Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
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So teenagers should not have comfortable seats etc. at the library lest they stay and actually read something, sigh.
Glenside Library (PA) put together a display titled "Books Challenged in Central Bucks School District," a nearby school district. Mary Kay Moran, director of the Cheltenham Township Library System, explained it was in response to many people coming in to ask if they carried these books and that despite some drama online, they had "nothing but support for our display" in person.Those asking the question wanted “to make sure we didn’t have any plans to remove these things from our shelves,” said Mary Kay Moran, director of the Cheltenham Township Library System.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/cb...
Two teachers at Hilton Head Island Middle School (SC) have spoken out about the harassment and threats of violence they've faced from a parent involved in the book ban movement.
Hilton Head Island Middle School teacher Mardy Burleson never thought she’d consider buying a gun to protect herself. Then David Cook started a series of events that changed her mind. Burleson, who teaches multimedia design and engineering at the school, was recently called out by a far-right newsletter for displaying district-provided rainbow stickers and giving students a survey asking about preferred pronouns. It was the same survey she’d given out for the past four years, and she’d thought nothing of the bright stickers. “I was terrified,” she said. “I feared so much for my safety that I was willing to compromise my values to protect my family because I felt so unsafe.”
Burleson and other Beaufort County employees have been labeled as groomers — predators who build a relationship with a child to abuse them — on social media, reported to law enforcement officers, targeted in public information requests and harassed on social media, in-person and in front of their bosses. Much of the harassment comes from Cook, a Hilton Head Island resident whose children attend Beaufort County public schools.
It’s made teachers like Hilton Head Island Middle School literary coach Kathleen Harper, who has been in the classroom for over 25 years, fear for their safety, and personal and professional reputation. Cook has access to school grounds as a parent and has specifically been targeting Burleson and Harper, who have taught his children. Despite Cook’s claims and complaints, he didn’t ask to have his children removed from Burleson and Harper’s classes, according to the women.
In response, the district submitted evidence of email and social media harassment from Cook to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, who are actively investigating
Harper filed her own report, and there are incident reports with both The Beaufort County School District and Harper as the victim of Cook’s harassment. The district also placed Burleson on paid leave in February. But as Burleson and Harper return to school this August, they say they still feel concerned for their and their family’s safety, leaving them questioning whether or not to stick with the profession that they love. “These are people that are strong supporters of guns and violence and vengeance and, you know, vigilante-ism,” Burleson said. “The more and more I think about this, the more and more uncomfortable I am.”
Cook calls himself a “Dad-vocate.” This year that’s taken the form of throwing chicken feed at the Beaufort County school board and harassing teachers on social media, email and in person. Cook is harassing Harper over one of her district-database-sourced texts mentioning circumcision in a unit on modern-day slavery that she read aloud to a class in February. From there Cook took to calling and emailing Harper, demanding in-person meetings, saying her actions are “grounds for far more than a nasty email,” threatening criminal or civil action, and calling her s___ually abusive.
During the week of May 29, he hand-delivered a “thank you” note to the school accusing Harper of indoctrinating students. It was the last week of school and Cook also posted on Facebook “If you’re in support of giving xplicit material to children, it’s important to remember......Dead P__iles Don’t Re-Offend.” “I was scared,” Harper said. “I was frightened.” The next day, she said the district’s director of protective services David Grissom told her the district was worried that Cook’s recent social media posts had escalated. On May 31 the district filed its report supplemented with email and social media evidence to the BCSO. “They told me to watch my back in public,” Harper said. “They told me he is dangerous and they’re concerned for me. They encouraged me to file a police report which I did that day.”
Harper hopes that Cook will be served a no-trespass order for school property, but so far no action has been taken according to BCSO spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens.
Burleson, who has been with BCSD for 10 years with five as a full-time teacher, said she fell in love with teaching from the moment she stepped into the classroom and is passionate about helping disadvantaged children. In February of last year, Burleson had to stop doing what she loves. She was put on paid administrative leave because the survey she asked students to complete “has caused concerns with some parents and community members,” according to a letter from Chief Administrative and Human Resources Officer Alice Walton. Burleson said Walton repetitively told her it was because of her safety. At the beginning of each semester, Burleson gave out an optional survey in-person and on students’ Google Classroom, which is accessible to parents, although the survey said “I promise to keep these just between you and me.” The survey asked questions like “What are your preferred pronouns?” and “Do you want me to use your pronouns in class and in messages home or is it private between you and me?”
Burleson said that many other teachers have a survey like that, asking the same questions. Bruder, the district spokesperson, said in a written statement that get-to-know-you surveys are a typical practice and the district doesn’t have specific rules about teachers asking students’ pronouns. But in February, when Burleson had one of Cook’s children in her class, her principal asked her to remove questions about pronouns and the sentence about keeping answers between her and the students. Bruder said “there should always be open dialogue and transparency between teachers and parents.” Burleson said it’s more complicated than that. During mandated training, teachers are taught to be trusted adults that students can confide in, according to Burleson. “A trusted adult is not always the family,” said Burleson, who said her highschooler, Blu, has lost a friend to suicide after they were unable to come out to their parents as LGBTQ+.
Burleson said that if a parent came to her asking about their child’s pronouns and it seemed like an unsafe situation she would call in district administrators and professionals before telling the parents. “I love these kids,” Burleson said. “Many of us you’ve already seen jump in front of a bullet (for students). And for me, in my personal experiences, this is a bullet that I will jump in front of.”
Later in February, her name and photo were on a far-right newsletter, The Overton Report. The newsletter is Charleston, South Carolina based and run by extremist Corey Allen, who also live streamed the Jan. 6 insurrection on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with the caption “get ready, because the best is yet to come.”
[Her own trans kid is being bullied worse because of this incident]
Two days after the newsletter was published, Burleson was placed on paid administrative leave. The letter from human resources said that it was because her survey “caused concerns with some parents and community members,” despite Burleson saying she was told it was for her safety.
While school ended for the summer June 2, Cook’s social media harassment didn’t. He continues to single out Harper and school board members on Facebook. He threw chicken feed at the school board during a public meeting June 27. The board wrote him a letter directing him to not violate public comment rules again. It’s caused a heavy mental toll on Burleson and Harper. Both said they feel unsafe in their own community, even when getting groceries or gas. “I go through all the social media and just scour it,” Burleson said. “I’ve spent hours, hours, Googling my name to see where this is popping up.” Students go back to class August 21, but Burleson and Harper return to the building in the first weeks of August to prepare for the upcoming year. As the pair of teachers wait to see if BCSO will issue a no-trespass order, the uncertainty forces them to weigh their safety against their love for students, teachers and the Hilton Head Island community.
Read more at: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/loc...
The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have put out a statement in opposition to Houston Independent School District (TX) planning to replace school libraries with detention centers.https://www.ala.org/news/press-releas...
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I was just watching a show about the 90s on National Geographic and they discussed the war against hip-hop music. An attorney in- guess where? - Broward County, Florida - waged war against 2 Live Crew and their explicit lyrics in 1990. I don't remember that. I was JUST getting into music - bubblegum teen pop but the same crisis actors are trying to ban books in libraries. They were unsuccessful with music, what makes them think they'll win the book banning war? Broward County is the MOST democratic county in Florida right now and the one with the book sanctuary. Ironic!https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/...
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/...
The rest of Florida remains unenlightened and they're dumbing down their already poor education system. The next class to be banned is AP Psychology due to the course's content on sexual orientation and gender identity, the College Board said Thursday.“The state’s ban of this content removes choice from parents and students,” the College Board said in a statement. “Coming just days from the start of school, it derails the college readiness and affordability plans of tens of thousands of Florida students currently registered for AP Psychology, one of the most popular AP classes in the state.“
The College Board added that Florida will allow superintendents to offer the college-level psychology class for high schoolers if they exclude LGBTQ topics.
However, the College Board argued that excluding the lessons — which it describes as teachings on "how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development" — "would censor college-level standards."
It added that lessons regarding sexual orientation and gender identity have been included in AP Psychology since the course was created 30 years ago.
The group said that more than 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology in the prior academic year.
Naturally DeSantis, et. al deny it.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-n...
More on the Madison-Huntsville, Alabama library banning Kirk Cameron's event tomorrow due to security concerns. Of course Cameron and special guest, transphobic athlete Riley Gaines, think their first amendment rights are being violated. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/cance...
The Brooklyn Public Library is marshalling the forces of teen readers to form a "teen council" to combat book banning. It brings together teens from across the country to learn from each other.
"Teen councilmembers say they’ve learned a surprising lesson from out-of-state students: Books on the required reading list in many New York City schools are being banned elsewhere.
Miri Bawa, a 16-year-old from Bay Ridge, was among the local teens who said they had a newfound appreciation for living in New York City.
“I think it's just kind of crazy hearing about all the book bans,” said Bawa, who interns at the library. “I think about my English teacher and the little library she had in her classroom. I can't really relate to that, because we had books … that were written by Black people and by queer people, and I think about how I'm sort of privileged to have the opportunity to read those books.”
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Watch out censors, 18 year olds are now eligible to vote and they're coming for you!
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"Ivan Torres, 18, from New Mexico was aghast at how small group of activists in his hometown of Rio Rancho – population 104,046 – sought the removal of several books from libraries. He organized a group of students to testify in support of the challenged works at a City Council hearing. The students spoke about how important it was for them to see themselves represented in these books.
“When you ban books you ban people. You’re sending a message that a certain kind of person is not fit for public display … to be publicly visible,” Torres said. Torres considers himself a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
"Rio Rancho residents against the bans also argued that the people calling for the books’ censorship had not followed the required rules for getting them pulled from the shelves. The challenge ultimately failed. Now, Torres is running for the local school board and sharing what he’s learned with other teens as part of the Brooklyn Public Library's teen council."
