Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
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Jul 15, 2023 11:59AM
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I agree to a point, but the fact is that the most dedicated book banning happy governors have way too much personal power and are very keen to pass book banning laws, stack the deck with pro book banning lawmakers etc. and to cater to and enable groups like Moms for Liberty.
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I guess a small town in Newfoundland has to show us all how Pride is supposed to be celebrated, that this is for everyone and that animosity and hatred really have no place.
Yes some districts are limiting challenges to only people who have children in the schools and some libraries are trying to keep down the challenges by making book challenge forms excessively long and complicated -as in - you have to read the entire book before you object to it. What's happening with Moms for Liberty is they "helpfully" have indexed ALL the objectionable content, provide formulated responses and do all the work while the censor just has to fill out the form and submit it. Then they show up at school board meetings sharing these passages OUT LOUD even though they don't find them appropriate for children.I have more news to share. I keep finding more stories on Google on my phone in the middle of the night when I can't sleep!
The single most despicable thing I've read coming out of Washington these days is this so-called defense bill. https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023328
"Republican amendments targeting social policy issues turned a typically bipartisan measure preserving the nation’s military security into another front for the culture wars, similar to those that have gripped many state legislatures. The bill passed 219-210, with mostly GOP support.
The relevant book section:
The House also adopted an amendment from Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert that would prohibit the Department of Defense Education Activity, a school system for children of service members in the United States and 11 foreign countries, from keeping in its libraries p____y or books that “espouse radical gender ideology.”
Boebert introduced three amendments that got onto the bill, including one that prevents Department of Defense Education Activity schools “from purchasing and having p____ and radical gender ideology books in their libraries.” DODEA schools are for military-connected students from kindergarten through high school.
“Speaking as a mother of four boys, enough is enough. I don’t send my boys to school to receive indoctrination from the woke mob or to be sexualized by groomers,” Boebert said when introducing the amendment. “And the same can be said for our service members, who are also parents sending their children to DODEA schools.”
Boebert cited examples of books she found in DODEA libraries that she claimed include sexually explicit material, as well as multiple LGBTQ-themed books.
All Republicans present voted in favor, as did two democrats Harry Cuellar (Texas) and Donald G. Davis of North Carolina
The whole list
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023328
https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/07/...
https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/07/...
What the heck do books have to do with defense and what business is it of the government or military to dictate what kids learn in school? NONE of these extra things have anything to do with defense. The House disgusts me. My district is without a representative since he left Congress for a non-profit job! I'm so peeved about that. A special election to choose his successor is coming but they didn't want to do it in June. We are left with only one Rep for the state who voted nay.
In Florida, as new laws against "sexual content" take place, media specialists around the state are interpreting the new legislation, HB 1069, to mean that districts could be breaking the law if they do not pull media containing “sexual conduct.” That includes many books needed to take the College Board’s Advanced Placement literature exam and dual-enrollment classes.Malloy said that could even apply to books that overall are "very valuable as a piece of literature," with just one or two small scenes that fall under the "sexual conduct" definition.
Districts are awaiting training from the Florida Department of Education on how to proceed, and some have put their review processes on hold to wait for state guidance, including Brevard and Hillsborough.
In the meantime, book-access advocates are disputing how districts are interpreting the "sexual conduct" provision, and committees are leaning toward "erring on the side of caution" – something the state Department of Education advises media specialists to do when considering what books to keep in their libraries.
In Brevard County, the district’s book review committee voted to remove three texts by poet Rupi Kaur because of "sexual content."
Committee member Michelle Beavers said her favorite poem is from "The Sun and All Her Flowers," one of the texts under review, but she was still in favor of removing the book. The book includes drawings depicting outlines of naked bodies.
"It's against statutes. We're done. That's it," she said, holding up copies of the drawings.
While a review process is ongoing in Orange County Public Schools, four Shakespeare plays are listed as approved for only grades 10 through 12, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Also on the temporarily rejected list are books that had been frequently taught in county high school classes, including “The Color Purple,” “Catch-22,” “Brave New World” and “The Kite Runner.”
And in the Tampa area, Pinellas County school officials, while choosing books for their annual Battle of the Books competition, voiced concern about relationships and sexual situations mentioned in the texts, which could make them off limits under the new law.
In Leon County, the school district is contemplating delaying the checking out of books at all schools at the beginning of the school year until they can make sure they’re abiding by state statute, said Superintendent Rocky Hanna.
“I’m not banning books, I am not that guy,” Hanna said. "I also, because of this new law, do not want to be found in violation of the law and targeted by the DOE and the governor.”
Earlier this week, Hanna pulled five books that he deemed were in violation of state statute following proddingfrom a local chapter of Moms for Liberty.
“We will not do more than the law requires,” he said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Florida's Clay County list of objectionable books for next school yearhttps://twitter.com/FLFreedomRead/sta...
What on earth is wrong with Guts? It's a memoir about a girl with anxiety that makes her feel like throwing up.
The Midwife's Apprentice? really?
Who Was Dr. Seuss?? Because there's a lot of sexual content in Dr. Seuss right?
I know The Adventures of Captain Underpants is crude and controversial but it gets kids, especially boys, reading and my theory is, if I can find ONE book my nephew/kids like him will read, even if I don't like it, that's OK. As long as he's reading SOMETHING.
Unicorn on a Roll so now we're banning unicorns as well as rainbows?
I wish they'd provide their silly justifications for "reviewing" these books.
And in Texas, Fort Worth schools will remove these three books from library shelves:Gender Queer: A Memoir
Flamer
Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up
All three titles deal with themes related to growing up and exploring sexuality and gender identity. The move comes after a series of tweets from the conservative Twitter account Libs of TikTok highlighting sexually explicit language and illustrations in the books.
Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/lo...
And in North Carolina,Moore County Schools will review a dozen books for possible removal from middle and high school libraries at the direction of the Board of Education.
Board member Philip Holmes proposed on Monday that the board initiate the district’s process to “reconsider” a list of 14 books.
Dealing with each book individually, the board agreed by a consistent 5-2 majority to start the review process for 12 of those titles.
The board approved to begin review of:
* “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, available at Union Pines;
* “Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell, at Union Pines and North Moore;
* “L8r, g8r” by Lauren Myracle, at North Moore;
*“Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, at Union Pines, North Moore and West Pine Middle;
*“Looking For Alaska” by John Green, at Union Pines and North Moore;
*“Crank” by Ellen Hopkins, at Union Pines, Elise Middle and Highfalls Elementary;
*“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, at Union Pines and North Moore;
*“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, at Union Pines and North Moore;
*“Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, at Union Pines, North Moore, Elise and Southern Middle;
*“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews, at North Moore;
*“City of Heavenly Fire” by Cassandra Clare, at Union Pines, North Moore, Crain’s Creek and New Century middle; and
*“The Perks of Being A Wallflower” by Stphen Chbosky, at New Century Middle.
Superintendent Tim Locklair will now appoint a media and technology advisory committee to read and make recommendations on those books. Per the board’s policy, that committee is to include school-level administrators, school media specialists and parents. It can also include teachers and students.
