Sure, I’d like to read that article too if published. They should go for it. Get to the bottom of it, make it WIDELY known.
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The county commissioners voted to suspend Overdrive, because they could not remove 2 books. That seems a bit much, considering there are parent controls.
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I think part of the issue is that for decades if not centuries, what we all read that was considered “great literature” was pretty restrictive in terms of both who wrote it and the experiences it depicted. There’s so much “great literature” that steps outside of that. So while I’m glad my Bay Area kid was required to read “The Great Gatsby” in 11th grade, I’m not sad that he didn’t also have to read Homer or Hemingway or Bronte or whoever else I did when I was that age. There’s other great literature, new and old, that now gets folded in and is certainly more inclusive of the experiences of a diverse group of kids in our public school system. I read “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” in 9th grade. Did it have some difficult, uncomfortable themes? Yes. And I’m glad I had that exposure and opportunity to discuss it. The fact that “Beloved” is somehow being removed from lists just breaks my brain. That’s possibly the greatest novel I’ve ever read – and not at all inappropriate for a junior or senior in high school, in my opinion. If your kid can’t read and discuss “Beloved,” I’m having a hard time imagining how they can make it in college or the world beyond. As with any book, hopefully you have a good teacher who can teach it.
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And that’s where the problem lies because “in your opinion” it is appropriate and valuable. To others it might not be.
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Which to me suggests people should have the option to read it, yes? There was mention of Huck Finn above. There’s lots to criticize about elements of Huck Finn, many of which can be discussed in light of the historical context in which it was written. I’m in favor of it getting read and discussed, not banned or removed from lists. That’s how kids develop critical thinking!
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Like everything, there’s a balance to be struck. The best result will be when all concerned can agree on what books are needed to build those critical analysis skills. Does it have to be controversial “book A” or could it be less controversial “book B”. I do, however, support parents being involved in the decision, and that’s what’s happening now.
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Interesting. I’m a former teacher, now a parent, who thinks parents should stay far, far away from any decisions on this front. Professional educators should be allowed to do their jobs. Parents who disagree have plenty of other options.
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At our school Beloved was criticized for exactly that problem-as an R rated movie, and I suppose the book would be considered the same, parents wanted only those over 17 to read it. Neither the librarian nor the teaching staff wanted to check ages before checking out books, and they have a point.
Complicating the matter is that portrayals of sexual violence are very sensitive these days. Victims can find it triggering, conversations can be awkward as immature classmates can be insensitive. Discussions of the rape cases one has to read about in law school is quite a hot button issue right now for those students and faculty.
Sadly, I do not have the confidence in professionalism of teachers now that I once did.
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Actually, most parents have on options outside of their local public school. And it’s because they have no options, that they should (must) stay involved. The days of “let the professionals do their job” unchecked are, thankfully, over. Parents should stay involved, get organized, and speak truth to power!
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Unfortunately, in the case of Beloved, a more accurate statement would be that these parents
are speaking power to truth.
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While the book “Beloved” might be beloved by some, it appears that it is not so beloved by others. So, I advise both sides of the question to “speak truth to power” in good faith to reach a decision, but by all means stay involved and don’t just leave it up to the “professionals”.
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To those who are in favor of banning books, why do you feel high school students need to be sheltered from certain topics?
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“Professionals” are in a much better position to make these decisions than factionalized parents riled up by rhetoric and a few out-of-context passages from a book most of them have never read and/or don’t want to understand.
Great literature fosters critical thinking, expands horizons, and brings into question accepted norms. Parental groups looking to ban Beloved? Not so much.
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I’m kind of a free speech absolutist (kind of like Elon). I don’t think any book should (or can) be banned. I think that the question posed on this thread is: can parents limit the use of books in public schools that they deem inappropriate for their children. To be honest, I’m not sure, but I do think it needs to be a community based decision with parents involved.
Sounds a little elitist to me, but hey, we don’t always have to agree right? They days of “professionals” and people in power making unilateral decisions unchecked are thankfully over.
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I think the question is more accurately phrased as, “Can a subset of parents limit what books are available to all children because they don’t want theirs to read them?”
Public school needs to be open and welcome to all, including all religions, races, and genders (including trans). Is it fair for one set of parents to tell other kids they need to stay hidden because they “don’t believe” they should be there or something to that effect?
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More accurately, should one set of parents demand taxpayers fund every possible book for inclusion in their kid’s school library? If you want the book for your kid, you should borrow or buy it. Dont ask me to subsidize Outlander or the latest Vampire novel. All fun reads, so I encourage you to get them on your own. I already pay for them to be in your local public library and dont want to pay twice.
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Sounds a little populist to me, and populist fervor rarely aligns with “truth.” For example, in the South for about a century (at least), populist fervor and local community views lead to the dissemination of false narratives regarding slavery and the Civil War. Today, in some areas of the country, populist fervor would censor teaching about climate change, and some communities would prefer not to teach evolution or provide scientific depiction of the origins of the Universe.
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No, in fact they aren’t. I think many agree nothing should be banned ever. But what is used in the classroom is open to discussion and that includes parents. Always has been. Talk about what books to use goes back a long time. Ask any literate person and they can tell you about the book that was under review when they were young.
Sounds more like a democracy to me. The reason they have school boards is so that parents and the community can participate in discussions and how the money gets spent. These meetings are long and usually do cover topics such as curriculum, budgets, etc. I once attended a meeting where they talked about the new math textbook for hours. It had no CRT/other issues but it was a new approach and some approved and some did not. They used it for a year then changed it as it wasn’t working. And town meetings often wander into school issues. In NE, there can be very contentious debates about how the $ is spent and what is done.
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So no school libraries any longer since there’s no book that appeals to everyone?
Taxpayers pay for a lot of things we don’t personally use - roads we don’t drive on, meds we don’t need, politicians we don’t agree with, etc. So there’s a book you don’t like, don’t read it.
I think it’s good if schools still offer books (of all sorts) to students. I don’t think they all should be buying their own or figuring out how to get to a public library, which around here, requires someone to drive them there. School buses get kids to school.
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The notion that families “end up” in public schools because they don’t have options is just…not universally true. We certainly could do something different than public schools for our kids, but we see public schools as being beneficial to our kids and to the community, and we wouldn’t want our kids elsewhere. I agree that parents should be very involved in their public schools. That means helping teachers in the classroom, chaperoning field trips, raising money for all the extras, serving on site council, etc. By no means should or would it ever mean “dictate or vet curriculum.” People deciding that experts are no longer experts and that they should somehow overrule actual experts is what is so wrong with everything right now. In my opinion, of course. Anyhow, I’m damn glad that parents in my district are not involved in developing book lists.
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