
    We had a very popular teacher when I was in high school, he let guys smoke weed in his office, he was the most popular teacher at that school, didn’t make what he did appropriate
    but sure made him popular with the students, we all thought he was the greatest, maybe he was, but it wasn’t appropriate in school even if students did it outside of school.*

    Right you are,and that IS why there ARE people who do this job,and as of now,his books are NOT on any 'banned' lists...My old highschool had banned books you needed to have parental permission to get ahold of...so these things are in place,and i don't see why it would be this teachers 'fault' that the book he chose had not been given the once over...

    and beyond that,can i ask...HOW in the HELL do you equate DOING DRUGS with READING BOOKS?!?!?!...
  • dr.awkward
    Ahh, Chuck. My favorite Palahniuk books are still Survivor & Invisible Monsters.
    When I first read Haunted, the thing that struck me most is why all the hoopla over "Guts"? Sure it's vividly, and ickily, descriptive, but I found "Exodus" far more disturbing.

    I think that if this guy's teaching record is fairly clean and since he obviously gets through to the kids from all their support, then it would really be a shame to can him over one short story that isn't a whole hell of a lot more graphic than an episode of CSI. Well okay, perhaps I just have a strong stomach.
    But there seems to be a dearth of teachers that give a shit beyond what the lesson plan demands, and personally I think he should be applauded rather than punished, simply for trying to make reading more attractive to some high school snots who most likely weren't terribly receptive to the classics.
    Then again, maybe I just think he's kinda cute and I'm jealous that all my high school English teachers were boring as fuck.
  • Uniquemommy198404
    I was kind of thinking, "how bad can this story be" and well if it were middle school kids I be like "yeah can his ass" but since it was a group of 11th graders who probably read and possibly seen worst. I don't think he should lose his job.
  • thebooblady
    I'm not religious. I am definitely not a prude. But, that story has no place whatsoever in a school. I only read the first few lines and was horrified thinking about my own children reading it. I'm not oblivious to what they may learn from their friends or even teach their friends, but that is not acceptable for a teacher to introduce. I am actually shocked than anyone thinks it is.
  • Anna B.
    Man, that story was disturbing on 80 different levels. But if the kids like it, why take their teacher away? At least he got them reading. I'll never read that story again, and it killed all sorts of fetish angles for me. Even brushing against a story that has these things makes me queasy now.
  • Leila
    If I may ask, how are you getting arrogance from Palahniuk’s writing? I mean Palahniuk himself, not his characters. “Arrogant douchebag” seems like quite the extrapolation from a place of simply not enjoying his books.

    I get 'arrogant douchebag' from reading his interviews. I liked his books until I read Haunted. After reading an interview about his discussion of the book, I couldn't get his voice out of my head when reading the books. The characters in Haunted didn't tell me their stories. Palahniuk did, with a smirk on his face. I'll never read anything by him again.
  • Veronica
    Ugh. Palahniuk is an overrated, arrogant douchebag. And that arrogance practically oozes from each sentence he writes. Very irritating, to say the least. (Of course all of this is merely mine own opinion, humble as it is…or isn’t.)

    But that doesn’t mean I agree with the Department of Ed’s decision to remove Van Voorhis from the classroom. Particularly because their reasoning has nothing to do with Palahniuk’s talent and everything to do with OMG VULGARITY OH NOES.


    If I may ask, how are you getting arrogance from Palahniuk's writing? I mean Palahniuk himself, not his characters. "Arrogant douchebag" seems like quite the extrapolation from a place of simply not enjoying his books.
  • Leila
    Ugh. Palahniuk is an overrated, arrogant douchebag. And that arrogance practically oozes from each sentence he writes. Very irritating, to say the least. (Of course all of this is merely mine own opinion, humble as it is...or isn't.)

    But that doesn't mean I agree with the Department of Ed's decision to remove Van Voorhis from the classroom. Particularly because their reasoning has nothing to do with Palahniuk's talent and everything to do with OMG VULGARITY OH NOES.
  • Fo' sho'. Lord knows, there are plenty of reasons other than, "This is a fine example of English literature" to examine a piece. I was just curious what the angle was.
  • Veronica
    But I find Michael Crichton’s works to be entertaining and engaging. I don’t expect his works to be studied in any self-respecting lit class, though.


