Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
At least two school districts in Western North Carolina are expected to discuss a new law in North Carolina that impacts the way some subjects are taught in the classroom.Monday evening, the Asheville City Board of Education will be holding a public hearing on Senate Bill 49, also known as the Parents' Bill of Rights.
With the new law in North Carolina, kindergarten through fourth-grade teachers are banned from teaching or having lessons involving gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality.
School officials have been working on policy revisions, with parents and guardians having the chance to comment on them.
https://wlos.com/news/local/western-n...
In Florida, Textbook reviewers did not recommend Dave Ramsey book. Pasco approved it anyway, documents showA team of academics and parents who reviewed personal finance guru Dave Ramsey’s textbook found it riddled with problems, and did not recommend its use in Pasco County Schools, according to a trove of documents obtained in a public records request and seen by WUSF.
Reviewers repeatedly noted they could not compare the text to state standards for a new course, because those standards weren't released yet. Based on a rubric given to them by district staff, three of four reviewers found Ramsey's textbook and materials did not meet standards for recommendation.
Despite this, and an increasing number of objections from the public, the materials were approved by both the Pasco district and the Florida Department of Education in separate processes.
Ramsey is an evangelical Christian and popular conservative radio host who promotes living debt-free and using cash instead of credit cards. One arm of his media empire is dedicated to promoting the use of his textbooks in schools, especially as more states begin to make financial literacy a requirement for graduation.
“Debt is dumb. Cash is king,” says the header of one chapter. The materials include videos of Ramsey on stage, warning viewers to forget about credit scores and recognize profiteering by credit card companies. The text includes quotes of various Proverbs in the Bible to back up key points.
The Florida Department of Education this year moved Ramsey’s textbook from the “not-approved” list to the “approved” list, just as a law signed in 2022 by Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis took effect. The law requires a half credit in financial literacy in order for the incoming high school freshmen cohort of 2023-24 to graduate.
The approval of Ramsey’s textbook also comes as Florida became the first state to allow the use of free online content from another conservative radio host, Dennis Prager, and his media company, PragerU Kids, in schools. It’s neither a university nor an accredited education institution, but offers what it calls a counter perspective to “woke agendas… infiltrating classrooms.”
“I think the overall curriculum adoption process has been infected, especially in Florida. It's become hotly political,” said Jessica Wright, a former teacher in Pasco County and a volunteer board member at the non-profit Florida Freedom to Read Project.
Wright made a series of public records requests with Pasco County Schools that yielded dozens of pages of documents and notes from reviewers ahead of a hearing on the matter Tuesday.
Those notes from reviewers — at both the state and county level — show many concerns about the Ramsey materials falling short on teaching more complex math, failing to include a range of perspectives from other economic sources, and a lack of diversity in the materials.
Districts typically rely on the findings of a “narrowing team,” made up of parents, assistant principals, teachers, district staff and community members, who complete an extensive review of educational materials and make notes on whether or not the content meets a range of national and state expectations for curriculum.
In Pasco County, the narrowing team tasked with reviewing the Ramsey textbook, "Foundations in Personal Finance 4th edition," found that overall it only "partially" met five standards of academic rigor and "did not" meet two others.
For instance, one Pasco school district reviewer noted the “rigor is below high school scope,” while another noted that Florida’s new graduation-required course in financial literacy is still being developed and it was “hard to see without standards” how the text would align to the new course.
“The narrowing team did not choose the Ramsey, quote unquote, textbook. They actually recommended another textbook by a publisher named Goodheart-Willcox,” said Wright, referring to an Illinois-based textbook publisher that has been in business more than 100 years.
“These notes are pretty overwhelming. And they state several times how the Ramsey textbook does not align, how it doesn't provide needed materials for English language learners, how it does not provide basically enough in an accessible way that's going to be great for our teachers,” added Wright, who is also a mother of two children attending Pasco County public schools.
In addition, documents show that 57 people, many of them local parents, filed written objections with the Pasco County school district in recent months.
Some of the objectors raised concerns about “inclusion of Biblical references in the text” and others said it “neglects essential math literacy” and “promotes the purchase of additional Ramsey materials.”
Textbook reviewers at the state level have also raised questions about the rigor of the Ramsey materials, with two of three recommending it for a regular level course in financial literacy, despite some reservations. Only two reviewers at honors level assessed it and both voted against its adoption.
“The absence of independent studies leads the book to feel more like a marketing tool for the Ramsey program rather than an instructional guide for students from across all socio-economic sectors,” wrote one expert reviewer who said the course should not be used at the honors level.
“Weaknesses are bias against other approaches to personal finance. I would worry about teachers using text without background knowledge on content who could not offer supplemental content to balance out the text,” said the second reviewer.
Asked for comment on why the state moved to approve the Ramsey curriculum without any apparent changes to the materials that would have merited such a move, a Department of Education spokeswoman responded via email.
“When materials are not initially included on the state adoption list, publishers have the ability to appeal and update the content within their textbooks to satisfactorily align to Florida’s state academic standards, Florida law and State Board of Education Rule. This occurs annually during each instructional materials adoption cycle,” said the DOE’s Cassandra Paelis.
