In many cases the folks at those meetings aren’t even parents.
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In many cases they are.
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I’m sure that there are many, many books that can support any given curriculum. It would seem to me that choosing the books that the community can agree on is more valuable than choosing a book that further divides a polarized community. But should the school board feel it more valuable to choose a more controversial (to the community) book they should be prepared to defend that decision.
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If you are referring to Toni Morrison, she didn’t really focus on the Civil War in Beloved, but rather the the lives of those subject to personal atrocities before and after. And for many, that history is not as distant some seem to believe.
Yet that is exactly what those looking to ban books like Beloved from schools are doing, and it is exactly what is happening at school board meetings around the country when activists try to rid libraries and curriculums of books and topics addressing the experiences of marginalized groups. That’s the larger context of the current wave of censorship and book banning.
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On this we agree- that is exactly what these groups are doing. Saying they have the moral high ground.
Having a book in a library is not forcing a child to read the book or conform to the book.
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I’ll say one last thing on that topic, and then agree to disagree since you clearly disdain experts. This is a great read (by an old-school conservative, Naval War College professor): https://www.amazon.com/Death-Expertise-Campaign-Established-Knowledge/dp/0190469412
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But… what we want is for everyone to feel included. What the “Banners” want is to pretend some don’t.
Since many (of the “Banners”) are Christians, they ought to recall that not once did Jesus or his disciples tell his followers to change Rome, or anyone outside the church. They were merely to decide for themselves how to follow God’s will and live that way (with leeway even there to allow a bit to be between God and the person - not everyone would agree on the details). Otherwise, they were to live at peace with everyone as much as it depended upon them.
Seems that group skips that part of the Bible. I (a very committed Christian) don’t skip it. I let it run my decisions for myself and others.
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Has worked this way since 1626 with the Pilgrims in Mass Bay Colony. Everyone gets a voice in how things are run. You want to see opinions go to a New England town meeting. No one in my town would ever cede this over to a survey. And there are tons of educators in our town. Not even half agree with the curriculum choices. Sometimes the experts are the ones who question things the most. Buckle up. These meetings last 8-10 hours sometimes up to 14 and even go into another day. Democracy takes time.
I do not buy the argument that there are professionals who should make decisions as to what my children or other children in the community can read. I think a lot of people agree with me, which is why Virginia now has a Republican governor. The former incumbent’s statement that parents shouldn’t be involved in such decisions cost him the election.
It’s true that parents can choose to homeschool their children and/or send them to private school if they dislike what is taught. Personally, I think that creating a situation in which that is the best solution for many families is a huge mistake. First, the public schools become echo chambers in which children really aren’t exposed to the views espoused by large segments of the population. I do not think this is good for the kids in the public schools and think it will make them biased adults who will assume that anyone with differing views is crazy or ignorant. Second, the children who are homeschooled or educated in private, especially religious schools, come to see public schools and by inference other public institutions as evil. Therefore, their families have no reason to support the public schools.
Often, they then vote against bond proposals or school budgets. In the most extreme examples, they run for the school board. They may not win a majority but they can do a lot of harm. They cut funding. This has really happened in some communities. The reasoning is quite simple: if what is being taught in public schools is morally wrong, such that we can’t enroll our own children, we have no duty to fund those schools. Yes, a community has to provide public schooling, but the community can cut funding to the bone and can vote not to fund extracurriculars or even, in some states, arts education. (If the high school puts on a production of Spring Awakening, it is not going to go unnoticed.)Often, sports extracurriculars survive because there is often a provision that allows kids who don’t attend the school but live within the district and are homeschooled to participate.
One of the most frequent items to get cut in school budgets is school libraries and school librarians. You may be able to sue the school board for pulling And Tango Makes Three or Heather Has Two Mommies from the library, but if there is no school library or it hasn’t purchased any books published in the last 20 years, you probably can’t sue for that.
And, if you really believe that public school students wander into the school library and choose what to read with no guidance or suggestions, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Both teachers and school librarians suggest books and many of them push books that have a particular point of view. What point of view that is depends upon where you live.