"He credited the program for “bridging that gap” between youth who are experiencing book ban fights first hand with those who are not."
"Xin Yi He Cen, 15, is also a councilmember as well as an intern at the library. She plans to launch a banned book club at her Staten Island high school next fall."
https://gothamist.com/news/a-teen-cou...
Kirk Cameron's event was back on in Alabama this morning with a capacity of 225. Of course he and his followers and the conservative media don't listen/think they're above the law and are spinning it as the library "caving" in. No... 1)You need to follow the rules and apply for the meeting room and event permit and 2)the fire marshal says there's a limit to how many people can be in a given space safely and that's the LAW! https://www.al.com/news/2023/08/moms-...
I walked up to my community library where there was little interest in anything. It's a warm day and I think all but the youngest children are at the beach or splash pads. I didn't get there in time for Oge Mora's reading. I saw her doing an activity with the kids.
I grabbed a couple of banned books, took them outside to read in front of the library and hardly anyone came by! I returned them when I was done, went upstairs just as the last author, Jacob Kramer, was finishing reading a story and kids were waving streamers. I left after that since there was nothing going on.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...
I think everyone knows YMCA is a gay anthem and it hasn't been censored yet but who knows.
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Although in the article, it is actually being stated that the song was not in fact meant as a gay anthem, but frankly, I really like the fact that YMCA can be seen as a gay anthem (but unfortunately, since so many politicians and church "people" are homophobic and hateful, censoring YMCA will likely happen sooner rather than later and students might in the future be suspended or expelled for just singing or humming the song).
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-ab...
I don't know any kids who even know who the Village People ARE let alone sing/hum YMCA in public! Maybe at a wedding or other event but I'm reasonably certain they would just laugh hysterically at the weird old people thing. The good news of the day is the few Brave Books (Kirk Cameron, Moms for Liberty) events that went forward were met with protesters! That's all you need to know. I don't want to click Fox News or any sites I don't trust.
Mixed news from Prattville, Library in Alabama. They finally did the right thing.
" but the Library Board decided Thursday not to move any of the four books before them.
The board previously decided to move six books within the children’s room of the library to a higher shelf further away from young children, and in a nonfiction section that corresponds with books on sexual orientation.
But the library later moved those books behind the circulation desk after continued pressure from some parents in the community, which the library has called harassment.
The board on Thursday unanimously decided to move those books back to that shelf, a decision that is set to last for the next five years.
The board also considered four more books that had been challenged, and kept all of them in the same location at the recommendation of the committee that reviewed the books.
On one book, “Nick and Charlie” by Alice Oseman, the library board decided to assign a sticker to the book that designates it for “teens.” That label currently applies to children aged 14-18, but that could change at the request of Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie, who proposed a change earlier in the meeting.
Gillespie’s proposal would create a clearer separation of what books are intended for 13- to 15-year-olds and what books are intended for 16- to 18-year-olds. Board member Wayne Lambert suggested a committee of Gillespie, a board member, and a member of the Autauga County Commission consider the proposal. Lambert agreed to be the board member to serve on that committee.
“One of the reasons for that is that we empower and feel like our 16-year-olds have the mental capacity to navigate a 3,000-pound vehicle in our community,” Gillespie said. “I feel like at the same age they should be able to navigate and should have the mental capacity to handle a three-pound book.”
Gillespie said if that is not appropriate, he would suggest upping the young adult section to 18 and up. The board in later discussions seemed to favor making the young adult section 16-18 and also appeared to consider using labels on the books to delineate the age ranges rather than separate sections.
Gillespie’s comments were briefly interrupted by a woman who spoke out of turn on several occasion, and called him a “bigot” for proposing any changes to the library board classification. The woman was asked to leave the meeting and eventually did leave on her own accord, only after Gillespie had called police to remove her.
Gillespie said that if the library needed extra shelving to make separating young adult content feasible, the city could likely find money to make that possible.
Meanwhile, grumbles from the concerned group still in attendance indicated that won’t be an acceptable solution.
Citizens on both sides of the issue appeared to be fairly evenly represented.
In the freedom camp:
Samantha Diamond, a Prattville woman who started a group called “Read Freely Prattville” to support the library in its general decision thus far not to reclassify challenged materials.
One woman, Caryl Lawson, opened up about her upbringing in a conservative home where sex could not be discussed, in the same environment in which she claimed to be groomed and abused by a step-father and raped by two other men.
Because this is why we need books about sexuality and consent and bodily autonomy in our public library. This is why we need to be unafraid to have conversations about sex and sexuality with our children. Because if I had been taught about consent and bodily autonomy at a young age, maybe I could have recognized what was happening to me, and knowing that it wasn’t my fault. If I had access to the books, I might have been empowered to protect myself. I might have had the language and the vocabulary to find and use my voice to advocate for myself.”
In the ban camp:
Matt and Laura Clark, a married couple who are both attorneys, spoke in favor of moving the books.
Matt Clark, founder and president of the Alabama Center for Law and Liberty, told the Library Board his nonprofit conservative firm already has one victory against the City of Prattville.
Both Clarks talked about the difference between free speech under the First Amendment vs governmental speech to make an argument that the library board would not be violating the law if they chose to move the books within the library.
Matt Clark also indicated his firm hasn’t sued the library board because of this distinction.
“And by the way, that’s why the ACLL has not sued the library board yet, because this is government speech,” Clark said. “We don’t have grounds to sue you right now.”
But Clark argued the American Civil Liberties Union wouldn’t have grounds to sue the library either if the books are simply moved within the library.
“Even if it were somehow free speech—because the ACLU likes to scratch the law beyond what it says … We still would probably be OK if all you did was move it to a section that was age-appropriate.
“So once again, nobody’s asking you to burn books, throw them out of the library, ban them—nobody’s done that. We’re just asking you to move them to a different section that’s age-appropriate so people know what they’re getting, rather than checking out a kid’s book and getting ambushed at home.”
The primary group challenging the books, dubbed “Clean Up Prattville” has mainly emphasized books on its webpage that include explicit descriptions in books within the young adult fiction section, calling these books “obscene” and “p___graphic.” But speakers at this meeting, and at other council meetings, have also expressed problems with books based not on sexually explicit content, but for discussing LGBTQ issues including same-sex relationships and depictions of transgender children.
Kendra Bethel said she reviewed four books indicated for children under 12 that promoted “transgenderism.” [which she does not believe in]
Sarah Sanchez,however, said the books being challenged that include LGBTQ content also contain explicit content.
“We’re not here to restrict certain groups,” Sanchez said. “What we oppose is graphic depictions of things that are not appropriate … The answer, perhaps, is to [do our] homework and find (LGBTQ) stories without exposing minors to all these graphic details.”
That includes topics like consent, Sanchez said. She also said drag queen story hours are “by nature, a sexual-themed activity,” and said if the library doesn’t have children’s books with graphic (visual) depictions, “we just don’t have them yet.”
New library director Andrew Foster told the board there have been 11 further challenges filed since the last board meeting, many of which are thicker chapter books that may take some time for review. That would bring the current total of formally challenged books to 21, with Clean Up Prattville claiming over 100 books on the agenda to challenge.
https://www.alreporter.com/2023/08/04...
Same mixed news in ColoradoAfter overlooking their own guidelines to quickly remove the books Push by Sapphire and "Identical" by Ellen Hopkins, School District 20 are being forced to put them back on the shelves. Another D20 parents was outraged at the district's decision to skip the official book challenge and argued that the Bible could be deemed just as explicit.
The former superintendent at the time received complaints for over 20 parents in the district stating books in the school libraries were obscenity.
According to the District 20 Chief Communication Officer, Allison Cortez, principles at each school determine how they are run. The former superintendent alerted the principals in District 20 about the concerns the parents had about the content in the books.
The former superintendent left it up to the principals at each school to decide whether or not to remove books from the libraries. Cortez said some schools did take the books off their shelves and some did not.
Cortez said the principals and superintendent can not actually decide whether or not books are taken or put on the shelves. Instead, liberty material must go through an official book challenge.
The District said they failed to do an official book challenge, but removed the books. Cortez said once the new superintendent began their duties on July 1st, they looked over the book incident again and identified they did not follow procedures.
Therefore the district had to put the book back in the school libraries. Cortez said the district's actions to put the books back on the shelves solely was decided because they took a misstep in not following protocol.
Whether or not the books "Push" and "Identical" belong in school has caused controversy between local and national activist groups.
The book banning faction includes:
Darcy Schoening is the Chapter Chair for the Moms for Liberty section in El Paso County.
Schoening wants to remove those two books along with others from school libraries. She talked specially about elementary school and middle schools having age appropriate books.
She described the books as using racial and sexual terms that are inappropriate to young students.
In the "this happened too quickly" camp:
The parent that tried to ban the Bible
https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-co...
Lots going on today after a busy weekend.A young woman named Olivia Pituch, who went to school in Central York, Pennsylvania, helped form a group of students to add all of the banned books to Little Free Libraries all over town, so that kids could have access.
On August 12, Olivia will be hosting a Banned Book Read-A-Thon to raise awareness about extremists still on the school board. All of the books for the Read-A-Thon will be used to restock the Little Free Libraries!
(via Red, Wine and Blue)
In Houston, Community members rally outside HISD headquarters to support librarians who were let go by district
They expressed frustration at the decision to turn libraries at NES schools into ‘team centers’ they say can be used for discipline.
