In my school, they want to force Bocaccio's Decameron (though parts only) to read. This co-called compulsory book is banned in the Church. But I don't want to read it. There is no Trad schools around (as Traditionalism is pretty obscure in my country) and we can't afford homeschooling, and the free homeschooling is linked to my current school, which forces me to read that filth (My mum said that it is just risque, but risqueness is a problem enough). What should I do? I don't want to work as a teen, as I want to become a doctor. How can I opt-out Decameron? (If I reach 11th grade, I'll opt-out Literature if I can) If it's an in-school topic, then I'll draw at the whole lesson. If it's homework, then I need to opt-out it. Also, can somebody get an excommunication by reading a banned book? I'm 15, so does it apply?

You can read summaries and criticisms of it instead of reading the work itself.

With an internet search function you can find the quotes you need.

First, I've never seen Boccacio's Decameron on any version of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

Secondly, as Tele mentioned, you can read summaries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_of_Decameron_tales

There are probably even commentaries for teaching written by some Jesuit somewhere.

Dr. David White, professor and Catholic would say that this is an opportunity to critique it.  When we were in school, you are to point out the good, the bad and the ugly.  The author had effort, but blew it here and here and what you would suggest as what could be better.  I life you will come up against people trying to trip you like they did our Lord, so go for it.  God Bless!

How much of it do you have to read? If it's only a few stories, I'd just read them and be done with it, but that's just me.

     This is personal but I thought that I would cast my 2 cents worth.

      Having left the seminary after 5 years  in 1962 (act of God?), I enrolled in a Catholic University.
      The Philosophy Chair asked me to join him in the study of Philosophy as I had done well in his philosophy courses. I declined as he and a Physical Sciences
professor had designed and printed the material to mix physical science with philosophy. The point is that the entire course was based on Teilhard de Chardin.
I was young but it smelled funny.
     I took the course with several students and aced it . . .  but I was exposed to bad thinking but told myself to filter in my mind what was wrong which I believed that I could do.
     The philosophs of VII (62-65) all thought as Teilhard thought; i.e. everything was evolving. Teilhard was a Jesuit paleontologist who blended his thoughts into his philosophy - the ever-changing, evolving truth. sound familiar?

     So, my thoughts are that we act as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
      Take the course and filter out the bad in your mind as you are obviously capable of doing.  You do  not need to make any waves as a soldier but vomit that stuff right back to them and then move on with your pursuit of an MD which my daughter has done.

         Quantum Potes, Tantum Aude . . . whatever you can, suchly Dare!

Pelly I know exactly what your talking about.  I'm 16 and have the misfortune to be enrolled in a public high school.  In my English Class we had to read a book called "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston.  After reading the first chapter I tried to inform the teacher that I would not read this book because it had a lot of impure language and I saw it as an occasion of sin.  She was a liberal Protestant who didn't understand and even after talking to my parents, who didn't want me to read it, still said I had to read it.  I just went on Spark Notes and Cliff Notes and read a summary of the book.  Stay strong and pray hard!