Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 29, 1992 TAG: 9203290171
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER
DATELINE: HILLSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Goldwasser is discouraged by the banning of a novel she used for supplemental reading for her two 11th-grade English classes. The book, Clyde Edgerton's "The Floatplane Notebooks," was banned without a hearing from Carroll County classrooms by the high school's principal, Harold Golding, and the county school superintendent, Oliver McBride.
A group of parents led by a local radio evangelist complained that the novel contained obscene words and descriptions of sex. Some went so far as to demand that Goldwasser, who has taught here for 20 years, be fired for assigning it.
They circulated petitions calling for the immediate removal of "the teacher and any other School Board member that knew of this book." They planned a march and demonstration at the school, canceling it only after the school system issued a statement promising to be more sensitive to parental concerns about what materials are used in class.
But many other people feel that Goldwasser - who was named the county's teacher of the year last year - is one of the best teachers the system has.
"She tries to make everything very interesting," said John Branscome, who grew up in Hillsville and graduated from Carroll County High School in 1982. Goldwasser taught Branscome and his younger brother, David, in 11th-gradeO English.
He described her as a "great teacher" who familiarized him with classics that he can now discuss on a par with students from bigger schools.
"She exposed us to a lot that has helped us. I feel like it really prepared me for college and I know my little brother feels the same way," said Branscome, a third-year law student at Washington and Lee University. David Branscome is a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia.
Former student Robin Broussard describes Goldwasser as having acute sensitivity, insight and love for students, and said she inspires creativity in them.
Born in Pennsylvania, Goldwasser is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has a master's degree in English from Stanford University in California.
She spent four years teaching in the Peace Corps. She was head of the English department at a school in Uganda, where she also started a school newspaper and took a student play to the national theater. She also has coached drama in Carroll County.
She met her husband, cattle farmer Mike Goldwasser, while they were Peace Corps trainees. The couple moved to Carroll County after hearing a glowing description from a former resident then with the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Normally soft-spoken, her voice tends to harden just a bit when she talks about the fate of the book. Both her principal and superintendent have said it will no longer be used in classrooms.
Since the statement from the school system refers to a process for determining what material is suitable, Goldwasser said she would like to see "The Floatplane Notebooks" go through that process. As it is, she said, the protesters got what they wanted without going through the process.
Goldwasser used the Edgerton novel in two 11th-grade English classes last year with no objections.
by CNB