The rally was led by Congressman Al Green, elected state officials, the Houston Federation of Teachers and the local NAACP chapter. Librarians, parents, and students spoke out saying book deserts are being created in HISD.
Congressman Al Green called on the governor and the state legislature to stop appointed superintendent Mike Miles’ decision to turn libraries into ‘team centers,’ which critics say will be used as discipline areas.
“Libraries can never be places for punishment. They are places for children to learn,” Green said.
During a media briefing on Thursday, Miles did not say how many librarian or media specialist positions at NES schools would be impacted. He claimed books won’t be removed from libraries.
Hensley’s message to Miles: Reconsider what librarians can bring to the table.
“I don’t know what brings me next, I know that I’m not giving up on this fight because I see the inequality of the haves and have-nots,” former librarians Cheryl Hensley said.
On Thursday, the community plans to have a read-in at 4:00 p.m. prior to the school board meeting.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/edu...
The librarian head of the ALA calls 'Marxist lesbian' tweet backlash 'regrettable'GOP lawmakers in several states have called for defunding the American Library Association because of Emily Drabinski's identity and political beliefs.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
Now the not so good newsSamuels)(Virginia) library director resigns amid controversy over banning books
Michelle Ross, director since 2020, and Warren County’s only library came under attack this spring as a group petitioned for the removal of 134 books they found objectionable. The group, called Clean Up Samuels, has called for the library staff and board of trustees to be replaced.
In response to the protests, the Warren County Board of Supervisors voted in June to withhold 75 percent of the library’s budget allocation for the upcoming fiscal year.
Ross’s resignation is effective immediately. Her last day was Friday, said Mark Hubbard, the library’s newly hired public relations consultant. A press release issued by Hubbard said that Ross is leaving to explore career opportunities at larger libraries, but library supporters acknowledged the physical and mental toll the controversy has had on her.
https://www.winchesterstar.com/news/s...
And Florida is determined to brainwash their youth and keep them IN state/in the region and not allow them to leave to go places where they will be accepted and learn to accept new ideas. This is the most disturbing news I've heard."Florida may become first state to accept a 'classical' alternative to the SAT and ACT
Florida’s embrace of the Classic Learning Test for college admissions follows a high-profile dispute between the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the College Board, which administers the SAT.
A new college entrance exam that has become popular among Christian schools and conservative political groups may soon expand its footprint to include Florida’s public universities — following a boost from the DeSantis administration.
The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s public universities, is expected to vote at its August meeting on whether to accept Classic Learning Test scores for admissions, in addition to the SAT and the ACT. If the board approves it, Florida would become the first public university system in the country to accept the test.
The Classic Learning Test, or CLT, was created in 2015 as an alternative college entrance exam rooted in a teaching model that emphasizes the humanities, morality and classical literature. The test has found favor in recent years among some conservatives as an antidote to progressive influence, and it is now accepted by more than 200 predominantly private universities.
Since the AP spat, Florida has accelerated the rise of classical education and the CLT. DeSantis signed a bill this year that opened the state’s Bright Futures college scholarship program to accept Classic Learning Test scores, in addition to ACT and SAT results, to determine eligibility.
The College Board said in a statement to NBC News that because standardized tests can be such keystones for students’ career trajectories, “it’s critical that those tests are well researched and carefully developed to ensure fairness,” and it said it has a “team of experts” to evaluate its exams.
The College Board posted an analysis this month that criticized the CLT’s methodology and rigor.
The ACT, a nonprofit organization, declined to comment.
Tate, the CLT founder, said the College Board has been trying to discredit his exam by saying it needs more participants to be proven. But that, he said, is untrue.
The CLT was designed to eschew the Common Core curriculum standards and intentionally favor Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin and Jane Austen over 20th century progressive authors, Tate said. Christopher Newport University in Virginia became the first public university to accept the CLT in 2018. It quickly caught on with home-schoolers and private Christian schools and colleges."
"The primary difference in the CLT lies in its choices for literature. The exam may include passages from Pope John Paul II or the Christian author C.S. Lewis, which Tate said prompted one public university to explicitly tell him that’s why it won’t use the CLT. Tate said that to “censor the entire Catholic and Christian tradition,” as he accuses the SAT and the ACT of doing, excludes important influences and foundations of Western civilization. "
"Out of 86 people on CLT’s advisory board, 59 are part of Christian organizations, such as religious schools, education groups and publishing companies. Ten board members work for conservative political groups, such as Kevin Roberts, the president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and Chris Rufo, a right-wing activist who has advised the DeSantis administration. The board also includes professors from Harvard and Princeton, as well as Green Party presidential candidate and left-wing activist Cornel West.
But backers of CLT worry that the momentum among red states — in particular Florida, where DeSantis is a major GOP presidential contender — is giving classical education an undeserved political reputation.
“You don’t want them battling against each other like the SAT is the liberal test and CLT is the conservative test — I don’t think that’s a great place to be,” said CLT board member Jessica Hooten Wilson, a literature professor at Pepperdine University, in Malibu, California. Hooten Wilson, who considers herself a moderate, said the CLT strikes a middle ground because it “doesn’t leave anybody out,” including religious thinkers."
Akil Bello, who ran a test preparation company and is a senior director at the civil rights education group FairTest, said the CLT’s focus on classical texts and century-old teaching methods doesn’t serve students well.
“It pretends that we haven’t moved forward 50 years and technology isn’t entirely different than it was and the way students interact with the world isn’t entirely different than it was,” Bello said. “The older the language you use, the more likely you’re not evaluating a student’s ability to understand what’s read — you’re evaluating their comfort with Old English.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
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Beginning to think that Florida should be booted out of the USA and declared a rogue and traitorous nation.
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I hope that students affected by this actively rebel by simply refusing to listen to and to cooperate with any teacher not using their preferred pronouns. They might get expelled but it would be for a very good and important reason.
And I also find it good that in New Brunswick, many members go the Conservative caucus are actively defying and going against premier Blaine Higgs and his anti trans attitudes. Thankfully in NB just because a politician is a member of the Conservative party does not automatically mean he or she will goose step to the premier's tune.
I'm sorry the horrible attitudes from the U.S. are invading Canada. That sort of thing is happening all over school districts. They tried it in a community near me but it got voted down. I don't understand why no one is listening to the actual educators who say this is not creating a safe and comfortable environment for learning; students feel threatened; it increases bullying and the teachers can't be there to help the kids! Then they wonder why there's a teacher shortage! They think tossing more money at people will help bring in teachers. There's also a shortage of children's librarians. The job has a very high turnover. Gee I wonder why?
My brother taught at an art college in a conservative area and he had students come out to him and my SIL because the students felt comfortable and safe with them. Younger kids need that too. KIDS aren't bothered or confused by gender identity stuff. It's normal to them and they take it in stride.
Also, what if the preferred name is not a gender name but a nickname? My sister has a very common name and nickname yet her first grade teacher INSISTED on calling her by the wrong nickname. INSISTED! It did great psychological harm to my sister. I can't even imagine what being misgendered and deadnamed does to kids.
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Yeah teachers can be really be bullies at times. I had one who insisted on calling me Gondola which drove me batty.
Manybooks wrote: "Yeah teachers can be really be bullies at times. I had one who insisted on calling me Gondola which drove me batty.."Now that's just rude. My sister and another girl in the class shared a name and nickname. Another girl had a similar variant name. There may also have been other girls with similar names. I don't remember. There were a couple of girls in that class who shared names. My sister's nickname super super common. It's not unusual or ethnic or opposite gender or unisex or foreign or in any way something the teacher couldn't pronounce. I don't know if my sister remembers that but when she looked back on first grade, it was not fondly.
Contradictory news from Florida Florida and the College Board appear to have come to a resolution over the inclusion of LGBTQ topics in the state’s Advanced Placement Psychology classes. The resolve came a day after the education nonprofit said the state "effectively banned" the course because of its content about sexual orientation and gender identity.
In a letter shared with school superintendents Friday, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said the department "is not discouraging districts from teaching AP Psychology."
"In fact, the Department believes that AP Psychology can be taught in its entirety in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate and the course remains listed in our course catalog," Diaz wrote.
In a statement shared with NBC News on Monday, the College Board — which administers the SAT and college-level classes to high school students — responded to the Florida Department of Education's new guidance with a mix of hope and skepticism.
"While district superintendents continue to seek additional clarity from the department, we note the clear guidance that, 'AP Psychology may be taught in its entirety,'" the statement read. "We hope now that Florida teachers will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment in the upcoming school year."
The College Board describes the course’s LGBTQ content as teachings on “how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-p...
More good news from FloridaAnd Tango Makes Three is unbanned in Lake County Florida. For now.
"The School Board of Lake County and Florida education officials last week asked a federal judge to toss out a First Amendment lawsuit brought by students and the authors of “And Tango Makes Three” in June. Their complaint challenged the restrictions and Florida's new law prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.
The lawsuit is moot since age restrictions on “And Tango Makes Three” have been lifted following a Florida Department of Education memo that said the new law only applied to classroom instruction and not school libraries, according to motions filed Friday by Florida education officials and school board members of the district located outside Orlando.
“The Court lacks jurisdiction both because this case is moot and because plaintiffs never had standing in the first place,” Florida education officials said in their motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The school board and Florida education officials on Monday asked U.S. District Judge Brian Davis in Ocala, Florida, to postpone any further discovery until he rules on whether to dismiss the case.
https://news.yahoo.com/florida-school...
Now the bad news behind a paywall!In Gillette, Wyoming, two members of the Campbell County Public Library board are members and advisers for a recently-formed library association that is meant to be a conservative alternative to the American Library Association.
https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/ne...