“The Department worked with the Lampo Group, LLC Ramsey Solutions for alignment of their bid for the Personal Financial Literacy Honors Course,” she added, referring to the LLC name for Ramsey's business venture.
https://www.wusf.org/education/2023-1...
Cory Silverberg ‘Upending the genre’: the children’s author rewriting the rules of sex edA new trio of books for kids focuses on consent, kindness and curiosity. Author Cory Silverberg explains why we need to rethink talking with young people about s-e-x
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...
and the good news of the afternoon isUtah couple creates their own 'Little Banned Book Library'
https://www.ksl.com/article/50745869/...
"Especially in the last few years, book bannings and challenges in public and school libraries have been on the rise and every time I heard about one, I just kind of bristled internally," Tom Hamilton said.
He and his wife, Hilary decided they wanted to make a statement on the issue.
"The parts that would really get to me were books that were about LGBTQ people or people of color, racial issues that were just trying to be swept under the rug and forgotten by a lot of politicians and certain parent groups as well," Tom said.
The couple said they have family members who are in the community. They said they want people to have access to books that feature different experiences or backgrounds.
"I'm a humanitarian in my soul," Hilary Hamilton said. "I just firmly believe change is quiet and change builds, but you need to be able to encourage people to find that change themselves."
They settled on building a little library in the front yard, at 67 W. 4775 South, in Washington Terrace, where members of the community can borrow and exchange books for free.
"This is a great way for people to explore topics that they normally wouldn't think of, or explore topics outside of their realm, but it is doing so in a way that allows them to find it themselves," Hilary said.
The Hamiltons post their book selection online and explain why it's been challenged or banned.
"Our goal would be to bring to everyone's attention, the books that you may even see every day, somebody out somewhere is trying to get it removed from the public view," Tom said.
He said not all books belong in every library.
"I wouldn't expect a book that details violence or anything overtly sexual to be in an elementary school library," Tom said. "They wouldn't care about it in the first place and probably would go over their heads in general but, for public libraries and high schools, I believe that at that point, you're more than capable to see the world and deal with any discomfort you may feel from reading those books and expand your worldview."
He and his wife want children, including their own, to learn about other people's experiences or backgrounds when they're the right age.
The only thing they censor is any violent or rude behavior.
"I didn't want anyone to come attack the house, attack the library," Hilary said. "He told me that a camera would be put up."
They said they'll keep their honors system library going while discussions on banning books continue in town halls, school boards and congressional hearings.
The news is extremely chilling today. Indiana
Carmel mayor election 2023: Moms for Liberty is leading issue
Since June, much of this year’s historic mayoral campaign in Carmel — the city's first general election in 16 years — has focused on how the candidates have responded to the Hamilton County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a far-right conservative political organization with a focus on parental rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization, labeled Moms for Liberty an extremist group earlier this year.
The Hamilton County chapter made national headlines in June when it quoted Adolf Hitler on the front of its newsletter. The group apologized after intense backlash.
Sue Finkam, Republican facing Democrat Miles Nelson in the Carmel mayor's race, sit on the Carmel City Council together, both have records of embracing diversity, including sponsoring an LGBTQ+ event Moms for Liberty criticized. Both Finkam and Nelson denounced the use of the Hitler quote, albeit at different times. Both also said they have seen attacks on their character during the general election campaign tied to the debate around Moms for Liberty. It came to a head last week at an election debate when Nelson challenged Finkam to denounce the group itself.
She was silent, drawing a groan from the crowd and swift reaction on social media. Finkam later told IndyStar she doesn't know enough about the group to condemn anything about it beyond the offensive use of the Hitler quote.
When Moms for Liberty's Hamilton County chapter quoted Hitler, Nelson immediately denounced the action in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Finkam in remarks at Carmel Pride a few days later also denounced the quote, saying it was “unacceptable and directly hurt members of our community.”
Since then, Nelson has asked Finkam to denounce the organization itself and at the mayoral debate last week at the Palladium took the opportunity to publicly ask her to condemn the group. She didn’t respond, which drew sharp outcry in the audience and on social media following the debate.
Finkam posted last Thursday on X that she had been harassed following the debate, and members of the Carmel City Council said the city increased police presence at a council budget meeting last week.
In an interview with IndyStar after her post, Finkam said she did not denounce Moms for Liberty because she does not know the group.
"I've never met with this Hamilton County group, so I'm not going to denounce a group I don't know," Finkam said. "All I hear is what people say, but I don't know if it's Hamilton County. I don't know if its Moms for Liberty nationally. I don't know if it's people who support them but not the organization. I don't know. The reality is I'm focused on running a campaign for mayor. We talk about roads, streets, police and finance."
Finkam said denouncing Moms for Liberty would have led down a never-ending path of having to criticize groups in the future.