That committee will make a recommendation to the board’s appeals committee for review. The appeals committee can then pass the report along to the board or request that the technology committee reconsider its recommendation.
“We are not voting to do anything about this book, or subsequent books, right now,” said Chair Robert Levy. “There’s simply a motion to refer it to the process that is outlined in the regulation.”
Board members Stacey Caldwell and David Hensley voted against starting the review process, each stating different reasons for opposing it.
Caldwell suggested that instead of removing them from libraries outright, controversial works should be “flagged” in schools’ library systems and issued to students with parental permission.
“If it’s flagged, that could be a parent choice, because we are all about parents making choices for their kids’ education,” she said, in a thinly-veiled reference to the controversial Parents’ Bill of Rights the board passed in April — which she opposed.
Hensley, on the other hand, said that his opposition did not necessarily reflect his feelings about the books in question.
“I just think out of the hundred-and-some-odd thousand citizens in this county, I would prefer a citizen standing up,” he said. “Whether they’re a parent with a student in the school or not, they have a right according to North Carolina general statute to challenge books.”
Board policies, though, no longer allow a private resident with no connection to Moore County Schools to bring up book challenges — they would have to go through a school board member or parent.
Board attorney Richard Schwartz said that the district would be on “stronger legal ground” to restrict access to books as Caldwell suggested after a documented review process.
Holmes also presented “George,” by Alex Gino and “The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives,” by Dashka Slater.
“George” was reviewed in the spring of 2022 and upheld by the board at the time. The board’s regulations state that those decisions must stand for two years before the same material can be reconsidered again.
https://www.thepilot.com/news/school-...
In another North Carolina district, Iredell-Statesville Schools officials have pulled more than 250 books from school libraries throughout the district in response to citizen complaints.Superintendent Jeff James told school board members this week that the district is committed to following the law when it comes to selecting, reviewing and removing books from school libraries.
A group of concerned citizens [i.e. you know who] has been identifying books it deems as “p____” and bringing them to the school board’s attention during the public comment period at monthly meetings.
District personnel have reviewed these book “challenges” and removed or relocated books that meet the definition of p___y or contain content that is not suitable for particular grade levels, James said.
Some books that contained content that was not appropriate for middle school students have been moved to high school libraries, the superintendent said.
In other instances, books that have been “challenged” have been removed from general circulation and placed behind the librarian’s desk. Students who want to check out those books will need a parent’s permission, James explained.
State and federal law guides decisions in these matters, along with the district policy, which James described as “robust.”
“I just can’t knowingly violate federal or state law. That’s in my contract,” James told the board. “It doesn’t mean I agree with what is in” some of these books.
In one instance, however, the superintendent said, he made a “unilateral” decision to remove a book that he decided was “too p___c.”
https://www.iredellfreenews.com/news-...
North Carolina is on a roll"At the July 10 work session meeting, Moore County Board of Education member Philip Holmes said he wanted to remove certain vulgar books.
The board said it would review each book with questionable content and hear public comments before a vote to eliminate it.
Holmes said whoever allowed the books into the system failed students.
After reading aloud excerpts, the board passed a motion to refer the books to the review committee to challenge the books’ grade and district-level appropriateness.
The board will meet in closed session to discuss a book about the gender dysphoria disorder, “George.”
Member Stacy Caldwell said she would vote no against removing any books because it was a parental choice. She said the library should flag books for parental permission.
Vice-Chair David Hensley said he was voting against removing the books because a citizen should bring the book challenge, not board members.
During the regular meeting, member Pauline Bruno said she was the matriarch of the board and wanted to comment.
“What you are doing is destroying the work of all we have done since we were elected,” Bruno said about Hensley interrupting Chair Robert Levy as he tried to conduct the meeting.
https://sandhillssentinel.com/school-...
Eleanor & Park (F-word 22xs) (I've heard the f-word more than 22 times in my own household from one person. I don't like it in books but niece #1 says language has evolved and it doesn't mean the same thing it did in Grammie's day. She stopped short of "Ok boomer!" but she meant it.)
Back in Florida, GOOD news in Pinellas ParkPinellas School District's review of 87 books gets pushback from anti-censorship groups
read the letter and view the censorship list
Many of these are books for K-3!
https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/educati...
In Virginia,On July 10th the Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees met with its Ad Hoc Committee to reach decisions on public appeals of rulings of library staff on several titles submitted for removal from the library by members of the CleanUp Samuels Library (CSL) group. That group and its supporters are seeking removal of 134 books dealing with sexual identity or sexual behavior issues at various points through puberty available in youth sections of the library.
Initial decisions to retain the books were appealed by petitioners, bringing the matter to the Library Trustees through its Ad Hoc Committee. Books at issue on July 10 were
“I am Jazz”, “This is Why They Hate Us”, and “Ana on the Edge”. Motions by the committee and decisions by the Board of Trustees were as follows:
I Am Jazz
this is a Juvenile Non-Fiction title. The Committee recommended retaining the book in its current location. A motion to retain was made and seconded, with 12 board members voting to retain the title as is and 2 in opposition.
This Is Why They Hate Us” – this was a Young Adult Fiction title. The Committee recommended moving this book to the newly created New Adult Collection. A motion was made and seconded on that recommendation, and was passed unanimously.
“Ana on the Edge” – this is a Juvenile Fiction title. The Committee recommended retaining the book in its current location. Again a motion was made and seconded on that recommendation, with 12 Board members voting to retain the title as is and 2 opposed.
.Library Director Michelle Ross explained, “Staff are continuing to review the Requests for Reconsideration that we’ve received according to our procedures. We are creating a new collection, ‘New Adult’ which is for 16 through college aged. Staff are evaluating each title in the Young Adult collection to determine what needs to be moved.
“We have implemented two new card types,” Ross added of a result of discussion between library staff and board of supervisor members. Of those new cards, she elaborated, “There is a Juvenile Limited card which restricts access to only physical juvenile materials. This card type can’t check out Hoopla or Libby e-books, Young Adult materials, New Adult materials, or Adult materials. There is a Young Adult Limited card which limits them to Juvenile and Young Adult physical materials. This card type can’t check out Hoopla or Libby e-books, New Adult materials, or Adult materials. We are continuing to work with the Board of Supervisors on an agreement and have hope that we can arrive at a compromise that addresses concerns without infringing on anyone’s First Amendment rights.”
On July 10th the Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees met with its Ad Hoc Committee to reach decisions on public appeals of rulings of library staff on several titles submitted for removal from the library by members of the CleanUp Samuels Library (CSL) group. That group and its supporters are seeking removal of 134 books dealing with sexual identity or sexual behavior issues at various points through puberty available in youth sections of the library.
Initial decisions to retain the books were appealed by petitioners, bringing the matter to the Library Trustees through its Ad Hoc Committee. Books at issue on July 10 were “I am Jazz”, “This is Why They Hate Us”, and “Ana on the Edge”. Motions by the committee and decisions by the Board of Trustees were as follows:
“I Am Jazz” – this is a Juvenile Non-Fiction title. The Committee recommended retaining the book in its current location. A motion to retain was made and seconded, with 12 board members voting to retain the title as is and 2 in opposition.