The ALA is a non-partisan, non-profit organization. Creating a "conservative" alternative is not an alternative. The ALA was formed at a conference of trained librarians including Melville Dewy, who created the Dewy Decimal System, something I don't think these people have ever heard of or they'd know there's a special section for gender and sexuality in non-fiction!
Unsubstantiated news of the day. REPORTEDLYGOP lawmaker's wife says she's been replacing 'terrible books' with Bibles in local Little Free Libraries
Arkansas Times reports that Jennifer Meeks, the wife of Arkansas State Rep. Stephen Meeks, posted on Facebook recently about her efforts to remove "terrible books" from local Little Free Libraries and replace them with Bibles.
"I have been swapping out books in little free libraries for awhile," she wrote in a Facebook post earlier this month. "I have seen good books, terrible books... Recently I have been picking up free Bibles at flea markets and thrift stores. Sometimes I find good devotion books or kids’ Bible stories at a good price to add. Or just great books, and a gospel tract is a nice idea too.”
Meeks said she was inspired to do this after seeing a lot of LGBTQ Pride-themed books in the libraries.
"From what I have seen a lot of these books and other things don’t align with Christian values," she wrote. "Today, I saw a bunch of Pride stuff in one. There’s a group of leftists, especially in Conway, who are very active in keeping little libraries well stocked."
Meeks has since either deleted the Facebook post or made it private, although the local progressive organization Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice said that her efforts would not stop people in the area from stocking libraries with quality reading material.
"Keep removing them, Jennifer," they said. "We won’t stop.
https://www.rawstory.com/arkansas-ban...
The church is known for such progressive stances as offering books about LGBQT youths in its library after the Conway School Board culled school library collections last year.
Last week, the Facebook page for St. Peter’s Church Little Free Library posted this reminder: “As an official Little Free Library, we operate on the following terms according to the National office. We expect those who use this library to abide by them.”
The Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice said donations keep rolling in, plenty to keep their Little Free Libraries well stocked.
“Keep removing them, Jennifer. We won’t stop. We’ve received $1,000+ to supply our community with food, toiletries, reproductive care items, and naloxone. These materials are saving lives. The lives of queer kids who aren’t out to their parents, to the teen that needs Plan B to avoid having a forced pregnancy, to the good neighbor preventing an overdose,” the coalition wrote on social media.
A coalition spokesperson wasn’t sure about the needles Meeks referenced, but said the “opioid overdose kits that we regularly put in the pantries do include needles in them.”
Screenshots can be faked but make of this what you will.
https://arktimes.com/news/2023/08/07/...
For several months, a group of Botetourt County residents has been asking for certain books with LGBTQ+ themes to be removed from the county library system.They’ve filed removal request forms at the library, spoken at board meetings and started a website to highlight passages and images from the books that they say are sexually explicit.
In response, the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors has issued two resolutions to declare its unwavering support for the library system and the staff at its four branches.
According to Cardinal News, residents in Botetourt County have recently filed multiple requests to get books they claim are sexually explicit removed from the local library system. Many of the books at the center of complaints have LGBTQ+ themes.
While the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors has frequently expressed its support for the library, during a July 31 meeting, Board Chair Donald "Mac" Scothorn proposed prohibiting anyone under 18 from visiting the county's library without adult supervision, the outlet reported.
If enacted, it would likely make Botetourt Libraries’ visiting policy for young people the most restrictive in the state
At the meeting, Scothorn said he would share his suggestion with the Botetourt County Library Board of Trustees for further consideration.
Although no formal vote was taken, and the recommendation was not on the meeting's agenda, no board members expressed objections.
The library director, Julie Phillips, acknowledged the challenge of catering to diverse needs while avoiding taking sides in the cultural and political debate.
"Libraries are kind of stuck in the center of a political and cultural turf war," she told ABC affiliate WDBJ.
"We don't take sides," she added. "We listen to everyone, we try to make sure that we have materials that meet all those different needs."
Phillips explained that in order for a book in the library to be considered p___graphic, it has to be "the entire work" and not "one picture" or "one paragraph."
Per Cardinal News, Scothorn's measure would impose the most restrictive visiting policy for young people in the state if it is enforced.
Currently, the library policy mandates supervision for children under 13. Scothorn's proposal would require adults to supervise anyone under 18, except for 16- and 17-year-olds, with written parental permission.
The outlet reported that library attendance policies for children and teens differ throughout the state, with other counties imposing different supervision requirements."
Restricting access to the library for young people may quell some fears that parents don’t have enough control over the books their children pick up off the shelves. But changing the policy could have a wide-ranging impact on how teenagers in particular interact with the public library.
Programming for teens at Botetourt libraries includes a chess club at the Eagle Rock branch and occasional special programs such as improv theater classes, library director Julie Phillips said by email.
The library system doesn’t formally track visitor demographics, but Phillips provided anecdotal data. The Blue Ridge Branch in Bonsack sees 15 to 20 teen visitors daily, with many coming in after school to study or attend tutoring sessions.
The other three branches don’t see as many teenage visitors, she said, but visits increase in the summer months.
The county library board, which has five members from the community along with county Supervisor Steve Clinton, is scheduled to meet Aug. 16. It’s unclear whether it will take up Scothorn’s recommendation for discussion.
Clinton said Scothorn’s plan to introduce the policy change recommendation was a “news flash” to him Monday afternoon prior to the board meeting. In an interview Tuesday, he said that he doesn’t support changing the library’s age policy. He also said the library’s board of trustees had not discussed changing the policy.
The unattended child policy posted on the library website was most recently revised by the library trustees in August 2020. Before that, it was even less restrictive: “Children under the age of seven, or who have emotional or social difficulty, must be attended by a parent or other responsible caregiver at all times.”
In June, the board of supervisors heard from county attorney Mike Lockaby, who outlined the limited rights local governments have in restricting access to library materials. Lockaby noted in his statement to the board that the current policy of allowing children 13 and up to visit the library unsupervised is already “stronger than those in most similar localities.”
Scothorn’s recommendation was a last-minute addition to Monday night’s meeting. But it followed up on a campaign pledge he made prior to the June 20 primary election.
In the midst of the countywide debate over library books, Scothorn and Billy Martin, who was also running for reelection to the board, shared a statement regarding library access through a June 17 ad in the Fincastle Herald.
https://themessenger.com/news/republi...
https://cardinalnews.org/2023/08/03/p...
Mod
Now that's just rude. My sister and another girl in the clas..."
It was in the 1980s and in rural Alberta. Hopefully, things are a bit better now, but I guess I do remain skeptical. And I certainly had less issues with being German and having a somewhat "unusual" name once I graduated and went to university in New Brunswick (and that is also kind of why I am happy that the NB premier being all Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis like regarding gender and pronouns is causing huge rifts in the NB Conservative party and many conservative politicians and conservative New Brunswickers openly challenging and calling the premier an ignorant SOB).
Mod
GOP lawmaker's wife says she's been replacing 'terrible books' with Bibles in local Little Free Libraries
Arkansas Times reports that Jennifer Meeks, t..."
How about installing hidden cameras and if this is true, openly shaming Ms. Meeks and also asking her publicly why she is putting Bibles in these library boxes when the Holy Bible is totally filled with violence, sexual assault etc. etc.
Quite a bit of news already today.Some Florida schools still won't offer AP Psych
"As of Tuesday, officials and educators from six Florida school districts told NBC News that they would still not be offering the course this school year.
Citing an "evolving educational landscape" and "the continued uncertainty of teaching the AP Psychology course," officials at Flagler Schools, the district serving Flagler County in northeastern Florida, said in a statement Monday that they will be swapping AP Psychology for an International Baccalaureate psychology class, another college-level course offered to high schoolers.
Similarly, officials in Hillsborough County Public Schools — which includes the city of Tampa and educates over 1,800 high school students — sent a letter to parents and teachers saying the district will be offering an Advanced International Certificate of Education psychology class, another alternative college-level course, in place of AP Psychology, acknowledging that "the timing of this change is not ideal."
"And in a phone call Tuesday, a spokesperson for Brevard Public Schools, a district about 50 miles east of Orlando, said it was also abiding by the Education Department's initial guidance, referring NBC News to a statement from the district last week.
"In essence, if we don’t teach all of the content, our students will not receive AP credit. If we do teach all of the content, our instructors will violate the law," the statement said. "Therefore, we will not offer AP Psychology at any of our high schools this year."
Orange County public schools will also not offer the course due to the fear of "legal ramifications." Instead they will offer an alternative psychology course. Students can still receive college credit for the new course, but the coursework is less comprehensive.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-p...
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-p...
Bizarre news of the day...Hillsborough County Florida schools will have Shakespeare books available but only to read excerpts as so to avoid "sexual content."
"Shakespeare’s books will be available for checkout at media centers at schools, said the district, which covers the Tampa area."
"Underscoring the confusion over what is allowed in schools, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz on Tuesday put “Romeo and Juliet” on his list of books he is recommending that students read in August."
"“This month’s book recommendations provide a variety of reading materials that students will find uplifting and will spark a love for literacy,” Diaz said in a statement."
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-p...
Um... That means pretty much no Shakespeare or Shakespeare out of context!
The Patmos Library in Jamestown Michigan will try a third time for millage.On Tuesday, Aug. 8, the six-member Patmos Library Board of Trustees unanimously approved asking voters Nov. 7 to decide on a three-year millage renewal of .4119 mills. If approved, the tax would be collected in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The board on Tuesday also unanimously approved applying tags to the inside cover of books that will give parents and patrons a brief overview of a book’s genre and topics.