"I had heat for me in June to also denounce Carmel Pride. I had heat on me to denounce the state legislature because of transgender issues," Finkam said. "There's always things we're yelled at to denounce and I think if we just keep denouncing every group that someone is outraged with, there will be nobody left to denounce."
Nelson told IndyStar that Finkam does know Moms for Liberty and pointed to screenshots his campaign shared in an email after the debate of an exchange between Finkam and Paige Miller, who is the chairwoman of the Hamilton County chapter of M4L, on the social media site Nextdoor.
In the screenshot, Miller writes that Finkam refuses to meet with her, questions her conservative credentials, but says that Finkam has her vote so Carmel doesn't turn blue. Finkam in the screenshot responds to Miller's comment that she didn't know Miller wanted to meet. Finkam also provided her email address for Miller to contact her, the screenshot shows.
“You've been hiding under a rock if you don't know who Moms for Liberty is and what they stand for," Nelson said. "The only individual in our community that has more recognition, or more name recognition than Moms for Liberty is Mayor Brainard. My opponent needs their votes to win.”
Kory Wood, a senior advisor to Finkam's campaign said Finkam has not met with Miller after the exchange on Nextdoor and called Nelson's focus on Moms for Liberty "a distraction."
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/l...
In Missouri, St. Charles County to pick library trustees, with pressure for an 'avowed conservative'St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann has nominated William “Buddy” Hardin, a former candidate for the state House of Representatives, to replace a sitting member on the nine-person board that oversees the countywide library system’s 11 branches and multimillion-dollar budget. Ehlmann is also reappointing Matthew Seeds, who has at times been critical of library leadership.
Ehlmann has been working on the nominations for months. The challenge, he said in August, was finding someone who would have the conservative bona fides to appease the critics of the current library board.
“Never in my 16 years in office have I ever felt pressure to appoint an avowed conservative to the library board like I am right now,” Ehlmann said then. “Previously, we sought to appoint people who wanted to serve their community, people who wanted to support libraries and literacy. The last thing I ever asked them was their political preferences, but now I guess I’ll have to ask them just how conservative they are.”
St. Charles County residents have clashed over concerns regarding a library staff person’s attire, children’s access to sexually explicit material and the makeup of the board itself.
Ehlmann nominated Hardin and Seeds in a letter this month to the County Council. The council has to confirm the nominations.
Hardin, 60, of St. Charles, is an Alton native and a 1989 graduate of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. In August 2022, he finished third in the Republican Party primary in Missouri House District 106, which includes portions of St. Charles city north of Interstate 70.
If his appointment is confirmed on Tuesday, he would replace Georganne MacNab, whose term expired on July 31. Hardin’s term would expire in 2026.
Since his appointment, Seeds, who works as director of information systems for the county government, has at times been an outspoken critic of the library’s administration.
In June and August, he unsuccessfully urged the library to end its membership with the Urban Library Council, an organization that conservatives in St. Charles County have labeled as being “too liberal.”
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/s...
Arkansas: The battle for the library has ended with the Censors winning.Saline County library director fired for doing her job!
The controversy reached the county’s quorum court, which then passed a resolution in April mandating that certain books be out of reach in the library’s children’s section.
Saline County library director Patty Hector had stated publicly that mandating book placement was akin to censorship.
Shortly after the resolution passed, the Saline County Republican Party put messaging on a billboard on Interstate 30 near the library’s main location that stated, “Director Hector must go.” A second billboard went up at the same time accusing the library of providing “X-rated” books.
Hector and others pointed out that the books found controversial by some were those that did not agree with a political agenda, such as books supporting LGBTQ+ or race discussions.
In August, the quorum court passed an ordinance moving control of the library’s hiring and firing away from the library board and to the county judge, a position currently held by Matt Brumley.
Book placement was further mandated by Act 372, passed during the legislative session, which changes state code for endangering the welfare of a minor to include sexual material and removes protection for library workers. The federal district court in the western district of Arkansas temporarily blocked sections one and five of the act, essentially making it moot before it went into effect.
https://www.kark.com/news/local-news/...
IowaGender Queer: A Memoir
Failed 'Gender Queer' challenge prompts ballot measure to strip library of its independence
Voters in Pella, a town of about 10,500 residents 45 miles east of Des Moines, will be asked in a ballot proposition whether they support changing the structure of the Pella Public Library Board of Trustees to limit the board's authority over the library and give the City Council more control over policies and decisions.
The question comes after some community members attempted to restrict access to Maia Kobabe's controversial LGBTQ memoir "Gender Queer" at the Pella Public Library nearly two years ago. The library board ultimately voted to keep the book on the library's shelves.
Pella's library board, like most in Iowa, holds independent control of the library: While the Pella City Council appoints members to the board and approves the library's budget, the board has exclusive control over the library's affairs, how the money is spent and who is hired as its director. It also decides whether to keep books if community members challenge them.
If voters approve the referendum, the library board could become an advisory committee that makes recommendations to the City Council and has no formal authority to approve policies or spending or make decisions on hiring and books. Such changes would give the library a similar status to other city departments.
