Time to slow this thread down.
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They do have a degree in library science, but considering they are my age, it was not in the last 15 years. In elementary school, K-2, sometimes there was a book read and then the kids were off to find books. I didn’t see as much 3-5, the one thing I do remember was she taught them chess, nothing to with reading, but a great skill. She worked on research and how to find books. Sometimes supplementing something they did in the classroom, but they had 25 minutes. She also had to help checkout. We lost our teacher’s aids so she had to be behind the desk. In 6-8 there is very little time spent in the library maybe 15 minutes every 2 weeks. You are also not required to check out a book if you do not want to. The librarian would lead lessons on research and how to cite sources, things like that. These were separate from looking for a book.
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Thank you, I’m having a hard time keeping up!
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I agree 100% with what he said. I think he’s correct. He was supremely dumb to say it like he did. And it did probably cost him the election. The only thing I disagree with him on is that parents shouldn’t be able to “make their own decisions.” They can decide what to allow their own child to read or not read. But they can’t decide for me/mine/all the kids in the district, which is to a large degree what is happening.
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A few posts ago you wrote:
The activism I mention is exactly what you describe in your latest post to me; people trying to ban books, fire teachers, and rid curriculums of anything addressing the experience of marginalized groups, or any other topic that might make certain people feel uncomfortable.
As for the understanding the “whole picture,” that entails looking at this latest wave of censorship in historical context. Of course it is the culture wars. It was the same culture wars when schools in the South marginalized the experience of Black Americans and pushed the false “Lost Cause” narrative for over a century. It was (and is) the culture wars when various groups tried (and try) to ban accurate depictions of of slavery, Jim Crow, the Big Bang, Evolution, Biology, religion, climate change, gender fluidity, homosexuality, etc.
When educational agendas are set by populist fervor it is almost always an attempt to repress the way the world is, and cultivate a narrow, idealized, alternate version of reality, whether it be in science, history, biology, or literature.
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I think the majority of people on this thread who don’t like banning books, have made it clear that they agree with a parent making a personal choice on a book for their child. They have also supported parents being allowed to opt out of a book being taught.
As far as parents deciding what is being taught as a whole, there are a lot of parents. Which ones do they listen to and which ones do they not when parents don’t agree. It reminds me of My Fellow Americans, Jack Lemmon says “Voice of the people, there is no voice of the people. You’ve got 440 million people yelling for different things.”
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I guess for me, it comes back to a basic question: when in the course of human events has it ever benefited anyone (other than fascists) to ban books / restrict access to knowledge? The History of Book Banning
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I kind of laugh at the use of the phrase “book banning” as used in this discussion. But, I do understand why it’s used from a marketing/messaging standpoint.
The discussion is on restricting use of certain books within public schools curriculum and restricting use within public school library. And again, I think it’s great that in our country parents still have a say in such things. Russian parents, Chinese parents, not so much.
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“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Or in this case stink as badly. Call it what you want, but if you don’t think that what the “Moms of Liberty” (talk about a misnomer!) are looking for here is to have books like “The Bluest Eye,” “Forever,” and “Drama” removed from school media centers, I’m not sure you are being honest with yourself. That’s effectively a ban.
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The OP contained a list of 58 books targeted by the Florida Citizen’s Alliance in what it called the “2021 Porn in Schools Report.” This group not only demanded that books such as Kite Runner and Beloved be pulled from all school libraries in Florida, it also insisted that the various school districts that had these books in their libraries were in violation of Florida anti-pornography laws, a felony.
I don’t think it is too much of a stretch call this “book banning” given that the group demanded that schools pull the books under threat of criminal prosecution for felony violation of anti-pornography laws.
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Words matter, and the simple truth is that they are talking about restricting material in public schools. Not much of a ban if you can simply order it from Amazon or your favorite local bookstore, or public library. But if you prefer the phrase “book Ban” that’s OK 
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They are talking about a government banning books from a government run library.
Why can’t we leave the books where they are and let parents choose to opt their kids out?
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Using modern-day parlance, Florida’s actions might be termed classic “cancel culture” or “violations of free speech”.
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Rivet’s point is important. No one is suggesting prohibiting the publication or sale of any book, hence, no actual book bans are involved. Since there seems to be general agreement that public schools should have "appropriate " books in their libraries, the only question is where the school board draws the line. I haven’t seen anyone defend 50 Shades, so apparently we all agree that book is on one side of the line; the remaining point of contention is which other books are. It is really just a matter of personal and community opinion.
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I don’t know - can we all agree that Everywhere Babies is on the other side of the line?
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Agree 1,000%. The phrase “banning books” to me conjures up flames and piles. In fiction, it’s reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 and other dystopian events like WWII. Or think of Alexsander Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago which was smuggled out in pieces. That to me is a real ban. YMMV.
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Words matter, and context matters as well. The context here has nothing to do with hypothetical prior restraint in publishing or selling certain books nationwide or worldwide. The context is getting rid of, prohibiting, banning certain books from school libraries and school districts. Whether referring to “banning” smoking in workplaces or books in school libraries, the term is context and jurisdiction specific.
No reason to defend it or even consider it, since it is not available in schools. Not sure why it keeps coming up.
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I’ll step in to defend it (sort of it). I’m an absolutist on this. I would leave it to the school librarians to make the choices about what books to put on their shelves.
I will leave it to to the curriculum committees to decide what books belong in the curriculum.
I don’t want these decisions made by fairly small group of people with a narrow view of LGBT and racial issues.
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