jb’s Comments (group member since May 12, 2019)

jb’s comments from the 24B4Monday Readathon group.

No you do not have to stick to the theme during the readathon. It’s only a suggested theme, and the goal really is to just have fun and read.

I believe this time our goal is to focus on any banned books you would be interested in. Otherwise read any books that suit you.

Glad to have you join us!

I have pretty strong opinions about banned books (which I stated in short on a previous thread but will reiterate here).

Once a teen reaches high school (we are talking public school), no parent should be interfering with any required reading list. These teens are on their way to becoming young adults and need to have good and bad experiences in life and in books. By “shielding” them from all things uncomfortable we are only teaching them to be intolerant of anything that makes them uncomfortable and stressed.

While I agree that books should be semi age appropriate prior to high school, I don’t feel like we should limit our children’s reading. As a mother, I pretty much allowed my kids to read any book they found at the library. My mother tried to talk me into not letting them read Harry Potter for a few reasons, but I just smiled and did what I thought was best for my kids (allowing to read books).

When I was in the 8th grade, my mother wouldn’t allow me to watch Red Dawn (We’re talking 80s), and I was the only kid who had to sit in an empty classroom while the rest of the class was exposed to this movie. I felt left out and overly sheltered by such nonsense. Now I know this is a movie, but it’s along the same lines. Teens know when they are being repressed in a manner that is not conducive to learning.

Between video games and movies most high school teens have been exposed to a lot more nonsense than learning ideas from a book. There are going to be words that make you shift uncomfortably and sentences that make you cringe. These ideas will form you into who you become as an adult. This learning will produce a productive and tolerant member of society as the teen becomes a young adult. These teens need to know it’s okay to disagree, and it’s okay to have an unpopular opinion while still respecting the different opinions and ideals of their peers. We don’t all have to agree. Books and book discussions at that high school level teach important life lessons.

Good morning everyone! This month’s theme is on banned books.

What are your thoughts on banned books? Do you ever feel like there are exceptions?

Tamara linked the ALA guide in a previous post, and I’ll link it here again for easy reference: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/fr...

I agree. I do not believe in banning books. Frankly once a kid gets to high school, I don’t think the parents should be able to ban any books or even request an alternate book. Teens are on their way to becoming young adults. They need to face some uncomfortable situations. This will show them the proper way to react (or not react). People are going to have different opinions in life. It’s okay to not agree and it’s okay to still be kind about it. Also if a teen is in public high school, they have most certainly heard all the words and been confronted with a variety of situations. And if they’ve been living under a rock, then it’s about time.

I’m super excited to participate in the challenge. I haven’t been doing so well with the challenge, but I hope to start to rectify that this month.