Even if voters approve the change, however, the City Council is not required to implement the new rules under Iowa law.
Supporters and opponents believe the principles at stake resonate far beyond Pella's borders, involving such fundamental issues as potential censorship, the interests of underrepresented communities, taxpayers' control of how their money is spent and the need to protect children from harmful material.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...
There is some good news, however.CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — CCSD students ask Board of Trustees to stop bringing politics to the classroom
Students missed tests in order to attend the meeting.
They said politics have trickled down into their classrooms and they felt like they had to be here and say something to stop adults from hindering their education.
"These decisions that they are making are only affecting us, and nobody else in that room is enrolled in CCSD," junior Brooks Wetmore said.
They said both teachers and students are frustrated the Board of Trustees and their recent decisions.
"As students, I think it’s our right to have a full reach of education and the fact that politics is blocking that from us is despicable," junior Sam Owens said.
They said they spoke to the delegation for their teachers who were afraid they might be met with retaliation.
"That shows how these issues are not playing to the whole community and the betterment of students," Wetmore said.
Moms for Liberty members stood up to speak at the meeting and claimed they did not have enough preparation to make a comment at that time.
Charleston County's Moms for Liberty Chapter Chair Tara Wood provided the following statement:
"The schools answer to the elected school board and the school board answers to the voters. That's our American system of accountability, and no one knows better than a parent how to educate a child. The voters spoke loud and clear last November. That's democracy."
https://abcnews4.com/news/local/ccsd-...
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Manybooks wrote: "If Sue Finkam really does not know enough to denounce Moms for Liberty she is ignorant and stupid, but she likely knows all about them and is either afraid of denouncing them or has been told by th..."The latter, I think. She's been told she's not a real Republican, not Conservative enough and threatened repeatedly yet they want her on the board so they can control her.
Just heard M4L and the other right-wing organizations trying to ban books, history and LGBTQ+ community members are funded by right-wing Trump supported organization the 1776 Project
(and other dark money supports them too).
https://epgn.com/2022/11/03/who-is-fu...
Just went to a webinar to learn how to fight book bans in public libraries. Hang on and I'll go post it in the right thread.
Cool newsMinnesota Native reading project teaches 'present tense' of Indigenous lives
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/10...
Voices from Pejuhutazizi: Dakota Stories and Storytellers
Mod
Sue Finkam should let the Republicans kick her out and sit as an independent (but that might sadly also put her on the extremists' hit lists and could even endanger her and her family's lives).
Mod
Frankly, students being misgendered and not having their choice of pronouns used in the classroom should simply refuse to respond and cooperate (but knowing Scott Moe, he would likely then introduce a bill to round up these students and send them to education camps).
Manybooks wrote: "https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...Frankly, students being misgendered and not having their choice of pronouns used in the classroom..."
Sorry to hear the U.S. parents have infected Sask. Florida isn't the only place with these kinds of hurtful laws.
Soundbite of the day comes from Jasper LaClaire, a former trans kid who endured bullying in Saskatchewan schools. LaClaire said trans kids deserve to be supported in schools and that those who frame the topic as parental rights are "choosing not to educate themselves" and "choosing not to understand."
"Kids know more than anybody else what they want for themselves," he said.
You should know you're fighting a losing battle when clergy come out in support of trans kids.
"Reverend Carla Blakley of the Lakeview United Church said they came to protect the rights of trans kids.
"There's a lot of situations where parents, they're not safe, churches are not safe, and kids can't tell their parents who they are and for those kids, we're standing up for their rights to be protected."
Villains of the day: Premier Scott Moe and parent Tonie Wells
Mod
Frankly, students being misgendered and not having their choice of pronouns use..."
Scott Moe has always been an extremist and has been vocal about not believing in covid vaccinations etc. Too bad that he keeps being elected but especially in rural Saskatchewan many seem to consider Moe as some kind of shining hero, sigh.
Interesting story with STUDENT voices. They seem to be enjoying learning African American history, especially the beginnings in Africa. They feel seen, their lives, their history matters.Students speak out about controversial AP course
"This isn't a political class. This isn't like choosing sides. It's history that everybody should know," junior Rosselyn Reyes told CBS News.
Jordan Love, also a junior, said the class changed the way he thought about Black history.
"There's a major difference between having somebody tell you that you're the ancestor of a slave family and having somebody tell you that you're the ancestry of an advanced civilization," he said.
Senior Kessiah Bing said she decided to take the class "to learn more about my people, my history," adding, "It's the truth."
Hasan Wright, a senior at Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High School in Los Angeles , rejected claims the class stoked racial division.
"If there was a class that was deliberately telling students to hate White people and hate this country, I would be against that class, too," Wright said. "I don't think we should teach hatred of any kind."
"My students come in excited"
At Dorsey High School, where the student body is mostly Black and Latino, the hope is the class will entice a demographic that hasn't sought out AP classes at the same rate as others.
"The excitement for me is starting in Africa, and for millions and millions of Black kids, Africa is born in them," teacher Donald Singleton said. "My students come in excited. They've done the reading. And they wonder, 'Wow, I never learned this in any of my other classes.'"