    Probably the same way I find the Twilight books entertaining and engaging. Yes! I said it! I like Twilight! No one was more shocked than me on that one....but anyhoo, I hardly think the author is as good as Chuck Palahniuk, and by that same token Palahniuk is not quite in the league of, say, Kurt Vonnegut or Joesph Heller, but he's still one of my favorite authors and the Twilight books are still a fun read as far as niche fiction goes. I guess I compartmentalize that way.
  • The short story "Guts" is almost a cult classic itself. The reported fainting spells during the early live readings has helped it reach a level of notoriety for a short story not normally heard of in current contemporary writing. He may have wanted his students to read it for that reason as well.
  • Insufferable ass? Just not THIS time, Veronica. THIS time. :P

    And, to me, it's not a matter of him being "not for everyone". I found the piece plenty entertaining and engaging. But I find Michael Crichton's works to be entertaining and engaging. I don't expect his works to be studied in any self-respecting lit class, though.

    Oh, and I meant to add - That said, they're not reassigning him because he introduced a piece lacking literary merit. If that was the case, most English teachers would be reassigned. They're doing it because of content.

    But where do we draw the line? Is any published work fair game to be examined in class? What if it went into detail about rape or abuse or deviant sexual practices? Is the fact that everyone masterbates justification for introducing graphic material into a publically-funded classroom setting?
  • Veronica
    Having now read the essay, I do wonder why this piece was chosen. Not because I’m concerned about the graphic content, but because he was an English teacher and, in terms of literary merit… well, this leaves something to be desired.

    It was entertaining enough, though. Are all his pieces written in that distracting style, though? I might find it difficult to wade through entire books of that choppy, fragmented, redundant, “shadowy dude in a fedora telling a story while puffing on a smoke and drinking a scotch” kinda style. But, then again I may be part of a “snotty literary critic contingent”. Does kinda sound like my thing. :P


    Certainly Palahniuk is not for everyone. Though Guts is not one of his best works, he does have a unique, somewhat choppy writing style in general. The dialogue often comes across as if the characters are just unrestrained "id" factories.

    And having discriminating taste doesn't make you a snotty literary snob. It's being an insufferable ass when you share your views that marks you as such. I don't think that applies to you, Athena. :)
  • unraveled_bear
    Ugh. Can we just this once do things the right way, give the man a raise, and fire the idiots who want him gone?
  • BriarRose
    A well written cautionary tale with some vivid imagery. Let's not let the kids see it. Keep them reading the pap presented as literature today. They already know too much, I need the edge.
  • Having now read the essay, I do wonder why this piece was chosen. Not because I'm concerned about the graphic content, but because he was an English teacher and, in terms of literary merit... well, this leaves something to be desired.

    It was entertaining enough, though. Are all his pieces written in that distracting style, though? I might find it difficult to wade through entire books of that choppy, fragmented, redundant, "shadowy dude in a fedora telling a story while puffing on a smoke and drinking a scotch" kinda style. But, then again I may be part of a "snotty literary critic contingent". Does kinda sound like my thing. :P
  • biteme
    There's appropriate materials and not so appropriate, I don't think its up to one teacher to decide
    We had a very popular teacher when I was in high school, he let guys smoke weed in his office, he was the most popular teacher at that school, didn't make what he did appropriate
    but sure made him popular with the students, we all thought he was the greatest, maybe he was, but it wasn't appropriate in school even if students did it outside of school.
  • Veronica
    I put a link to it in the story. Let me know what you think. It is quite…disturbing. If any of you like the story, or the film Fight Club – give Palahnuik a shot. His other book Choke was recently made into a movie as well. But I suggest Haunted. My favorite book of Palahnuik’s as well as one of my favorite books period.


    My favorites are Choke and Lullaby. Palahniuk's plots could not be more original, each book more so than the last. Oh, and there is a snotty literary critic contingent out there (looking at you, Salon) who suggest that Chuck Palahniuk is a misogynist -- they're idiots. If you write a character a certain way, it doesn't mean you approve of it. Just as I'm sure Palahniuk does not approve of the behavior of the kid in "Guts."
  • backlash
    I’ve never read “Guts” and I’ve never heard of Chuck Palahniuk. But now I’m going to have to read it for myself since I never take anyone’s word when it comes to a story:)


    Read it with one hand over your butthole...
  • I’ve never read “Guts” and I’ve never heard of Chuck Palahniuk. But now I’m going to have to read it for myself since I never take anyone’s word when it comes to a story:) I might enjoy it and I might not.