That policy to give additional insight at a glance for parents and parents about a book’s contents came after trustees deadlocked in July about approving a new millage question, with motions to move forward with a five-year question as well a one-year millage question both failing.
The tags will be sourced from the Library of Congress and commonly used book sites and be selected by cataloging librarians at the library at 2445 Riley St. in Jamestown Township.
Without a new operating millage, the library will eventually be forced to close.
Beyond budget concerns, the library is also at risk of closing its doors due to losing its Lakeland Library Cooperative membership.
Trustee Alaina Kwiatkowski said that if the board didn’t approve a millage question for the fall ballot, the library would likely lose its membership with the co-op, which has 42 public library members across eight West Michigan counties.
Because the library relies on Lakeland Library Cooperative for its library systems and can’t afford those on its own, the library would have to close its doors, Kwiatkowski said.
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...
The teacher fired for reading My Shadow Is Purple has her hearing scheduled for tomorrow. The public hearing will start at 9 a.m. Thursday at the school district’s office at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. It is scheduled to conclude on Friday.The district will call witnesses and introduce documents into evidence, the letter to Rinderle stated. The list of possible witnesses includes Rinderle and three parents from the class, including one who is also a teacher.
Rinderle, who is being represented by attorney Craig Goodmark, is also able to call witnesses and introduce evidence.
A “disinterested member” of the state bar will serve as a hearing officer to make a decision on any legal issues that come up.
In the letter, Rinderle is accused of violating these rules related to instructional content and employee conduct:
• Instructional Resources Selection and Acquisition: This policy states that teachers “may require written permission of parents/guardians ... if in his/her opinion the content may be of a sensitive nature ...”
• Controversial Issues: Prohibits teachers from using classroom instruction to espouse personal political beliefs or theories of origin.
• Parents’ Bill of Rights: Allows parents to learn about their child’s courses of study and object to instructional materials which they feel are “divisive or harmful to minors” and withdraw their child from sex education at the school.
Ethics: Rinderle is accused specifically of violating the “honesty” and “professional conduct” standards in the ethics code. Rinderle “failed to acknowledge” the book was “inappropriate” when she maintained in conversations with district investigators that it was about inclusivity, not gender identity, according to the letter.
State law allows either the school board or a tribunal of “at least three impartial persons possessing academic expertise” to hear the case. This hearing will be conducted by a tribunal.
In July, the board voted to give the authority to Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and his team to select tribunal members.
Tribunals have five days to file their findings and recommendations with the school board. The board must render a decision within 10 days after the receipt of the transcript, per state law.
The board is expected to discuss the case privately and vote publicly on the issue at its next scheduled meeting on Aug. 17, Wheeler said. They could accept the tribunal’s recommendation or change it.
After that, appeals can be taken to the Georgia Board of Education.
https://www.ajc.com/education/5-thing...
The Fault in Our Stars pulled from young adult shelf in the Fishers Public Library in Hamilton County IndianaGreen, who lives nearby in Indianapolis, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to respond to HEPL's policy and decision, saying moving the book is an embarrassment for the city of Fishers.
"This is ludicrous," Green tweeted Wednesday. "It is about teenagers and I wrote it for teenagers. Teenagers are not harmed by reading TFIOS."
"I only have a small voice in these decisions, of course, but you won't catch me alive or dead in Fishers, Indiana until these ridiculous policies are revoked," Green added. "Which I guess means no Top Golf or IKEA for a while."
Under the public library board's policy, the book will no longer be allowed in teen sections in the Noblesville and Fishers library branches but instead will be moved to the general collection.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/l...
Iredell-Statesville, North Carolina Schools Board of Education members are taking a closer look at board policy No. 3200, which addresses school library books and instructional materials and the procedure for removing access to sexually explicit books.During Monday night’s board meeting, Superintendent Jeff James cautioned board members about removing books just because there is a strong objection to it and reminded the board of students’ First Amendment rights.
The superintendent said that the district has a robust policy in place. Parents can challenge or question a book, which will then be read and discussed by a volunteer committee made up of parents, school staff and teachers.
One book review committee included a youth pastor, according to James. The schools try to find members who represent a wide range of viewpoints.
Any book that is challenged is flagged in the school’s library system, the superintendent added.
“If you want to know what your kid is reading, just ask the school. They will tell you what books your kid is checking out,” James said.
One book that was challenged, ”Looking for Alaska has been removed, James said. Later in the meeting, he explained that this book met the “pervasively vulgar” requirements needed to have it removed.
Another book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” was limited to a high school only audience after being reviewed.
The superintendent also pointed out that only small percentage of students are checking out the books considered controversial. There has been a slight uptick in student interest in these books if they become movies, he added.
“Our process, it seems to me, is so cumbersome that we can’t even use it effectively and efficiently,” said Vice Chairman Mike Kubiniec. “So I think we should call for some process changes to make it streamlined and some other definitions would be helpful.”
Why does a committee have to read a 300-page book and then discuss whether it is appropriate, he asked, when the highlighted passages that describe sexually explicit behaviors could be reviewed and a decision made?
Board member Brian Sloan offered a simple suggestion.
“If there is one word that a kid can’t speak, then I don’t think it should be inside a school library,” he said.
Sloan likened the damage that library books are causing society and the community to a fire “we can’t put out.”
James advised the board that books must meet the definition of “pervasively vulgar” in order to be removed.
“Everyone who has been in a lawsuit has not followed their own policy. We have a process to review anything that’s brought up,” the superintendent said.
Board member Anita Kurn seemed surprised when the superintendent told her that all of the books that were submitted for review have been reviewed.
Dean Shatley, the school board’s attorney, mentioned that some books that have been submitted for a challenge or review may not actually be owned by the district.
https://www.iredellfreenews.com/news-...
Because... you have to take the book as a whole in context and not excerpt certain passages.
And because... your kids already know those words and use those words!
And because... they can look up way worse online.
Back to Indiana, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita released a fourth edition of his ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ document Tuesday, outlining what Hoosier parents can do to “oversee and participate in the part of our children’s education that occurs outside of the home.”
“It’s not the teacher’s job — it’s certainly not the government’s job — to raise our children. It’s our job as parents.”
However, Rokita seemed to contradict himself when he said he supported the rights of parents with transgender children — even though he loudly urged the General Assembly earlier this year to bar that group of minors from accessing gender-affirming care, even with parental support.
Rokita decried incidents where school resource officers removed parents from school board meetings, saying “raw emotion” and “miscommunication” played a role on both sides.
This document serves to educate parents on their rights, according to Rokita, including: school governance, curriculum, religious liberty, health records, vaccine information, removing school library books and pronoun change notifications.
Moving forward, the Parents’ Bill of Rights will be updated annually following changes from the General Assembly, Rokita said. However, he warned that the document shouldn’t be interpreted as legal advice.
“You have the right to know what books are available to students in the school library and to request the removal of books that are obscene or include material harmful to minors,” Rokita said. “You have the right to be notified if your child requests to be addressed by a name or use pronouns of the opposite sex.”
On the latter, many parents have complained online about schools utilizing precious time to notify them about a child using a nickname or middle name in an attempt to comply with the law.
In response to a question about combating a “horrifying” but unnamed agenda, Rokita urged citizen engagement and claimed the “other side” wants “your kids dumbed down and indoctrinated and lacking critical thinking skills.”
“Well, I think that — well, I know what we do is make sure that it doesn’t matter if you’re transgender or not, frankly, it’s — all children have the same rights. And, and even more important than that, all parents have the same rights and that’s how we approach everything that we do,” Rokita responded to the latter question.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2...
Finally, some good news from New York state.Anti-book ban bills introduced in NYS Assembly
https://www.observertoday.com/news/to...
Ah-ha Orange County Florida does require parental permission to use ANY sort of nickname. That's so stupid. It deliberately targets trans kids and outs them to their parents. I'm hope kids can get creative and come up with something their parents will approve of. "If a cis boy with the legal name Robert can’t be called Rob in school without parental permission, then neither could a trans girl called Roberta. Even if Roberta could obtain parental permission to use her chosen name, Florida law ensures that the school is still free to misgender her.
“Under the recently adopted House Bill 1069, the teacher or other personnel may elect not to utilize the pronoun ‘she/her’ when referring to Roberta,” notes the school board memo. If parents fail to serve Republicans as a disciplining force against gender nonconformity, the GOP passion for parental rights flies out the window. "
" the school board’s new rules comprise some of the most extreme and comprehensive anti-trans policies of any public institution in the country..."
"As Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern noted on Twitter, these anti-trans rules were introduced during a “SEVERE teacher shortage,” as the Orange County Public School system has been “chronically unable to retain teachers year-to-year.” Facing hundreds of vacancies, the school board nonetheless prioritized new guidelines that would either drive out or repel trans and trans-supportive teachers and staff."
"These policies are grimly predictable for a school board infiltrated by the far-right extremist group Moms for Liberty, as Orange County and other Florida districts were last year. When it comes to names and pronouns, however, the new rules go particularly far: Teachers — adult workers — must use pronouns and titles that align with their assigned sex at birth, according to Monday’s memo. "
"Teachers are not required to use their trans students’ chosen pronouns, but trans teachers are expressly forbidden from using the pronouns that align with their gender. The policy appears to stand in direct violation of the First Amendment, as well as the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision, which protects LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination."
"Thankfully, hundreds of thousands of students have protested and continue to protest school board meetings, staging walkouts against anti-trans laws and policies, including in Orange County. They will not be readily controlled — they will use each other’s names."
https://theintercept.com/2023/08/09/f...