“This is Why They Hate Us” – this was a Young Adult Fiction title. The Committee recommended moving this book to the newly created New Adult Collection. A motion was made and seconded on that recommendation, and was passed unanimously.
“Ana on the Edge” – this is a Juvenile Fiction title. The Committee recommended retaining the book in its current location. Again a motion was made and seconded on that recommendation, with 12 Board members voting to retain the title as is and 2 opposed.
Samuels Public Library from the front, Criser Road, side, appearing somewhat fenced in. Royal Examiner File Photo
The week following these decisions Royal Examiner sat down with library officials and asked where they were in the ongoing process related to the removal requests initiated by the CSL group. Library Director Michelle Ross explained, “Staff are continuing to review the Requests for Reconsideration that we’ve received according to our procedures. We are creating a new collection, ‘New Adult’ which is for 16 through college aged. Staff are evaluating each title in the Young Adult collection to determine what needs to be moved.
“We have implemented two new card types,” Ross added of a result of discussion between library staff and board of supervisor members. Of those new cards, she elaborated, “There is a Juvenile Limited card which restricts access to only physical juvenile materials. This card type can’t check out Hoopla or Libby e-books, Young Adult materials, New Adult materials, or Adult materials. There is a Young Adult Limited card which limits them to Juvenile and Young Adult physical materials. This card type can’t check out Hoopla or Libby e-books, New Adult materials, or Adult materials. We are continuing to work with the Board of Supervisors on an agreement and have hope that we can arrive at a compromise that addresses concerns without infringing on anyone’s First Amendment rights.”
During our discussion, it was noted that a new influx of requests for reconsideration of some books had been received. How would this impact the process, we asked.
“We did receive an additional 200 Requests for Reconsideration. Many of the titles are repeats of ones we’ve already received. We will work on them as we have the others,” Ross said, observing of the process, “It does take a lot of staff time to review each title. Staff members read the books in their entirety, and research reviews and other relevant information regarding the title.”
https://royalexaminer.com/samuels-lib...
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In SOUTH Carolina, A debate is building over where certain children’s books are placed at the York County Library.The controversy surrounds books addressing topics, such as gender identity and sexuality.
The library director ruled the policy is being followed and those books should stay in the children’s section of the library, not in the adult section.
Parents appealed her decision to the library’s board, but board members sided with the director.
The county council could decide to change that board at a meeting on Monday.
At a meeting in May, Councilman Tom Audette said there are more than 400 children’s books addressing those topics at York County libraries.
his should not be happening in our libraries.”
When petitioned about the matter, the library’s director and the library board decided to leave the books where they are.
More than 2,000 people have signed a petition asking the county council to stop all efforts to remove or relocate the books.
However, the county council could vote Monday to remove at-large members from the library’s board. That would whittle the board from 10 to seven members.
Leaders have not said if that is in response to the decision about the books.
“My understanding is the reason behind this is, they’re having trouble with attendance, so if they’re having trouble with
attendance they can’t vote because they don’t have a quorum,” said A. Watts Huckabee, a York County councilman.
The library director said Friday that her board meets all attendance requirements.
She said the board has asked for clarification on the motion.
They’re still waiting to hear back, she said.
Warning: Harmful language from Audette who doesn't believe in gender dysphoria
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/count...
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And a piece in The Providence Journal, which is behind a paywall, by Judy Rakowsky about Poland is a reminder for us, in a free and democratic state, of what NOT to do.Generations of Poles under Soviet rule learned nothing about the Holocaust and were told everyone who died at the time was a victim of fascism.
When the iron curtain was lifted, Poles learned the true history of the Holocaust and about how many Poles hid Jews but many, even thousands, were also complicit. This idea has been extraordinary difficult for modern Poles to accept.
In 2015, a right-wing Law and Justice Party was elected desiring national heroes and promoting national pride. Three years later in 2018 the government implemented a law forbidding any expression of Polish complicity in the Holocaust.
That year a massive study of the events of Polish complicity in the Holocaust was published.
A government organization sued the editors for libel. A judge in Warsaw ruled against them in 2021. However, she ruled the editors violated the right to a positive identity held by the niece of the late mayor, which put the right to national pride along side other basic legal rights. What was written could be "construed as hurtful and striking at the feeling of national pride. " Such accusations would risk striking "against the feeling of national belonging and provokes a feeling of harm."
An appeals court overruled the verdict and now the government is cutting funding for historical research it disagrees with. Classroom teachers worry about running afoul of the government's allowed narrative of WWII history.
Follow-up from the Hungarian bookstore fined for selling the popular graphic novel Heartstopper: Volume One without wrapping it in foil. (This is a new and popular Netflix series and thus more interest in the books)."
Hungary’s second-largest bookstore, Lira, said on Friday it plans to take legal action after it received a hefty government fine for the sale of an LGBT-themed British webcomic and graphic novel aimed at teenagers without closed wrapping.
A Budapest government office on Thursday imposed a fine of 12 million forints ($36,000) on Lira, saying it broke the law by selling British author Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper,” among other books for minors, without wrapping them in plastic foil.
Krisztian Nyary, Lira’s creative director and a well-known author himself, told Reuters the fine was disproportionate, the law vaguely worded and that the bookstore would respond legally.
As this is a resolution about a fine it cannot be appealed, it can only be attacked – in what way, our lawyers will assess,” he said. “We will use all legal means at our disposal.”
The European Commission, however, referred Hungary to the EU Court of Justice, claiming the law “discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity,”
Nyary said the law was vague at several points. He said some publishers had already voluntarily wrapped their books, trying to comply, but that it was not clear whether it was enough to place books affected by the law on a shelf for literature aimed for adults.
He said another issue was whether LGBT-themed books meant for adults would also have to be wrapped up or whether those could be sold without packaging.
“This is all not clear,” he said.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/hun...
Follow-up from the Hungarian bookstore fined for selling the popular graphic novel Heartstopper: Volume One without wrapping it in foil. (This is a new and popular Netflix series and thus more interest in the books)."
Hungary’s second-largest bookstore, Lira, said on Friday it plans to take legal action after it received a hefty government fine for the sale of an LGBT-themed British webcomic and graphic novel aimed at teenagers without closed wrapping.
A Budapest government office on Thursday imposed a fine of 12 million forints ($36,000) on Lira, saying it broke the law by selling British author Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper,” among other books for minors, without wrapping them in plastic foil.
Krisztian Nyary, Lira’s creative director and a well-known author himself, told Reuters the fine was disproportionate, the law vaguely worded and that the bookstore would respond legally.
As this is a resolution about a fine it cannot be appealed, it can only be attacked – in what way, our lawyers will assess,” he said. “We will use all legal means at our disposal.”
The European Commission, however, referred Hungary to the EU Court of Justice, claiming the law “discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity,”
Nyary said the law was vague at several points. He said some publishers had already voluntarily wrapped their books, trying to comply, but that it was not clear whether it was enough to place books affected by the law on a shelf for literature aimed for adults.
He said another issue was whether LGBT-themed books meant for adults would also have to be wrapped up or whether those could be sold without packaging.