    I put a link to it in the story. Let me know what you think. It is quite...disturbing. If any of you like the story, or the film Fight Club - give Palahnuik a shot. His other book Choke was recently made into a movie as well. But I suggest Haunted. My favorite book of Palahnuik's as well as one of my favorite books period.
  • Coyote
    Put him back in the classroom where he belongs. It takes a special teacher to make such an impact on students.
  • Senna
    Let me see if I understand this correctly. An English teacher has been suspended and might be fired because he got his students to read a book? That's beyond ridiculous. At least, it would be if school were really about learning. But it's not. School is about brainwashing the younger generation into conforming to society's view of morality. Basically, reading is good, but only if you read what those in charge want you to read. If you read anything else, it's a bad influence.

    I've never read "Guts" and I've never heard of Chuck Palahniuk. But now I'm going to have to read it for myself since I never take anyone's word when it comes to a story:) I might enjoy it and I might not. But regardless of how I end up feeling about it, it's a crappy reason to remove one of the few good teachers out there.
  • backlash
    God forbid we let young adults learn to create original thoughts of their own by subjecting them to some of the most well written, original works available.

    I'm all for a society where we all only read technical manuals or the Bible, and only watch C-Span.
  • mammasweets
    I read the story and I loved the imagery. There should be more teachers willing to share stories that inspire others to read. If there were less candy coated, vanilla stories then maybe the average literacy of the US High School student will improve. I had several teachers like this and I still talk to a few 9,000 years later. They saw me as a person and wanted to share a passion for reading instead of pumping out the allocated dribble some uptight suit and tie thought would mold me into an upstanding person.

    Fuck the mold.
  • captainhowdy
    I love that story. :D
  • granny-g
    Masturbation OH MY! The parents and whomever else complained should
    most likely go masturbate and get a life. They do not seem to have anything better to do. The fact remains that these kids are READING, at a level that
    is appropriate to the age group. Not many schools can say this.
    The short story is a simple "precautionary tale" much like the Canturbury
    Tales. It points to some of the more inventive ways a young man might get
    himself in trouble.
    I think for those that feel masturbation is a bad thing, this story sure beats the hell out of "you'll go blind or grow hair on your palms"
    The story is graphic but it screams reality.
    In the mean time to all those that feel this teacher is wrong........might I
    suggest " reservations to the "hairy palm room" table for one. The warm almond lotion is especially good this evening".
  • They seem to be upset with the level of detail more than the actual subject matter. As noted by some of the Facebook people, most of the classics we were forced to read had a lot more disturbing subject matter in them aside from masturbating (which is what the short story was about, for those of you who chose not to read the short story).

    Either way, I cannot believe they have suspended this guy because he *gasp* got them to read material from the author of Fight Club for God's sake. Hopefully this will be over shortly and Mr. Voorhis will be back doing his job.
  • granny-g
    Getting some kids to read is like asking them to wear Wal-Mart tennis shoes.
    (A horrorifying experience) (I know it borders on abuse)
    If he gets these kids to read and comprehend he has done far more than many
    teachers or parents. The subject matter of this short story is not even as
    graphic as the "love stories" (talk about horrorifying) that many a teen girl gets from her Mom.
    (I allowed my children to read books of thier own choosing) If I felt that
    the content was questionable then I discussed with them what my thoughts
    were....thus getting them all the more interested in READING.
  • Just a shame to see a teacher who is obviously liked by his students, past and present, become disengaged from them because of this. The true fail of the entire fiasco is that now Mr. Voorhis will undoubtedly be very hesitant in the future when trying to get students to read material he knows his students may like.
  • HotReadingMama
    Having students read a book that they may actually find entertaining?!?! The horror! This is ridiculous and as I said before, if I had a teacher like this when I was attending high school I might have actually showed up once in a while. Or at least be able to recall ONE English teacher's name I had.
  • Boughtthefarm
    That's too bad. I hope he gets his job back.
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