Singleton denies that the course indoctrinates his students.
"I inculcate my kids with the idea that you're just as beautiful, just as brilliant, as anyone else," he said. "That's my job every day."
He embraced the idea that he was empowering his students, and drew parallels to teaching bedrock American texts.
"If it's not about empowerment, why do you say the Pledge of Allegiance? Why do we teach about the Declaration of Independence? Why do we teach about the Constitution? Isn't that empowerment?" Singleton said.
...
Singleton said the curriculum is intended to be a roadmap and teachers are free to introduce additional topics, like the Black Lives Matter movement or reparations in California.
"Just because it's not gonna be tested on the exam, there's nothing that says you're not allowed to teach about these subjects," he said.
https://news.yahoo.com/students-speak...
I was really pleased to hear the American Pickers speak up about teaching the truth. In the most recent season that aired over the summer, Picker Mike Wolfe picked a relic of the Jim Crow south to donate to a museum. (Season 24, ep. 14) He and his picker client both spoke about how important and necessary it is to save these items even though it's uncomfortable. If you get rid of the item, you forget the history.
I think this is silly. All books have descriptions on the dust jacket flaps or back of the books, many have subject headings and non-fiction is in the non-fiction section by Dewey Decimal number and if the censors are too stupid to read those, are they going to read a lengthy description inside a book? no! They're going to continue to look at M4L and other social media trolls and wank about the pictures and dirty bits included in the books._____________________________________________
After LGBTQ library fight, a Michigan town tries something new: compromise
Patmos Library, Jamestown, Michigan is back in business
This small community in Ottawa County gained international attention last year when it twice voted to defund its library in a fight over LGBTQ-themed books. Donors from as far away as Australia, including romance novelist Nora Roberts, rushed to contribute to keep the doors open.
Since the spring of 2022, the train depot-themed library has been the epicenter of a rancorous fight over free speech and parental rights.
Slowly, the number of speakers at the monthly meetings who stood to claim that liberals are indoctrinating kids, or that conservatives hate gay people, has dwindled, said several people who attend regularly. Monday was the first time in at least 18 months that there was silence. Yard signs that last year urged residents to vote against the library millage to “protect our children” are gone, and board members — evenly split on the book issue a year ago — are now working together to try once again to win taxpayer funding in a special election Nov. 7.
The community has called a truce in the culture wars, by doing something neither side appeared willing to do a year ago:
Compromise.
None of the books that sparked furor have been removed, but all books are getting labels pasted to their inside covers that give readers a brief overview of the genre and subject matter. The labels will be copied from book descriptions from the Library of Congress or book-selling websites like Amazon. The labels won’t include anything written by the staff or the library board.
While not offering warnings, those descriptions could provide clues to parents about content some may find objectionable for their children. The process of adding labels to the library’s 90,000-volume collection could take years.
Another compromise: last year’s 10-year millage request that included a tax rate increase has been pared back to a three-year millage with no rate increase. If passed, homeowners would pay 0.419 per $1,000 of taxable value. A home with a taxable value of $200,000, for example, would pay $83.80 annually toward support of the library.
Last fall, current Board President Kathy Van Zandbergen displayed a “vote no” sign in her lawn on the outskirts of Jamestown village. On Tuesday, she wrote to Bridge Michigan in an email that the board now has a “common goal and focus.”
“We have a shared commitment to listen to our community and to ensure the library remains open and accessible for all,” Van Zandbergen wrote.
Dean Smith, chair of Jamestown Township planning board and treasurer of last year’s “vote no” campaign, said he’s unaware of any organized effort to urge residents to vote no this November.
“I have the checkbook (for the “vote no” campaign), and there’s $3.36 in it,” Smith said.
Until contacted by a Bridge reporter, Smith wasn’t aware that a new library millage was on the ballot in November.
Smith said he considers some of the controversial books in the Patmos Library to be “p____y,” but said he thought the two sides had done a good job finding a compromise.
A west Michigan library’s battle over LGBTQ-themed books goes to voters again in November
After more than a year of vitriol, a compromise may help the library reclaim taxpayer support
The library is currently staying open through donations from as far away as Australia
JAMESTOWN — Something unusual happened Monday evening at the monthly meeting of the Patmos Library Board. After an invitation for public comment, no one stood up to speak.
This small community in Ottawa County gained international attention last year when it twice voted to defund its library in a fight over LGBTQ-themed books. Donors from as far away as Australia, including romance novelist Nora Roberts, rushed to contribute to keep the doors open.
Since the spring of 2022, the train depot-themed library has been the epicenter of a rancorous fight over free speech and parental rights. Dozens of community members routinely showed up to meetings to take turns at a microphone, some labeling their neighbors with terms like “groomer” and “Nazi.”