“This is all not clear,” he said.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/hun...
Manybooks wrote: "When I was a teenager, my parents got a lot of flak because we were allowed to drink wine at dinner/supper (usually a glass or two and often mixed with water). However, the hysterical parents who r..."Wow really? Around here there are so many Italians, the Irish kids were jealous Italian kids got wine with dinner AND communion. So they say anyway. It is usually the adults who leave their kids alone and liquor cabinets unlocked. Same with books. The same parents leave their kids alone in the library to run around pulling books off the shelf willy nilly and then have the nerve to complain their precious darlings were exposed to objectionable content! Keep the precious darlings away from objectional things and not the other way around.
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Definitely, and the scenario when I was a teenager was definitely a bit anti German but also anti Catholic since my mother is Catholic and my father Lutheran (it was pretty silly but I did enjoy how after a very loud party, that saw the police show up and arrest quite a number of my classmates for being drunk and disorderly, and a party I did not bother to attend as I knew it would be loud and with lots of booze, the parents of the arrested partiers finally had to grudgingly admit that it was their offspring behaving badly and that this had nothing to do with neither my family nor us being allowed to drink wine at dinner).
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You know, our liquor cabinet was NEVER locked as neither I nor my siblings would ever have sneaked alcohol (and for some parties in grade twelve that were bring your own booze type affairs, and yes, I was eighteen at that time which in Alberta is a age of majority, I basically asked my parents and they let me take along one bottle of wine).
Some news for today that sounds encouraging although BOB KRAFT is the last person I'd expect to support anti-censorship. The buzz around town is he's tight with Trump. "Roc Nation’s Jay-Z and the Chief Executive Officer of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, have launched a series of programs to combat the rising prevalence of banned books. TMZ Hip Hop reported that their efforts focus on literary teachings about the Holocaust, gender equality, LGBTQIA+ history, and slavery.
The July 14 report revealed that Kraft and Jay have donated nearly $1 million to offer completely pro bono legal representation to teachers, librarians, and other academics who are the victims of state policies to ban books. Kraft’s donations come mainly through his existing social justice organizations, specifically the Shawn Carter Foundation and the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism.
On top of the financial donations made by Kraft and Jay, the pair have also set up the beginnings of programs that will allow minority students to receive grants and scholarships to support their artistic works. The hope is that their pieces can be turned into consumable works like movies, books, and art to diversify the scene further.
Finally, the sport’s juggernaut and the rapper have signed off on a plan to reprint banned books and circulate them in nearby learning centers."
https://www.blackenterprise.com/jay-z...
Back to Hanover County, VABook banning and censorship debate shifts to Hanover's public libraries
Behind a paywall right now
https://richmond.com/news/local/educa...
Doesn't sound good though
In York County, SC the The York County Council will debate whether or not to scale back on the number of members on its library board, from 10 to seven, during its meeting Monday evening.One group of residents said the possible decision is an act of retaliation stemming from an effort to move certain books from the children’s section of the library to the adult section.
Dozens of books that deal with gender identity and sexuality are at the center of the debate.
Audette said he had been contacted by several concerned constituents, and that moving the books to the adult section would give parents the choice of whether the books were appropriate for their children.
Following the proposal, the library’s board of directors voted to keep the books in the children’s section.
Another group of parents started a petition supporting the library’s decision. As of Monday morning, nearly 2,400 people have signed it.
It is unclear if the possibility of reducing the size of the board is a direct result of the book controversy.
https://www.wbtv.com/2023/07/17/york-...
Leaders, advocates spar over moving LGBTQ-themed memoir in North Jersey libraryGender Queer: A Memoir
Cedar Grove leaders said they never considered banning the book, but local LGBTQ+ advocates said removing it from the young adult section was a form of censorship.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey tweeted an open letter urging Cedar Grove Library Director Catherine Wolverton to keep the illustrated memoir in its collection and “stand up for the First Amendment.” Out Montclair, a local LGBTQ+ nonprofit, echoed the ACLU’s concerns about a “book ban challenge.”
Cedar Grove Mayor Kerry Peterson said “the word ‘banned’ never came out of anybody’s mouth,” specifically not from any township administrative staff members or Library Board members. She led the meeting to fill in for the board president on Thursday, and she has attended Library Board meetings for six years as the council’s liaison.
Cedar Grove leaders received calls in June from people concerned about “Gender Queer” appearing in a Pride month display at the front of the library.
“It happened to be the summer reading kickoff, so there were tons of kids and parents," Peterson said, and the book "was accessible to little kids. It was displayed for gay Pride month … I don’t think it was displayed to incite a reaction or cause harm.”
Library staff removed the book from the display case. Wolverton decided to move the memoir from the young adult section to adult shelves, which Peterson said the board would discuss with the director if members shared concerns. It’s ultimately Wolverton’s decision. Peterson said that to her knowledge the book has been moved.
Out Montclair Executive Director Peter Yacobellis said hundreds of books with themes similar to those of "Gender Queer" “in a heterosexual context” remain in the young adult section. Critics of the book often point to a scene between queer people that some feel is inappropriate for young children. The nonprofit also disagrees with the library director's moving the book before taking public comments.
Younger people can visit the adult section, but Yacobellis worries about the looks and shame that queer teens might experience while wandering through the adult section in search of the memoir.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/new...
Chilling statistics from Tenn.https://www.tennessean.com/story/news...
Obama speaks out against ‘profoundly misguided’ book bans in school libraries
Former president writes open letter to American librarians and appears in TikTok video decrying rightwing censorship push
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
New York Times opinion piece
What Physical Space and Book Bans Mean in a Public Library
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/op...
In response to the Moms for Liberty ban of 5 books in Leon County, Florida, The Freedom from Religion Foundation, which describes itself as a nontheistic nonprofit, is giving Leon County School District an ultimatum: Ban the Bible or stop banning books altogether. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
The most outrageous and reprehensible news of the day is from North Carolina:NC lawmakers want to put new restrictions on public libraries under the premise of protecting children.
Proposed law could segregate library materials for adult patrons to ‘no minors' zones.
Librarians could be prosecuted if kids at the library look at materials deemed to be harmful.
Cumberland County’s library director says it would take money to set up age-restricted areas in the libraries. The legislation provides no money for its mandates.
Public libraries in North Carolina would have to set up “adults only” areas if they offer books, movies and other items with imagery that might be inappropriate for children due to portrayals of nudity or sexual content, under legislation unveiled last week at the General Assembly.
Further, if the bill becomes law, it would make librarians subject to criminal prosecution if a child at the library gets ahold of adults-only material.
The legislation would drive up the cost of operating the public libraries in Cumberland County, the county library director said on Friday. The bill includes no funding provisions to help local libraries cover the costs of implementing its mandates.
The library legislation is a small part of a 26-page bill that is mostly about new regulations for public schools.
The legislation is Senate Bill 90, Children’s Laws Omnibus. It was on the agenda for a meeting of the House Education-K-12 Committee, then it was removed shortly before the meeting started. Committee Chairman John Torbett, a Republican House member from Gaston County, told the Associated Press that committee members needed more time to review the bill.