Good news/bad news in Missouri libraries Good: Voters say ‘yes’ to new tax levy. After 90 years, Taneyhills Library in Branson gets public funding.
Bad: While campaigning for the new library levy, supporters reassured conservative Taney County voters that their public library would “absolutely not” feature drag queen storytimes and that the government wouldn’t force the library to buy so-called “liberal books and media.”
https://www.ksmu.org/news/2023-08-08/...
Bad: The Missouri River Regional Library's (MRRL) proposition tax to renovate and expand the library did not pass Tuesday night.
Although library staff and users are discouraged by the results, Young said she is "still hopeful that someday the library will find a way to expand and renovate in order to provide more services for the Cole County community."
She believes that a public library is an essential component to a thriving community. Despite the loss, she doesn't think it is a statement on how people feel about libraries.
They believe the community loves the library and the reason for the loss is due to Cole County overall being tax averse.
Before the campaign, MRRL spoke with community members to figure out what they wanted. They plan to meet with stakeholders and listen in again.
Without the tax increase, the MRRL will be unable to complete the expansion. However, updates are still necessary. This means in order to improve accessibility issues, there will be less public space for library users.
"It kind of feels like we're punishing the people who use us," Newville said. "The people who did support the proposition are the ones who are also going to be punished by losing space and not having the resources that we really wanted to have."
The expansion would have allowed MRRL to maintain public space where people can gather, including adding meeting rooms, a children's area and a teen section, while also updating bathrooms and elevators.
https://www.komu.com/news/elections/w...
So presumably this library was not ADA compliant or up to date on code, which is a concern. Good they plan to make it accessible but bad the people didn't want to pay to upgrade the library. Watch the community ban books because now they don't have a children's area and a teen section!
Another library facing closure is in rural Washington state BECAUSE they refuse to ban LGBTQ books!" A rural district east of Walla Walla faces a challenge to its very existence. The Columbia County Rural Library District could be dissolved by voters after a community member filed a petition to close the library amid a censorship fight over LGBTQ+ books aimed at teens."
"“There are no bookstores, no books in stores other than the All Saints Thrift Store,” Lorna Barth, president of Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library, told Crosscut in an email. “For many people in this county the library has the ONLY WiFi, computers for Internet access … and it is the ONLY place for young people to have any access at all to any books they could have free access to choose and check out and take home or read right there with the dignity of privacy and choice and peace and safety.”"
In July, a petition to dissolve the library district was submitted by a county resident upset that minors had access to books that she and others believe have sexual content. The petition collected 163 signatures, well over the minimum requirement of 107, to get on the November ballot. The threat of closure to this small Washington public library is an example of what can happen as libraries become politicized.
This latest chapter for Columbia County Rural Library District started during Pride Month 2022, when several new books about LGBTQ+ topics were on display in different sections of the library. Someone took pictures of the displays, altered the photos to make it appear that all the books were located in the children’s section of the library and posted the false image on a Dayton community Facebook page.
At an Aug. 15, 2022, library board meeting, two library patrons spoke during the public comment section of the meeting and voiced concerns over approximately six books, all dealing with race or LGBTQ+ topics. Todd Vandenbark, at the time the library district director, took notes from the meeting that show that one comment made about the book Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race by Megan Madison was that it would make the individual’s daughter “feel bad about being white.”
Vandenbark, who had been on the job for two years, invited the patrons to complete a “Request for Reconsideration of Materials” form that he would review according to the library district’s policies.
It was not until after that meeting that Vandenbark became aware of the Facebook post with the doctored image. By then comments had been posted containing inflammatory and threatening language calling Vandenbark, his staff and the library board pedophiles and groomers. One post said they should be “in prison, or pushing daisies up from the roots.” Vandenbark reported the comments to Facebook, which has since removed them.
Approximately 90 people attended the September 2022 library board meeting. A typical board meeting might see a few patrons, but Vandenbark recalls “a lot of upset and angry people who hadn’t read the books for themselves.”
About one-third of the audience showed up in support of the library. Vandenbark again explained the reconsideration procedure and handed out “at least a dozen forms.” Many of them came back to him with incomplete information. Rather than listing specific titles, people simply wrote that they wanted the library to remove certain books that the local paper, the Dayton Chronicle, had reported on, but did not provide any other reason for their removal. Some patrons also asked for books to be relocated from the young adult section to the adult section.
During this time, three people came to Vandenbark’s office to talk about the books, but these meetings were not fruitful. “It was clear that no dialogue was going to take place,” he said. They just wanted to convince him. “One guy came in and we talked for a long time, and he always fell back on ‘It’s my belief.’”
Vandenbark responded to each reconsideration request and asked people to complete a new form and be specific about the titles and reasons for reconsideration. By the December board meeting, Vandenbark’s notes show that these requests had been reviewed and it was decided that all books would remain in the library’s collection.
In January 2023, a patron submitted an appeal to the board to remove the book What's the T? The Guide to All Things Trans and/or Nonbinary by Juno Dawson, a book for teenagers about transgender and nonbinary issues. Before considering the appeal at the February board meeting, they heard a presentation by Dr. Tamara Meredith, director of the nearby Jefferson County Library District, on intellectual freedom and censorship.
Board members asked those present to raise their hands if they had read What’s the T? According to Vandenbark, almost no one did. After a public comment period at which only two board members spoke, a vote was taken. Four of the five board members voted to deny the appeal and maintain the original decision to keep What’s the T? on the shelves. The lone dissent came from board member Chuck Beleny, who joined the board in 2022.
Board members are appointed by the county’s three commissioners and are not required to have any credentials in library and information science.
Beleny didn’t respond to Crosscut’s request for an interview about his vote, but Beleny has in the past given money to the political group Columbia County Conservatives, founded in 2021 by former county commissioner Chuck Amerein. According to its website, the group supports candidates for office who espouse conservative principles, including similar themes in the battles over books: “Rejecting the claims that the United States is racist or xenophobic rejection of critical race theory” and “Support for freedom of speech and a rejection of cancel culture.”
After the library board denied the appeal, Dayton resident Jessica Ruffcorn created a petition to dissolve the library district. According to the Dayton Chronicle, Ruffcorn took issue with the placement of books she regards as sexually explicit in the children’s section of the library. She also asked the library board to review its collection and reconsideration policies, staffing and budget. The petition needed a minimum of 107 valid signatures, representing 10% of registered voters in unincorporated areas of the county. Her first attempt fell short by six, but her second attempt gathered 163 valid signatures.
After Ruffcorn’s second petition was verified by the county auditor, she told the Dayton Chronicle, “This is a strong statement, and between the sexually explicit books and the extremely large budget we know that it’s time to reevaluate the priorities and needs of Dayton.”
Vandenbark resigned from the library district in July, largely due to the stress from this experience. He has moved on to a larger public library system.
If voters approve the ballot measure, borrowing a hardback or paperback could become trickier for Columbia County residents, although some in the young adult age group might sign up for Seattle’s Books Unbanned program to get free ebooks and audiobooks, which the library district has already been promoting. The building would return to the city’s control. The library’s special events, public programming and other services would likely disappear, unless a different entity takes over those programs.
Lorna Barth, president of the Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library, said the group is part of a growing number of community members urging people to vote no on the measure. She said they are reminding people of the services that it provides, including offering space for classes and group meetings and allowing readers of all ages to borrow books on numerous subjects without judgment.
It is “the ONE place that is welcoming to everyone in the community,” Barth said. “It is the only common meeting place that is not a church or a business or a school, and all of those have multiple layers of social barriers.”
If the Dayton Memorial Library closed, Columbia County would be a library desert. Library patrons who want to borrow a book would have to go to the Weller Public Library in Waitsburg, a small library 10 miles away with reduced hours, or to the library in Walla Walla, 31 miles away. Both city libraries currently require residents from Columbia County to pay for a library card.
In the meantime, the Columbia County Rural Library District board selected Ellen Brigham as the interim library director. She said there is no need to review the district’s policies: “Our collection development policy is robust and modern.”
However, Brigham has decided to make changes to the collection. Sexual education books have been moved to their own section, housed within the parenting collection. Additionally, the entire young adult nonfiction section — including What’s the T? — will be separated from the young adult section and moved to the adult nonfiction section.
Brigham does not feel that either of these adjustments compromise the district’s commitment to intellectual freedom. Brigham said the young adult nonfiction section was small and contained books like college prep materials that older patrons wanted to access. She said people have been very pleased that the library is responding to community concerns.
https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/n...
In MontanaFrom ‘Gender Queer’ to Marxism, Montana’s libraries are emerging as the latest flashpoint in a culture clash over community standards.
"In the days following the state library commission’s withdrawal, both the ALA and the Montana Library Association issued lengthy responses lamenting the development and reaffirming their commitment to support libraries throughout the state. The ALA seized the opportunity to highlight the scope of its work at the national and state levels, noting that in the past two years alone it has awarded a total of $218,000 to 23 Montana libraries for projects ranging from COVID-19 relief efforts to digital literacy workshops. It also emphasized its role in lobbying for federal library funding, claiming partial credit for the $1.4 million the Montana State Library has received from government grants since 2019.
“Despite the decision in Montana this week” — ALA’s only direct reference to the commission’s vote — “ALA remains committed to providing essential support, resources, and opportunities for every library and library worker in every state and territory across the nation to help them better serve their communities,” the letter read. '
"The reaction from the Montana Library Association’s executive board, in contrast, met the withdrawl vote head-on. MLA stated that the commission’s decision “runs counter” to the association’s mission and “undermines the shared goals of Montana libraries.” MLA board members vowed to continue upholding the principles of literacy and information access “regardless of the decisions made by the State Library Commission because we believe that they are fundamentally American and fundamentally Montanan.”