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As I already said, I made zero mention of Beloved or Toni Morrison. I think she’s a great writer. Go and look at the thread. I also never even referred to it.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. You believe that review of curriculum is banning books and silencing marginalized groups. I believe that people should examine what is being taught, allow everything to be available in libraries and allow kids to avoid a topic if they should chose to do so. I don’t know who, if anyone is supporting the activism you mention. Maybe you should tag another post as I certainly haven’t supported any of that.
All I heard was “if what is being taught in public schools is morally wrong”. Just wow.
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I do quite agree with you here. It’s happening all over the place, and it’s insane the degree to which people who actively want to undermine public education are seeking to run districts. Parallel to what happened in the country overall recently, with people who want to defund or destroy government agencies trying to actually run them. In truth we shouldn’t have a lot of parents looking to pull their kids out of public schools. But I’m also not okay with having a bunch of parents seeking to undermine educators taking over schooling for my kids and others. In my opinion, parents shouldn’t run things. At that point I would honestly just prefer they go start their own private school.
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Happens at our school all the time. If a student asks for a suggestion (a few do), the librarian asks them what they enjoy and guides them that way. I’ve worked in our library multiple times and seen it happen in person.
I believe this too.
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To be fair I don’t think @jonri is saying that this is their personal perspective but more citing what is going on in those instances. Alas, I think that is what some of these parents are using to justify their extremism. It’s sad and disturbing.
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Ahh, a point of agreement. It’s like town meeting. Everyone can decide together. 
Emoji for your enjoyment @Creekland
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I was in the library every day as a parent, and you are wrong about librarians and teachers choosing books- at least in the schools I was in. There are themes maybe up on top of the shelves- like mysteries, but the most I saw was kids had to pick one non-fiction and one fiction, from a section that was reading level appropriate. Other than when a kid would ask for help finding a particular subject to read or title of a book or they asked for suggestions based on interest was something suggested.
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Maybe I didn’t explain myself clearly.
Many people in this thread are suggesting that if people don’t like what the public schools are teaching or what is available in the school library, those people can just pull their kids out and send their kids to private schools or homeschool their kids. There are MANY reasons for homeschooling, but certainly some people doing this do it because they believe what is going on in public schools is morally wrong.
If there are enough people who feel driven to do this in a community, they will not support funding public education because they think what is taught in the schools is morally wrong.
I hope that is clearer.
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I’m trying to imagine a school library in which a 6th grader wanders in and asks the librarian for a suggestion, and s/he walks them over to the shelf and pulls down “50 Shades of Gray.” 
That is how ridiculous and absurd this entire Florida astroturfing effort reads to me. I mean COME ON, people. You cannot possibly be that gullible. As I noted earlier – feed the outrage machine. Rinse, repeat.
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If you aren’t talking about Toni Morrison then I have no idea to whom you refer when you wrote “He’s also talking about the Civil War, roughly 200 years ago (ok 150).” (I figured you didn’t realize she was female)
And make no mistake, the organization in the OP’s original post that produced the list which is the topic of this thread wants to ban books from schools. That is, they want those books, including Beloved, physically removed from the school libraries and removed from the curriculum. And many of those who attend school board meetings are pushing to rid our schools of topics addressing the experiences of marginalized groups, they are looking to both silence those groups and ban books and materials. Read their agendas. Read their proposals. Teachers are being told they cannot address certain topics relating to marginalized groups at risk of losing their jobs. Activists are trying to remove books from libraries.
If you don’t agree with them, then we are in agreement there, but that is what is going at these school board meetings, and what was and is the topic of this thread, as I understand it.
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He’s talking about the civil war is a reference to Creekland’s post not Toni Morrison. I’m assuming creek land is a he, but maybe not.
You are not looking at the whole picture. For every person who fully wants to remove a book, there is another who wants to put something into the curriculum that many parents don’t want. And those parents are fighting it. The topics vary but recent activism on both sides shows that it’s about the culture wars. The books are just the vehicles.
Teachers being told they can’t address CRT, Sex ed, social policies and those who want those things front and center.
So I cannot look at one side or the other and say, what you say is fine but what they people want is not. I’m not of the opinion that there is one bad side and another good side. It’s just a matter of people trying to get their agenda’s into the classroom. For some that means getting a curriculum in, for others it means restriction. For a third group it’s open to opt in. That’s it.
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