This applies both to the physical materials in the library buildings and the electronic materials that library patrons download to their computers, cellphones or electronic readers.
The law says the material is not harmful if it has “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”
The bill would create other new laws for kids:
Current law requires libraries to keep private what materials a patron has requested, used or checked out from the library. This bill would create an exemption to that privacy law for parents to find out what materials their children have been getting at the library.
Libraries could not lend books to anyone under age 18 without prior written consent from a parent. (This consent could be obtained with the parent’s written consent for the minor to get a library card.)
Minors’ library cards would have to indicate the card belongs to a minor and restrict the minor from getting materials that the law considers to be harmful to minors.
https://www.fayobserver.com/story/new...
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Libraries are for EVERYONE!
Oh and the computers wipe information at the end of the day so no, you can't tell a parent what their kid checked out, plus who has that kind of time to monitor every single check out all day every day? No one!
In Maine, A Monday evening school board meeting for Maine School Administrative District 51 (MSAD #51) adjourned after a parent raised concerns over p___c books in the district’s school libraries.Scott Jordan of Cumberland, the parent of a child in MSAD # 51, presented the board with documents showing that Cumberland’s Greely High School contains several obscene and p___c books.
Jordan was informed by board chair Leanne Candura that his public comment time would be limited to three minutes, despite the speaker prior to Jordan speaking for over six minutes.
“I’m not leaving until one of two things occurs: you either call the police, or you tell me the next steps on what you’re doing. This community is — we’re tired of it — what are you doing tonight to remove these books from our libraries?” Jordan said after being cut off.
“Scott, I will take a look at the materials that you’ve passed out, and those books that you have given the information to the board, and find out more information,” said Jeff Porter, Superintendent of MSAD #51.
“Jeff, that’s not acceptable. I’ve done that with you already. Nothing has happened, those books have been in our library –” Scott responded.
“Well I’d like to at least give you a response, Scott, on the specific information you provided,” Superintendent Porter said.
“That’s not acceptable Jeff, that has been up in our middle school, those black and white photos, have been up in our middle school for our fourth and fifth graders to see. They should not be knowing about sexual orientation and gender identity, that should be left up to the parents,” Jordan said.
“I’m not leaving this podium tonight until you either provide me with next steps that are acceptable, or the police [are] called. I’ve had it, and so have many other folks in this community,” he added.
Chair Candura then suggested that the board adjourn their meeting for the evening.
According to Scott Jordan, following the adjournment of Monday night’s meeting, parents were outside discussing the meeting with Superintendent Jeff Porter.
Jordan said following Kim Vine’s departure, three police cruisers pulled into the parking lot minutes after each other.
When speaking with the third responding officer, Jordan said that the officer mistook him for conservative activist Shawn McBreairty, and asked Jordan if “They were going to have a problem like last year. Jordan said that the officer became angry with him, and told Jordan that he “didn’t want to be dragged into [his] political issues.”
Gender Queer: A Memoir
Be Gay, Do Comics
Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World
Fine: A Comic About Gender
All Boys Aren't Blue
https://www.themainewire.com/2023/07/...
This nonsense over s-e-x education for kids and gender identity has extended to AustraliaWelcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and figuring it out
Big W has come under fire after releasing a graphic sex education book for primary schoolers which is “too much” for young children, according to Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“It goes into too many variations … for young children who are just starting to learn about this stuff,” Mr Kenny told Sky News host Sharri Markson.
The franchise has since announced they will be pulling the physical copy from shelves after receiving backlash.
https://www.skynews.com.au/opinion/sh...
To the woman with the 1 and 4 year olds: Start teaching them the names of the body parts and allow them to tell you what their gender identity is so by the time they're able and ready for the TALK they can learn appropriate and realistic information. To the dudes with the 9-10 year olds, they already know what gender identity is and what body parts are and what goes where for straight people. You think they don't hear it at school from their peers, on social media, in ads, movies, tv? These parents worry way too much over stupid stuff.
About the teacher who was fired for reading My Shadow Is PurpleShe previously received complaints from parents for teaching topics that made kids feel uncomfortable.
"Complaints from March obtained by the AJC via an open records request said that students felt uncomfortable when sitting through the story, which is about a child whose shadow isn’t blue or pink. Rinderle had students use “they/them” pronouns when referring to the main character of the book, school district investigators found.
“This. Is. Unacceptable,” one parent wrote in an email to the school’s principal. “After much consideration and back-and-forth with other concerned parents, (redacted) and I decided that we will not idly sit by as this garbage agenda is being pushed on our child. We are utterly disgusted that this content was taught to fifth grade students at Due West Elementary.”
Through interviews with Rinderle and her students, investigators determined that Rinderle read the book to students during a time when she was required to be teaching math. Rinderle denied the claim.
Another sticking point for the district: Rinderle did not admit that the book was about gender identity, maintaining through multiple conversations that the book was about inclusivity.
“We never had a discussion about gender identity,” she said in another interview with investigators. “This was about embracing each other, students reflected on valuing the differences, letting them be unique and having multiple interests. That was the basis of it.”
Rinderle also felt that the book did not violate district rules because it did not discuss race or a divisive concept, she told investigators.
“Your unwillingness to acknowledge that your conduct was inappropriate and/or the actual topic of this book has further exacerbated the situation, causing the district to lose confidence in your ability to exercise appropriate judgement as a teacher,” stated a letter signed by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale notifying Rinderle of the termination hearing.
https://www.ajc.com/education/exclusi...
Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi CoatesA South Carolina community is divided over a high school English lesson some say was centered around "systemic racism," despite state law restricting such instruction.
Parents and students have packed the last two Lexington-Richland School District 5 (District 5) school board meetings over the lesson taught by Chapin High School teacher Mary Wood. Earlier this year, Wood implemented several books and videos into her curriculum, including the book "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which is written as a letter to Coates's teenage self about his experiences being Black in the United States.
The lesson was shut down after some felt the use of the book in a classroom setting contradicted a South Carolina law which limits K-12 instruction on race, as well as prohibits teaching critical race theory.
"This did cause several students to feel uncomfortable because of the color of their skin," one mom said of the lesson during a June 26 District 5 school board meeting.
Another mom claimed that a line from "Between the World and Me" states that "White America is a syndicate to dominate and control our bodies."
"This is not only inappropriate and divisive, this is illegal," she told the District 5 school board. "We had students email some board members that they feel ashamed to be White after reading these books and being assigned these assignments."
https://turnto10.com/news/nation-worl...
Supporters rally around teacher of Chapin racism lesson as LR5 board considers changes
At the previous June 26 meeting of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board, following coverage in The State, several speakers criticized Wood’s lesson plan, with one saying she was “surprised to find this teacher is still employed at Chapin High even though she showed no remorse and strongly defended herself after she broke the law.” In contrast, a dozen speakers at Monday’s meeting expressed their support for Wood, and decried the public pressure they felt led to the cancellation of last spring’s lesson on Coates’ book.
In February, Wood introduced her advanced placement language arts class at Chapin High School to the memoir “Between the World and Me” by Coates.