Meanwhile, a minority of right-wing GOP lawmakers embraced the development. Twenty-one members of the Legislature’s Freedom Caucus issued a statement encouraging the Montana Library Association to take a cue from the commission and “join the growing movement” by ending its affiliation with the ALA as well. The letter cited LGBTQ Pride events in libraries and unsubstantiated claims of librarians distributing “critical race theory” and “highly sexualized content” to bolster the call by national conservative hardliners for more states to follow Montana’s example. "
...
MLA President Kelly Reisig and other voices from within Montana’s library community are increasingly pushing back against such allegations. Where conservatives see an orchestrated agenda to foist inappropriate content on children through libraries and schools, many librarians perceive a coordinated conservative effort to sideline culturally representative and inclusive books through grassroots activism and state-level policy. The effect, Reisig told MTFP, has been an undermining of community trust that is “absolutely just shaking up the whole mission of libraries.”
“For librarians, that’s like the first thing you begin to learn, is how to reach out to the community, find out what their needs are,” Reisig said, attributing her understanding to a conference she attended early in her career with the help of an ALA grant. “It’s not a matter of you build the library and they all show up. How do we really become a partner in the community? How do we really address the needs of this community? And if no one trusts or very few trust us, how do we get our work done?”
Librarians who spoke with MTFP consider the idea of removing or limiting access to contested books as antithetical to their mission. According to Reisig, libraries have clear policies about how patrons can challenge certain titles — policies that typically call for identifying a replacement title to ensure that a particular viewpoint, voice or identity continues to be reflected in the library’s collection. Librarians “by nature” want to find compromise, Reisig said. But in today’s politically charged atmosphere, she continued, there’s seldom, if ever, a desire on the part of critics to preserve the viewpoint of a contested book.
“What we’re really talking about is censoring whole groups of people and their culture and their history and what makes them who they are,” Reisig said. “That’s the saddest and scariest part of all of this.”
Cheryl Tusken doesn’t dispute that there’s common ground to be found in respecting other people’s beliefs. However, as a Bozeman parent and an early leader of Montana’s self-styled parental rights movement, Tusken said she believes that tolerance in public spaces is currently weighted in favor of a progressive worldview — a view she sees as contrary to her family’s Christian values.
“The community standard has been changing significantly in the last 10 or 15 years, especially in the LGBT area,” Tusken said. “They’ve been very active, even where Bozeman City Hall is flying a progressive trans flag. It’s very much everywhere that you see, but we’re not giving equal tolerance to the other side that maybe doesn’t want to see that all the time.”
State Library Commissioner Tammy Hall articulated a similar sentiment last week in Gallatin Gateway during a town hall moderated by the right-wing think tank America First Policy Institute. The Gianforte appointee, who voted in favor of withdrawing from the ALA, said she was told early in her tenure that commissioners were expected to “leave your values outside the door.”
“I said, ‘I’m a believer in Jesus Christ. He is my savior. I do not leave that outside the door like an old shirt,’” Hall told the town hall crowd. She also quipped that when Gianforte appointed her, “I said, ‘Who goes to libraries anymore besides p___hiles and homeless?’ I was wrong, very wrong.”
During the 2023 Legislature, Tusken was a regular fixture in public testimony on bills related to contested materials in public schools and libraries. Her parental rights work has largely focused on the Bozeman school district, where she’s advocated for the removal of materials from school libraries and classrooms. Those efforts have left her with a deep distrust of the ALA, which she says is actively pushing Marxist ideas and queer literature through book lists and model policies.
So far, Tusken’s efforts have yet to spill over into the Bozeman Public Library. As a homeschooling parent, she said, she and her children used to be frequent patrons, particularly during her kids’ elementary and middle-school years. But, she says, she began to have concerns about the library’s annual Pride month displays, specifically their proximity to the library’s children’s section. She said her family hasn’t been back since the COVID-19 shutdowns of early 2020.
“All of that LGBT stuff started popping up so strongly in all the books,” Tusken said, “and they’re alienating a large segment of their community by doing that.”
Tusken insists that what she and other parental rights advocates seek is not an outright ban on any particular books. Instead, she wants a more rigorous approach to ensuring that parents can identify books they find objectionable and decide for themselves if they’re suitable for children — perhaps moving LGBTQ-themed materials to a separate area, she said, or signaling their content with a sticker. Books with more graphic content, such as “Gender Queer,” she added, should be restricted for anyone under 18.
Tusken’s bid for compromise would be a nonstarters for many librarians. Lewis and Clark County Public Library’s Matt Beckstrom, who also serves as Montana’s representative on the ALA council, said such actions fundamentally contradict the profession’s core belief in making collections easy to access and use. Furthermore, restricting certain titles could raise thorny legal issues that have already been adjudicated in America in favor of intellectual freedom.
“If you can show the intent was not to make the collection more accessible or easier to use but to make it harder for certain people to find and make it difficult for other people to use, your intent is to censor,” Beckstrom said.
Montana State Librarian Jennie Stapp told MTFP that, from a practical standpoint, access to such resources won’t vanish. State and local library staff are still free to attend ALA conferences and webinars, and Stapp has already fielded calls from librarians outside of Montana inquiring about alternatives to the ALA, in case their states follow Montana’s lead. One option she’s referred them to is the Association of Small and Rural Libraries, itself an affiliate of the ALA. For in-state librarians, state library staff continue to provide consultation to assist community librarians with training and strategic planning.
In short, Stapp said she believes the tight-knit nature and shared values of the broader library community mean the ALA will continue to have a presence in Montana, even in the absence of state membership.
“Where libraries in Montana and the American Library Association can find common ground is in that fundamental core value of intellectual freedom,” Stapp said. “And if we can speak about that as the primary function of the library, then I do think there is a role for ALA to play.”
Only one of the Montana State Library Commission’s seven members responded to MTFP’s requests for comment: state Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. In an interview, Arntzen reiterated her stance that withdrawing from the ALA is in line with her sworn oath to uphold the Montana Constitution. She equated the situation to the firestorm that engulfed the National School Boards Association last year. In requesting federal assistance to address rising threats to educators over pandemic mask mandates, LGBTQ-themed materials and critical race theory, the organization likened certain activists to domestic terrorists, prompting Arntzen to publicly call for the Montana School Boards Association to sever ties with the national organization, which it did.
“If these associations that Montana has depended upon for so long start polarizing and being political, then it’s time for Montana to protect, defend [and] support Montana as the Constitution states,” Arntzen said. “And I did that in my vote.”
Arntzen noted that during the commission’s deliberations last month, she suggested revisiting the state’s ALA membership after President Drabinski’s term expires in July 2024. Asked whether Drabinski’s LGBTQ identity had any bearing on her vote to withdraw from the ALA, Arntzen said her decision was based “fully on the Marxist” portion of Drabinski’s tweet.
As a member of that governance structure, Beckstrom insists that the ALA is not actively pushing any LGBTQ agenda. What the organization and librarians across the country have been doing, he said, is promoting books that help people understand and learn about the LGBTQ community, its history and its experiences — echoing a broad belief among librarians, as summed up by Stapp, that libraries should be “a mirror” of their respective communities.
“That’s pushing a human right to have our beliefs and our feelings reflected in who we are and be able to research them and get information about them,” Beckstrom said. “It’s not like the ALA’s sitting there and their mission statement is, ‘Goal No. 1: Make America gay.’ That’s not what they’re doing. They’re just trying to give people the right to do what they do with the information they want.”
https://montanafreepress.org/2023/08/...
Mod
ONE person is determined to challenge every book in Clay County, Florida. His challenge of Arthur's Birthday was basically laughed off but everything has to be reviewed. Conveniently, this man won't talk to the real media but will blab to Fox News."FLEMING ISLAND – Children still will be able to check out “Arthur’s Birthday” and “Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stink-a-Lot” from their elementary school library.
But older students who want to read Stephen King’s “Apt Pupil,” “Carrie,” “It” and “Every Heart a Doorway” will have to visit the public library or download it from the internet after the Clay County District Schools’ Oversight Committee determined they violated the guidelines set in Florida Statute 847.
The group determined 22 of the 45 requests submitted by Middleburg’s Bruce Friedman contained material that may be obscene.
The four-person committee reviewed Friedman’s complaints for several hours Tuesday at Fleming Island High. District Chief Academic Officer Roger Dailey led the committee, along with two school officials and one parent.
Their work was painstakingly tedious, especially since Friedman seemed content with challenging many literary works.
“We have a complainant who’s new to our area. He came in from New York and had a tremendous passion for this topic,” Dailey said. “Close to 96% of the complaints, in fact, all the complaints in the last 12 months have been from this individual.
“So all of this is produced from this individual. We are bound by Florida statute. A number of books have violations of Chapter 847 – obscenity and p___hy – which would be very descriptive passages about se__ual activity or stuff like that. Also, I’d say the lion’s share of these things are really topics that the complainant doesn’t like.”
Dailey said the county examines every objection and has a process that allows parents to be involved in what their children to read.
“We said if parents wanted to opt out, if they didn’t trust the system, they could opt out. Six parents out of 42,000 students chose to do that. We’re asking secondary parents, just like they would for a headache, medicine or anything else, they can have a form to give their child permission to check it out. It’s in the hands of the parent.
All 45 challenges for July listed the same primary reason: “PROTECT CHILDREN!” Question No. 4 of the Request for Reconsideration or Review of Instructional Materials asks what would result from a student using that particular piece of material. In every instance, he wrote, “DAMAGED SOULS.”