Related:
Michigan library book bans: lessons from a federal Texas case
Romance author Nora Roberts helps save MI library defunded over LGBTQ books
Michigan town library defunded over LGBTQ books loses vote again, may close
Michigan GOP official: Shut down ‘by force’ public library with LGBTQ books
Slowly, the number of speakers at the monthly meetings who stood to claim that liberals are indoctrinating kids, or that conservatives hate gay people, has dwindled, said several people who attend regularly. Monday was the first time in at least 18 months that there was silence. Yard signs that last year urged residents to vote against the library millage to “protect our children” are gone, and board members — evenly split on the book issue a year ago — are now working together to try once again to win taxpayer funding in a special election Nov. 7.
The community has called a truce in the culture wars, by doing something neither side appeared willing to do a year ago:
Compromise.
None of the books that sparked the furor — including the graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir” — have been removed, but all books are getting labels pasted to their inside covers that give readers a brief overview of the genre and subject matter. The labels will be copied from book descriptions from the Library of Congress or book-selling websites like Amazon. The labels won’t include anything written by the staff or the library board.
While not offering warnings, those descriptions could provide clues to parents about content some may find objectionable for their children. For example, part of the description of “Gender Queer” on Amazon reads that the book is an “intensely cathartic autobiography” charting the author’s “journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.”
The process of adding labels to the library’s 90,000-volume collection could take years, staff members told Bridge. “Gender Queer” does not yet have a label.
Another compromise: last year’s 10-year millage request that included a tax rate increase has been pared back to a three-year millage with no rate increase. If passed, homeowners would pay 0.419 per $1,000 of taxable value. A home with a taxable value of $200,000, for example, would pay $83.80 annually toward support of the library.
Last fall, current Board President Kathy Van Zandbergen displayed a “vote no” sign in her lawn on the outskirts of Jamestown village. On Tuesday, she wrote to Bridge Michigan in an email that the board now has a “common goal and focus.”
“We have a shared commitment to listen to our community and to ensure the library remains open and accessible for all,” Van Zandbergen wrote.
Kathy Van Zandbergen speaking into a microphone
Kathy Van Zandbergen fought against funding the Patmos Library last year in a dispute over LGBTQ-themed books. Now, as board president and after a compromise at the library, she supports a November millage request. (Bridge photo by Ron French)
Culture war turns culture truce
The book battle began in Jamestown village and its surrounding Jamestown Township in the spring of 2022 over three books shelved in the library’s young adult graphic novel section. “Gender Queer: A Memoir” includes drawings that depict sex acts. That book has since been moved behind the circulation desk, where patrons wishing to check it out must request it.
Two other books involved in the original controversy, “Spinning” and “Kiss Number 8,” tell the stories of young women coming to terms with their sexuality but do not include sexually explicit illustrations.
Dean Smith, chair of Jamestown Township planning board and treasurer of last year’s “vote no” campaign, said he’s unaware of any organized effort to urge residents to vote no this November.
“I have the checkbook (for the “vote no” campaign), and there’s $3.36 in it,” Smith said.
Until contacted by a Bridge reporter, Smith wasn’t aware that a new library millage was on the ballot in November.
Smith said he considers some of the controversial books in the Patmos Library to be “pornography,” but said he thought the two sides had done a good job finding a compromise.
people sitting inside the Patmos Library
Patmos Library used to set out three chairs for residents at library board meetings. In 2022, board meetings became politically charged over LGBTQ-themed books, with large attendance including, center, Joe Moss, who is now the chair of the Ottawa County Commissioners. (Bridge file photo)
After an election last November, three of the six members on the library board are now residents who had expressed concern about the sexual content of some books meant for children or teens. “That makes people feel their views are represented,” Smith said. “And those members, once they got on the board, learned what is legal and not legal” about removing or restricting books in a public library, Smith said.
The labeling system is “a way to placate the no votes” while also being “common sense” to give young readers and their parents more information about books they are checking out, Smith said.
In August 2022, the library’s millage vote lost by 25 points; three months later, it lost by 12 points.
“I think things have died down over there,” Smith said. “To what extent those compromises have calmed the waters will be seen on election day.”
The library millage vote will be the only question on the Nov. 6 ballot. At Monday’s meeting, board members tweaked the wording of a flier promoting the millage that will be mailed out to residents and approved a bookmark urging residents to vote yes.
About 84 percent of the library’s $250,000 budget comes from township property taxes. The library has managed to stay open by using about $300,000 that was raised through GoFundMe campaigns, but is still expected to run out of money in the fall of 2024.
Without the millage, the library will be hobbled even earlier. Patmos is part of the Lakeland Library Cooperative, which provides services to local public libraries in west Michigan.
The cooperative sent a termination letter to Patmos, saying that the library will be cut off from services March 31 unless it has taxpayer support. The library would be cut off from the electronic system used to check books in and out, as well as statewide book loan services.
While Patmos librarians could revert to checking out books with library cards, “it would cripple the library,” said Lakeland Director Carol Dawe.
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-gov...
Bad news in northern Calif.Sunol school board refuses to reconsider flag policy
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/a...