Wood intended for the book to be used as part of an argumentative essay component of the college-level course.
School administrators told Wood to drop the book, citing concerns that it violated a state law prohibiting the teaching of divisive racial concepts. Patrick Funk is a former teacher in the school district who said cases like Wood’s led him to leave the profession. “Until you give full-throated support to teachers, you will continue to hemorrhage them.” Mallory Greene, 14, is a rising high school student who said she so far had not been assigned a non-white author in school, although she had read Coates’ book. “He describes America as a galaxy, where idyllic white suburbia was on the other side,” Greene said. “I grew up on that side of the galaxy… and learning his perspective brought me awareness, not shame.”
Tess Pratt, the chair of the English Department at Chapin High, told the board she had approved Wood’s usage of the book and ordered copies, which were used in the previous year’s class without complaint. She said it made teachers’ “hearts grow heavy” to know some people think they’re indoctrinating children. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to sharing stories, both fiction and nonfiction, with my students,” Pratt said, at times growing emotional. “I’ve shared my stories with them, and asked them to share with me.” When she had to take the copies of Coates’ book back from Wood’s class, “I silenced his story, and I’ll regret that for the rest of my life, because that was wrong.”
Monday’s meeting also featured speakers from the Lexington NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, who also spoke in support of teachers’ academic freedom to teach controversial subjects. Superintendent Akil Ross opened the meeting by laying out Lexington-Richland 5’s policy on academic freedom, saying he was confused by questions of whether the district taught “systemic racism.” “I haven’t seen a (teaching) standard on racism in South Carolina,” Ross said. “We have standards for critical thinking, debate, argumentative essay, rhetoric.” Race is one of several topics that teachers can use to initiate those discussions, he said. “These are standards to help children think for themselves,” he said. Ross said if parents have questions or concerns about what their children are learning, they should first address them with their child’s teacher. “Nine times out of ten that’s where the issue is resolved.”
In their discussion, the board members agreed the language in the district’s policy on controversial materials was adequate. Board member Catherine Huddle stressed that the district needed to “follow the law” as spelled out in the state budget.
Huddle suggested the district needed stricter standards on outside material, noting that lesson plans can now include “videos, websites, all those things” in addition to text, as well as requirements for more even-handed discussion of controversial topics.
Board member Mike Satterfield, a former principal at Chapin High, said the budget proviso was “political” language that is “very vague and sounds pleasing,” but doesn’t include any clear direction on what teachers or school boards are supposed to do to enforce it. “And then they expect us to solve this problem.”
Chairwoman Rebecca Blackburn Hines said the proviso in question was only part of a single year’s budget, and state legislators had not settled on a more permanent direction in the most recent legislative session for local school districts to follow. “This is something the General Assembly hasn’t figured out, so I’m reluctant to change our policies,” Hines said. News of the Chapin High lesson sparked pushback from some community members, including at the June 26 school board meeting where members of the public called for Wood to be disciplined or fired over the lesson plan.
The meeting Monday ended without the board taking action, although Ross offered the board his “commitment” to better teach teachers how to use controversial material “so there’s no confusion”; to offer staff development, “so they know what their protections are”; to have multiple viewpoints presented — and to offer Greene, the rising high school student, non-white authors to read in school.
Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
Ta-Nehisi Coates himself crashed the board meeting! Coates did not speak during the meeting.
While board members mostly agreed that those existing policies were adequate, board member Catherine Huddle suggested incorporating the state budget provision into policy, which others opposed on the grounds that such laws only last a year, unless they are reinserted into the next year’s budget.
Hines, the board chair, said the community should express concerns through the “proper channels,” by contacting their students’ schools first instead of the board, which is what happened with the Chapin High lesson, when students emailed complaints to a school board member who then passed them on to the district’s administration.
“If something happens in the classroom that upsets you about your child, talk to your teacher,” she said.
Akil Ross, the district’s superintendent, promised to work with his staff to teach how the district uses books like “Between the World and Me,” and also committed to more staff development, usage of books by authors of color and offering a “world of multiple viewpoints” to students.
The Chapin- and Irmo-area district’s leader also echoed Hines’ point about taking concerns to teachers first, and emphasized that his district’s policy focuses on students’ academic freedom to be able to draw their own conclusions.
“Academic freedom says, even if you disagree with it, there’ll be another opinion presented to our children,” Ross said. “Our democracy needs that. We can’t handle differences, and I need academic freedom so that the next generation can.”
https://www.postandcourier.com/columb...
OMG my jaw just dropped! THIS is what they're teaching kids in SC:
"The cotton gin improved conditions for workers.” The end. (Buried in one of the above articles)
Uh... being intimately familiar with the cotton gin and knowing how to use it, I was told Eli Whitney thought it would reduce the need for slave labor but instead, our very own mill and other northern mills created such a demand for cotton that the demand would never have been met without the cotton gin. Therefore, the cotton gin prolonged slavery when it would have died out on its own when it was no longer profitable. We taught this to 100s of school kids a year and I never heard about any complains or kids feeling uncomfortable. If the parents felt uncomfortable, they didn't complain. Every teacher got a survey to provide feedback and then that feedback got passed down to the school tour staff and the program tweaked accordingly.
The hand-crank cotton gin is not easy to use. You need some muscles to make it go, the seeds go flying at you on the other side and it still doesn't get them all out. It was EASIER than picking the seeds out (unless you work at a museum when picking out cotton seeds is a fun task to hand off to 4th graders to keep them busy in the classroom for 5 minutes) AND the cotton still needs to be smacked with sticks to clean it so it didn't REALLY make work conditions easier. (again where 4th graders come in handy today.)
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Ha, even though I do enjoy reading the Bible, there is certainly more than a bit of truth regarding the Bible having lots of inappropriate information for children and that much of in particular the Old Testament teems with hatred, war, bigotry and basically ALL the themes and contents that book banners (both interest groups like Moms for Liberty and also politicians like Ron DeSantis) have been wanting to see banned and restricted.
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NC lawmakers want to put new restrictions on public libraries under the premise of protecting children.
Proposed law..."
Honestly, I hope that children in North Carolina simply start speaking books from the library!!
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What have we learned? Not a whole lot, apparently. Except back then it was actually librarians who were doing the censorship, and now it's librarians who are trying to protect collections.
While I don't think the Bible belongs in public school libraries, trying to ban it just seems counter productive. In California, they still can't agree on social studies textbooks. The Temecula Valley Unified School District decided early Wednesday to reject California’s controversial new social studies book and curriculum.
The school board met for more than 5 hours on Tuesday hearing from parents, teachers, and even people outside the Temecula area about the state’s curriculum for elementary school kids.
The debate is over a new social studies book called “Social Studies Alive!”
The textbook complies with 2011 state laws requiring that students get instruction about “the role and contributions of people with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans; and other ethnic and cultural groups.”
Conservative members of the board have complained that supplemental material for the curriculum contains a three-paragraph mention of gay rights leader Harvey Milk.
The board eventually voted 3-2 to dismiss the state’s textbooks and continue on with instructional materials that are at least 17 years old, according to the Patch report.
