It’s difficult to take this kind of heavy-handedness seriously: Judy Blume? Really? It’s also unclear what the boundary is for you here: is any mention of sex

It’s difficult to take this kind of heavy-handedness seriously: Judy Blume? Really? It’s also unclear what the boundary is for you here: is any mention of sex or violence verboten? Are educators and authors meant to pretend that middle schoolers don’t know what death is, to minimize the Holocaust or other human travesties, or contradict the school’s own sex ed programs? In what world does that make children better socially adjusted, much less prepared for adulthood? Ultimately, if exposure to adult topics is a problem for you, then you should probably consider homeschooling (or a private system that will allow you or another adult, not regulated by the state, to micromanage your child’s life). But socialization outcomes for homeschooling are overwhelmingly poor, as are outcomes for schools that hide the world from their students: they fail to accomplish the basic goal of preparation for actual life.