All of his objections also listed specific concerns. “Arthur’s Birthday,” a popular children’s book about a cartoon aardvark, was challenged because it mentioned a spin-the-bottle game. He wrote, “IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS “SPIN THE BOTTLE” WITH ELEMENTRY SCHOOL CHILDREN.”
The committee disagreed.
“We did that one first,” Dailey said. “We think their souls will be intact.”
Friedman did make 22 successful challenges. They were removed because they violated state law, not because Friedman had a personal dislike for them.
“He wants his personal lens to be everyone’s personal lens,” Dailey said.
https://www.claytodayonline.com/stori...
I can't find specific current lists but... Dozens of books removed from Florida schools as new academic year startsMartin County leads local districts with more than 90 books removed, latest documents show
https://www.wptv.com/news/education/b...
More from Florida
Proposed Florida rule would favor only one side in book challenges
It would allow the original objector to appeal to the state, but no one else. That’s not what the law says.
"When Hernando County parent Kim Mulrooney learned her school board had removed the book “Is He a Girl?” from her child’s school in June, she held out hope that a new Florida law might let her seek its return.
The law allows people to appeal to the state when they don’t agree with school district decisions on books. But the rule proposed to implement it let Mulrooney down.
The recommended language says that parents who formally objected to specific books may seek relief from a special magistrate if they dispute a local action. But it makes no mention of any other parents, nor does it refer to other district residents who also are entitled under law to challenge school materials.
“I don’t think that’s right,” Mulrooney said of the proposal, which the State Board of Education will consider on Aug. 23. “Since it affects my kids, I should have a right to challenge the decision.
That appeared to be the Legislature’s intent when approving the measure (HB 1069) in the spring. The law says if a parent disagrees with a school board’s action on challenged books and materials, “a parent may request the Commissioner of Education to appoint a special magistrate.”
Bill sponsor Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, said nothing during floor discussion about limiting access to the magistrate process to objectors only. Leaders of Florida Freedom to Read Project, who pored over the documents and watched the hearings, said they had the understanding that appeals would be open to all sides.
“Now we see their plans with this bill,” said Stephana Ferrell, the group’s president. “Without the ability of parents to challenge a book’s unnecessary restriction, it will heavily weigh decisions in favor of the objector.”
If parents had the special magistrate option, they could avoid costly legal expenses when questioning a district’s action, Ferrell said. By limiting access to the appeal process, “it is putting the parental rights and First Amendment rights of some over the parental rights of all, and the First Amendment rights of students.”
State Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, grilled Yarborough during the session over several provisions in the bill, which became law on July 1. She said even if the proposed State Board of Education rule does not match the wording or intent of the legislation, questioning it will likely have little effect.
“To make the change we’d have to bring things to the Florida courts, and the Florida courts are so not in our favor,” Polsky said.
“They just keep pointing and saying, ‘That’s not what the bill says,’” Polsky said. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s the effect of what the bill does.”
Meanwhile, parents with complaints about the content of certain books have indicated on social media that they plan to file several objections in September, after the State Board of Education considers the magistrate rule. That way, according to their posts, if local officials decide to keep the materials, they can turn to the state for another try.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
In Mississippi, the popular graphic novel series (turned new Netflix hit) Heartstopper: Volume One was taken off the shelves in a Marion County, Mississippi PUBLIC library following resident complaints.Following the meeting, the books were temporarily removed and will remain off the shelves until the library’s board of supervisors makes a final decision.
Marion County resident and parent Heather McMurry, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said the book should be “pulled from the children’s section.”
In an interview with NBC affiliate WDAM of Laurel, Mississippi, McMurry said she first noticed the book when she was in the library with her children.
“I looked at the back of the book and uncovered that it had some kind of sexual situations,” she said. “It was a LGBTQ book.”
McMurry then shared with others in the community a page from the book that depicts two teenage boys kissing, WDAM-TV reported.
“I don’t think what I saw was appropriate for our children,” a resident who saw the page said during the meeting.
No one at the packed meeting spoke in favor of the book series, WDAM-TV reported.
Ryda Worthy, the library director for the South Mississippi Regional Library, of which the Columbia-Marion County Public Library is a part, said the “Heartstopper” series was added to the library’s offerings following a request by a patron.
“We did check reviews, we did check what other libraries had it, and we based it on our policies and acquired it that way,” Worthy told WDAM-TV.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-n...
Niece #1 recommends this series. She LOVED it and the critics are raving about the Netflix show. It's supposed to be very sweet.
The teacher fired for teaching My Shadow Is Purple wants to overturn her firing “This termination is unrelated to education," Craig Goodmark, the lawyer defending Rinderle, argued Thursday. "It exists to create political scapegoats for the elected leadership of this district. Reading a children’s book to children is not against the law.”
Officials in Cobb County, Georgia's second-largest school district, argue Rinderle broke the school district's rules against teaching on controversial subjects and fired her after parents complained.
“Introducing the topic of gender identity and gender fluidity into a class of elementary grade students was inappropriate and violated the school district policies,” Sherry Culves, a lawyer for the school district argued Thursday.
Rinderle countered that reading the book wasn't wrong, testifying that she believed it “to be appropriate” and not a “sensitive topic.” She argued Thursday that the book carries a broader message for gifted students, talking “about their many interests and feeling that they should be able to choose any of their interests and explore all of their interests.”
Cobb County adopted a rule barring teaching on controversial issues in 2022, after Georgia lawmakers earlier that year enacted laws barring the teaching of “divisive concepts” and creating a parents' bill of rights. The divisive concepts law, although it addresses teaching on race, bars teachers from “espousing personal political beliefs.” The bill of rights guarantees that parents have “the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her minor child.”
“The Cobb County School District is very serious about the classroom being a neutral place for students to learn," Culves said. "One-sided instruction on political, religious or social beliefs does not belong in our classrooms.”
Goodmark argued that a prohibition of “controversial issues” is so vague that teachers can never be sure what's banned, saying the case should be dismissed.
The hearing took place under a Georgia law that protects teachers from unjustified firing. A panel of three retired school principals will make a recommendation on whether to fire or retain Rinderle, but the school board in the 106,000-student district will make the final decision. Rinderle could appeal any firing to the state Board of Education and ultimately into court.
Culves called Rinderle as the district’s first witness, trying to establish that Rinderle was evasive and uncooperative. Cobb County says it wants to fire Rinderle in part because administrators find her “uncoachable.”
“The school district has lost confidence in her, and part of that is her refusal to understand and acknowledge what she’s done,” Culves said. She cited Rinderle’s failure to take responsibility for her actions and to apologize to parents and the school principal as further reasons why the district has lost confidence.
Under questioning from Culves, Rinderle repeatedly said she didn’t know what parents believed or what topics might be considered offensive.
“Can you understand why a family might want the chance to discuss the topic of gender identity, gender fluidity or gender beyond binary with their children at home first, before it is introduced by a public school teacher?” Culves asked at one point.
Culves argued that district policies meant Rinderle should have gotten her principal to approve the book in advance and should have given parents a chance to opt their children out. Rinderle said students voted for her to read the book, which she bought at the school's book fair, and that it wasn't common practice to get picture books approved.
https://news.yahoo.com/georgia-teache...
Black leaders decry Florida’s African American history standardsBlack elected officials, religious leaders, educators and community members railed against Florida’s controversial new standards for teaching African American history Thursday evening at a town hall in Miami that was supposed to feature the DeSantis administration’s top education official.
Instead, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. chose not to attend the event after initially agreeing to appear, an absence that became a focal point for critics.
The panel, including state Sens. Shevrin “Shev” Jones (D-Miami Gardens) and Rosalind Osgood (D-Tamarac), spent more than two hours addressing Florida’s Black history standards and other education issues among 200 or so people, with particularly harsh words for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his education department.
“It’s not just African American children that need to know their history,” Osgood, a former school board member in Broward County, said at the event. “It’s other people that need to know African American history, and then they won’t say dumb stuff like Black people benefited from slavery. If they’re going to say it, they have to say that this whole nation benefitted from slavery.”
Lawmakers and leaders at the town hall pitched suggestions to compete with Florida’s extensive conservative majority, like starting an education coalition to compete with local groups such as Moms for Liberty. They urged educators to join unions and for the public to attend school board meetings to address the standards and other education issues.
“There is some good content in those standards,” Steve Gallon III, a school board member in Miami Dade County, said at the event. “There are some elements that are inaccurate, there are some elements are offensive.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08...
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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Waterman responded that library staff members have tasks to perform in between helping patrons.
“We estimated this would take about a year and think we can get it done in that time frame,” she said. “We all want to get this done, I get it, but I ask that consideration be made to the staff that are doing (their) jobs.”
Waterman noted that her team is always looking at ways to make the review more efficient. However, they have to read every page of every book to find out whether the book has any of the content listed in the policy, and that takes time.
...
During public comment at the end of the meeting, Adam Crouch, first person who spoke, focused on the board’s collection review policy. He said there were numerous references in the Bible that make it eligible to be moved out of the children and teen sections. He held up various copies of the Bible as examples, and when he sat back down, he dropped the books on the floor next to him.
Alerding told Crouch he shouldn’t treat library property that way, and asked him to leave after he spoke back from his seat. When he refused, she asked police officers to escort him out. Crouch continued to refuse to leave, and eventually was taken out in handcuffs by five officers while other audience members repeatedly yelled “Shame!”
The last person to speak thanked the board for its collections review policy, and compared some books in the library to p___. As he sat down, there were some comments from the audience. Alerding then adjourned the meeting early, citing “constant disruptions.”
https://youarecurrent.com/2023/07/28/...