The tiny East Bay community of Sunol, rocked by a bitter clash over LGBTQ rights in the local school, showed few signs of overcoming recent political divisions Tuesday night at a jam-packed school board meeting.
The three-person board was meeting for the first time since adopting a controversial policy last month that prevents Pride flags from being displayed at Sunol Glen School, igniting a community-wide skirmish that’s turned ugly at times.
About 100 people turned out for Tuesday’s meeting, which had three agenda items related to the flag ban, including a resolution to repeal the ban. After an hour of public discussion, none of the three items won enough support to come up for vote.
The previous regular meeting, on Sept. 12, devolved into chaos when the Board of Trustees opened discussion on a proposal to forbid all banners on campus other than the U.S. and California state flags.
The resolution was perceived by many in the school and community as targeting the Pride flag, and at that meeting about 150 people showed up — many of them in rainbow-colored attire — to condemn or support the policy.
Only about a quarter of the students actually live in Sunol — the rest are commuters. That means most of the families at Sunol Glen School do not have any control over who serves on the school board, which is elected by the roughly 600 registered voters of Sunol.
Earlier this month, a group of Sunol residents began a drive to recall the two school board members who voted in favor of the flag ban.
Three measures on Tuesday’s meeting agenda appeared to address the controversial flag resolution. Two of the measures were written by Peter Romo, the lone trustee who voted against the flag ban: a proposal to repeal the ban and another to express support for the school superintendent, who’s come under fire by the board chair and others for speaking against the ban.
The third measure, proposed by Jergensen, would “reaffirm” the district’s goal of supporting “the community of Sunol for ALL students.” All three measures were scheduled to be discussed together.
“School is no place for politics,” said parent James Lowder, who expressed support for the flag ban. “The only goal as school board members should be to educate our students, not involve them in partisan politics and culture wars.”
Parent Matt Sylvester — who opposed the flag ban — noted that educators and other school staff are capable of teaching students the basics while also promoting equality and inclusivity, including talking about LGBTQ issues or simply displaying a Pride flag.
“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Sylvester said. “So the school hung a Pride flag during the month of June for Pride month. So what? It doesn’t mean teachers stop teaching math and science.”
The flag ban was proposed at the board’s August meeting, after several community members — including Lowder — raised concerns about “special interest” flags being flown at the school.
Though none of those individuals specifically referenced the Pride flag, the requests came after the flag was displayed on a pole in front of the school in June, for Pride month. The flag previously had been displayed on a chain link fence, but after it was stolen a new one was hung on the flagpole.
The flag resolution also followed two earlier attempts by Hurley to raise anti-LGBTQ policies at the school that were eventually dropped. One of those resolutions involved supporting proposed state legislation that would require parents be notified if their children identify as transgender at school; that legislation died before coming up for vote.
Some good news out of Florida today:A federal appeals court has blocked a Florida law seeking to ban children from drag shows, in a blow for Governor Ron DeSantis.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed a ruling by District Judge Gregory Presnell that the anti-drag bill was not "sufficiently narrowly tailored" to protect free speech.
The DeSantis administration is appealing Presnell's ruling, issued in June, and his preliminary injunction that prevents Florida from enacting its law. The state's lawyers had requested a partial stay of the injunction, but this was rejected by the appeals court on Wednesday.
In its 2-1 decision, the court warned that "there is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon protected speech" if the law is allowed to stay in place until Florida's full appeal is heard.
https://www.newsweek.com/desantis-dra...
I attended a virtual drag storytime online and there were different types of drag performers. One was a glammed up drag artist, one just looked like a woman with makeup and rainbow shirt, one was a woman with a drawn on beard and moustache, top hat and glittery Victorian inspired clothing. I didn't see or hear anything that violates any rules except *gasp* they read LGBTQ+ themed books. If the censors really wanted to know, there are several YouTube videos they could watch. Instead they prefer to believe lies and misinformation.
Some good news out of Florida today:A federal appeals court has blocked a Florida law seeking to ban children from drag shows, in a blow for Governor Ron DeSantis.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed a ruling by District Judge Gregory Presnell that the anti-drag bill was not "sufficiently narrowly tailored" to protect free speech.
The DeSantis administration is appealing Presnell's ruling, issued in June, and his preliminary injunction that prevents Florida from enacting its law. The state's lawyers had requested a partial stay of the injunction, but this was rejected by the appeals court on Wednesday.
In its 2-1 decision, the court warned that "there is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon protected speech" if the law is allowed to stay in place until Florida's full appeal is heard.
https://www.newsweek.com/desantis-dra...
I attended a virtual drag storytime online and there were different types of drag performers. One was a glammed up drag artist, one just looked like a woman with makeup and rainbow shirt, one was a woman with a drawn on beard and moustache, top hat and glittery Victorian inspired clothing. I didn't see or hear anything that violates any rules except *gasp* they read LGBTQ+ themed books. If the censors really wanted to know, there are several YouTube videos they could watch. Instead they prefer to believe lies and misinformation.