Gov. Newsom said he won’t stand for the district using outdated materials and said the state would deliver the textbooks into the hands of students if needed.
He added that he would also send a bill to the school district for the books and fine it for violating the law.
“Those kids have the freedom to learn,” Newsom said,
Board member Joseph Komrosky said if the governor sends the books, he will send them right back, according to the Patch.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/scho...
In Pinellas Park, Florida (Largo, part of St. Petersburg) says parents, staff to decide book challenges — not school boardThe decision came as school officials work to keep pace with new state laws policing books.
A majority of members say they want to leave those decisions to a committee of parents and staff who stand to be affected by the outcomes. The panel would be appointed by the district superintendent.
Further cementing that point, the board also agreed at a meeting Tuesday to add language to its policy on book challenges. The changes clarify that the superintendent and designated staff are authorized to remove books from schools regardless of whether any formal objections are filed.
...
Superintendent Kevin Hendrick stressed that he had no intention of taking at face value each complaint he might hear about someone’s opinion that a book is harmful to minors. He said his first reaction will be to tell those with concerns to file an objection.
He also will rely on a team of lawyers, media specialists and other experts to determine whether a book falls into the sections of law that require temporary or permanent removal.
“I am not going to be the person who navigates and reads every single book that somebody comes to me with,” Hendrick said.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
California to fine school district $1.5 million for rejecting materials mentioning Harvey MilkOn top of the fine, the district east of Los Angeles will have to pay the $1.6 million shipping costs associated with sending the materials to the district, which he previously vowed to do if the board did not approve the material.
“After we deliver the textbooks into the hands of students and their parents, the state will deliver the bill — along with a $1.5 million fine — to the school board for its decision to willfully violate the law, subvert the will of parents, and force children to use an out-of-print textbook from 17 years ago,” Newsom said Wednesday in a statement.
The president of the school board, Joseph Komrosky, had said he would reject any such shipments, but school board members who voted in favor of the learning materials say they support Newsom's actions.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
In VirginiaRichmond Public Schools superintendent Jason Kamras rejected new policies from the Virginia Department of Education on trans students. He recommended that the board maintain the current policies.
“At the heart of our policy is ensuring the privacy and the dignity and respect of all students,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said about the policies he and his administration are backing.
“At the heart of our policy is ensuring the privacy and the dignity and respect of all students,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said about the policies he and his administration are backing.
On Wednesday, July 19, Superintendent Jason Kamras tweeted: “At RPS, our motto is to teach with love. That means embracing and protecting our students for exactly who they are. So, I will recommend to the board that we maintain our current policies on transgender students.”
https://www.nbc12.com/2023/07/19/rps-...
Good news from Florida (briefly)I Am Billie Jean King can stay in the Leon County School District elem. school.
A hearing officer picked by the Leon County School District to make a recommendation on how to proceed with a challenge to the book "I am Billie Jean King" is telling school board members they should keep it on elementary school shelves.
"It is my opinion that removing ‘I am Billie Jean King’ from elementary schools infringes on the rights of parents who want their children to learn about Ms. King and the many contributions she has made to our country," wrote that official, retired principal D.J. Wright, in her recommendation.
The decision now goes to the school board, which will discuss the book challenge at its Monday meeting agenda and vote on a decision on Tuesday.
Mom Katie Lyons filed the challenge : “The book was challenged because it defines sexual orientation. Regardless of orientation, homosexual or heterosexual, the topic of sexual orientation is not age-appropriate or developmentally-appropriate for elementary students.”
Yet, in her complaint, filed on April 25, Lyons was more specific with her concerns than just "sexual orientation," a term broadly referring to whom one is attracted to.
"I object to material that discusses being gay and what it means to be gay," wrote Lyons. Lyons maintains the book is contrary to state law, largely citing the Parental Rights in Education Act.
Wright, in her July 10 recommendation, counters that the book isn’t used as “instruction” and pointed to a clarification the Florida Department of Education issued stating that "incidental references" in books to LGBTQ people are not prohibited.
Wright also said a new law, HB 1069, directed each school district to adopt processes allowing parents to limit their child’s access to library material.
But Lyons said the parental book review process is not enough to screen questionable materials accessible to their students.
"Having access to the book titles and reading reviews does not allow parents to fully screen the content of the book; it would be easy to miss critical and potentially harmful material," Lyons said last week.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
The jaw-dropping horrible news from Florida is what they're trying to pass off as Black studies! I can't even believe this is happening in 2023! We KNOW from history this simply isn't true. SOME enslaved people had skills they could use to support themselves and their families. MANY had so skills and stayed on their land as sharecroppers or struggled as laborers, laundry, cooks, maids, etc. ________________________________________
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse....
The first 10 pages look good -on paper anyway. It gets a little dicey with gradual emancipation. Can they talk about how enslaved women typically had children before the age of emancipation and how some enslavers refused to free their slaves because they had dependents/ relied on someone to take care of them? Can they mention how the last person born enslaved in Rhode Island died in the 1850s? Can they mention how the slave trade went on in spite of it being legally abolished?
This is actually a LOT of information I didn't even learn until graduate school!
a ha! The problematic content comes on p.15 SS.912.AA.3
That's it? Why are we skipping Reconstruction and the end of Reconstruction? Why does that come later? There's nothing here about the end of Reconstruction- how and why. There's nothing about Woodrow Wilson segregating the government.
Section SS.912.A.A.4 seems a little weak too.
This is a lot and some of it looks good but needs work.
___________________
Florida Will Require Students to Learn Enslaved People “Benefited” From Slavery
The board will now require teachers to tell middle school students that enslaved people gained a “personal benefit” from the skills they learned under slavery before the Civil War.
When high schoolers learn about events like the 1920 Ocoee Massacre, the new rules dictate that educators must include “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” The Ocoee Massacre — in which a white mob destroyed a Black town in Florida and murdered as many as 60 people after a Black man attempted to vote — is the deadliest incident of Election Day violence in U.S. history.
Florida Department of Education board member MaryLynn Magar, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) this past spring, defended the changes by claiming “the darkest parts of our history are addressed,” adding that she and other board members were “proud” of the changes they made.
Educators and racial justice advocates have condemned the changes. In a letter to the board, eleven organizations, including the NAACP and the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest union of educators, denounced members for failing to adequately depict “key historical facts about the Black experience.”
“We owe the next generation of scholars the opportunity to know the full unvarnished history of this state and country and all who contributed to it – good and bad,” the letter stated.
Other critics of the new standards noted that the Florida Board of Education’s move is part of a wider campaign against public education and the teaching of Black history under DeSantis.
“Slavery was not beneficial to enslaved people. Ever. The fact that a fellow history teacher in Florida is now expected to teach that is asking that teacher to commit educational malpractice,” Sari Beth Rosenberg, educator and host of PBS NewsHour Classroom, said in a tweet responding to the changes. “It is forcing teachers to teach lies to their students.”
“I will not teach history under the condition that I lie about it,” educator Paula Essi said.
https://truthout.org/articles/florida...
Similar standards are noted for lessons about other massacres, including the Atlanta race massacre, the Tulsa race massacre and the Rosewood race massacre.
“Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement condemning the new standards. “It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history.”
“We are proud of the rigorous process that the Department took to develop these standards,” Alex Lanfranconi, director of communications for the Florida Department of Education, said in a statement, noting the standards were created by a group of 13 educators and academics.
“It’s sad to see critics attempt to discredit what any unbiased observer would conclude to be in-depth and comprehensive African American History standards. They incorporate all components of African American History: the good, the bad and the ugly. These standards will further cement Florida as a national leader in education, as we continue to provide true and accurate instruction in African American History,” Lanfranconi said.
The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, called the new standards a disservice to students and “a big step backward for a state that has required teaching African American history since 1994.”
“How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from? Florida’s students deserve a world-class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nation’s divisions rather than deepen them,” Andrew Spar, the association’s president, said in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process he’s cheating our kids. They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad,” Spar added.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/us/flo...
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Honestly, I know teachers have to follow the curriculum, but if they do, then they are in my opinion at best part of the problem.
Hope that there is massive rebellion and civil disobedience by students.
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Honestly, ALWAYS in Manitoba (and this is one of the provinces that still has both the most overt racism against First Nations and is also something often supported by churches and politicians). Honestly, the morons wanting to defund the libraries should be forcibly sent t Florida).
In St. Charles County, Missouri, libraries adopt new card policy after state rules on ‘obscene’ material— The St. Charles City-County Library Board has adopted several policies — including requiring that 16- and 17-year-olds have a parent or guardian present when they sign up for a library card — to comply with new state rules aimed at keeping explicit materials from kids.
Jason Kuhl, CEO of the library system, said the requirement on cards is "a pretty significant barrier" for older teens wanting to access library materials.
"A 16- or 17-year-old can come to the library on their own and get a passport, but they can't get a library card," Kuhl said. "It is not necessarily something that we are happy about, but we will comply."
Kids younger than 16 are already required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to obtain a library card.
The policies, imposed by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft in May, prevent local libraries from receiving state money if they allow minors to access books that are pornographic or labeled as obscene under state statutes. Among other requirements, library districts must have a policy defining “age-appropriate” materials and keep inappropriate materials and displays away from minors.
St. Charles County library officials say the changes will also complicate partnerships with school districts. More than 7,000 students used their school IDs to check out materials from a public library during the last school year. Parents who do not want their children to have borrowing privileges can opt out of the programs by contacting school administrators.
Among the other changes adopted unanimously Tuesday by the St. Charles City-County Library Board to comply with the state: libraries can't use state money to acquire materials deemed "p___ic" or "obscene" [Libraries don't ever carry that stuff]; and only county residents or taxpayers owning property in St. Charles County can file a challenge to materials in a library's collection.
Books with LGBTQ themes in St. Charles County public libraries have drawn criticism from people who consider them p___c or obscene. During Tuesday's meeting, one speaker alleged that a local school library and the library system both had around "50 [such] books" in their collections.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/s...
In Georgia, Right-Wing Oconee Group Calls for Removing LGBTQ Books From LibraryOconee County last week as members of the right-wing Moms for Liberty and its supporters demanded an end to library programs supporting LGBTQ youth and children, and a ban on juvenile books dealing with such subjects.
The only actual issue facing the Oconee County Library Board of Trustees was much more limited: A community member had asked that a particular book, Flamer, be reclassified from its “Young Adult” status and moved into the adult stacks because of the book’s s___l content and off-color language. The graphic novel depicts the early teen experiences of a bullied gay Catholic Boy Scout.
A committee of the library board had met earlier, reviewed the book and endorsed the complaint, and the full board agreed in its July 10 quarterly meeting, voting unanimously that the book should be taken out of Young Adult, a broad category roughly encompassing youth 12–18, and put into the adult book stacks.
A crowd of more than 200 who overflowed a small meeting room in the Watkinsville library had broader issues in mind than the shelving location of one book. Nearly 20 people addressed the board in a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, including Julie Mauck, chair of the Oconee County chapter of Moms for Liberty.
[Her comments are pretty hateful. See spoiler tag]
Library programs such as its Prism group, a teen club open to all but meant to be a safe place for LGBTQ young people, (view spoiler)
Prism should be shut down, the youth program librarian should be prohibited from having contact with children, and juvenile and children’s books with LGBTQ themes removed, according to Mauck and some other speakers. “It is not the public library’s job to introduce or discuss any topic about sexual orientation with any child, ever,” said one.
Though many in the crowd cheered on Mauck and other like-minded speakers, a clear majority of the crowd had come to support the library, some jeering and booing Mauck’s comments.
Mauck, a five-year Oconee resident, was soundly defeated in the Republican Party primary for a seat on the Oconee County Board of Education last year. Mauck has also lobbied the school board to allow public school students to take off-campus non-credit religious instruction during the school day through LifeWise Academy, an Ohio-based nonprofit that promises to take students through the Christian Bible during five years of instruction, at no cost to students.
One speaker who passionately opposed the Moms for Liberty agenda was military veteran Marie Williams. “I swore to defend the Constitution of the United States, and I swore to uphold freedom. I meant it for everybody,” Williams said.
“That’s not freedom. That’s a perversion of freedom,” Williams said of the Moms for Liberty agenda.
“Inclusion is not p___s. That is ridiculous. That is a deliberate perversion,” she said, citing “interlopers” and “an agitator who came to this county to stir up division.”
“I don’t want to be on the national news banning books,” Williams said, her voice rising in emotion. “You know who wants to? The interloper, who wants attention.” Most of the crowd cheered.
[more positive comments in the article]
Meanwhile, more challenges are on the way. The Oconee library board is scheduled to decide on at least two more requests to remove books for younger readers at its next quarterly meeting.
https://flagpole.com/news/news-featur...
Back to the broo-haha in Australia over Welcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and figuring it outYumi Stynes says she has received death threats from some critics of her new book, Welcome to Sex, but she doesn't regret writing it.
Stynes, a TV and radio personality and mother of four, co-wrote the 300-page book with Dr Melissa Kang — an associate professor at The University of Sydney's School of Medicine who for 23 years was advice columnist Dolly Doctor and answered reader-submitted questions on everything from kissing to s-x until the teen magazine folded in 2016.
As in the U.S. critics are objecting to the illustrations. Same arguments apply.
A Big W spokesperson said in a statement the retailer had ceased selling the book in stores after "multiple incidents of abuse" directed at staff in recent days, but would continue to sell the book online as part of its parenting range.
The book's publisher, Hardie Grant, said the "Welcome to" series was "designed to support parents as they navigate" conversations on topics including consent, menstruation, and s-x.
"Every young person develops at their own rate, and parents and caregivers are encouraged to make their own decisions about what is appropriate to share with their family," Kate Brown, managing director of Hardie Grant Children's Publishing, said in a statement.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/y...
What Happened When Students Led Fights to Reverse Book Bans?a good summary of the fight in Central York, Penn., Beaufort County, S.C
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learn...
And finally... shocker of all shocker... a Jesuit actually READ Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and thought it was good.Catholics: There’s no reason to fear (or ban) Judy Blume’s ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’
https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-...
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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