The bad newsBook ban attempts on the rise in Minnesota schools
"An online petition circulating in Bloomington has raised questions about at least 29 books in the district’s elementary, middle and high schools that petitioners label as “sexually explicit.” More than 360 people have added their signatures to the petition — about 40 of whom are current Bloomington schools parents or caregivers.
The elementary books are not explicit, but they do feature transgender characters. The petition says they have “a concerning emphasis on transgender and transitioning.”
The boundaries of the debate were on display earlier this week at the school board’s most recent listening session as residents spoke for and against removing the books.
“This issue in front of the board is about sexually explicit and age appropriate content that is available without restrictions in our schools,” Sarah Steinbach told board members.
“Removing controversial books could set the district up for a lawsuit,” countered Melissa Rock. “It would be a huge disservice to our kids.”
“Our kids have identities due to their faith, morals, purpose and calling. It is not fair to our kids that they have to endure the constant barrage of messaging and material in the school environment that runs counter to their values,” added Alan Redding.
Other speakers expressed dismay over signs displayed on school walls or teachers’ clothing to indicate trans and bisexual students were welcome at school.
Bloomington school district officials say the books targeted by the petition will remain in circulation as the district forms a review committee to study the books’ content.
[Of course these people are seeing M4L's social media posts and using BookLooks to cherry pick the parts of the books they most object to without considering the book as a whole].
For Alan Redding, who has two students in Bloomington schools, signing the petition and showing up to talk to the board on Monday night were important. He said he’s long been trying to get the district to be more “politically neutral.”
He said he started worrying about books three years ago when his sons and their classmates were assigned reading material that included descriptions of sexual violence that made them and others uncomfortable.
“It was an affront to what they considered decent, and what they figured — how you should conduct yourself,” said Redding. “And they were unprepared for how graphic it was going to be, and unprepared for just really how dismissive the teaching was on it.”
Students directly affected by the issues in Bloomington schools have pushed back on the belief that books addressing their experiences and struggles are inappropriate to make available in the school library.
For Shae Ross, a senior at Jefferson High School who spoke at Monday’s listening session, the focus on trying to do away with books that have LGBTQ+ content is deeply concerning and personal.
“It is explicit in these peoples’ argument that the inclusion of queer and trans characters in books is somehow inappropriate and sexual but the inclusion of straight relationships or of cis people in children’s books is absolutely standard and normative,” said Shae, noting that they’ve experienced anti-gay and anti-trans discrimination since elementary school.
“A lot of us are queer or have very close LGBT friends, family members in our lives, and to see our identities labeled as inherently sexual, inherently violent, inherently graphic — stripped off of our shelves when our community is already facing tangible hate,” they said.
Being able to access books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes was a vital lifeline, Shae added.
“In middle school, I was still discovering myself as an LGBT person and access to LGBT literature in my middle school library at Olson Middle School helped me feel comfortable, safe, supported and valid and who I was at a time in my life where I was, at the moment, none of those things.”
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/10...
It sounds like there might be a problem with the teachers not knowing how to teach these books. Some training on how to teach sensitive material may go a long way towards making all students feel comfortable. However, if they're talking about library books, that's a personal decision students and their parents have to make for themselves.
SHOCKINGLY bad news from Montana. That Masters' Degree is what makes a librarian a librarian. They're trained and trained to manage libraries. While removing the requirement removes barriers for those who can't access that kind of education, for a library director, that M.L.I.S. is necessary.________________
State commission moves to strike standard for library directors
Under a proposed rule approved by the library commission, Montana’s eight largest public libraries would no longer have to employ directors with graduate degrees.
The Montana State Library Commission voted Wednesday to strike a longstanding professional requirement applied to the directors of Montana’s eight largest libraries, one that dictates whether those libraries qualify for state funding.
Currently, public libraries that serve more than 25,000 people must employ a director with a graduate degree in library or information science in order to qualify for state certification and, by extension, state revenue. A task force earlier this year recommended that the library commission maintain that requirement. However, several commissioners Wednesday argued that professional standards should be left to local library trustees to set.
“I don’t think that we, as a commission of seven, or the task force have the right to tell people in the biggest libraries in Montana — only eight of them — ‘You are not capable of deciding what your librarian should be,” commissioner Tammy Hall said. “I hope they require various degrees. I know they will. I would hope they will. But is it our place to tell them they have to? I don’t believe it is. I think it’s degrading to those libraries.”
Hall’s motion was supported by commission chair Robyn Scribner and commissioners Tom Burnett and Carmen Cuthbertson — all of whom were appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte — as well as state Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. Opposing the elimination of the graduate degree standard were vice chair Peggy Taylor, another Gianforte appointee, and Brian Rossmann, who was named to the commission in June by Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian. Rossmann noted at the start of Wednesday’s meeting that he is the only commission member who holds a master’s degree in library science.
Of the eight libraries that the standard applies to, only one is not in compliance: Kalispell’s ImagineIF Library. Trustees at the library, which has been beleaguered by culture war disputes in recent years, voted last year to hire Ashley Cummins as its director, despite her lack of a graduate degree. ImagineIF subsequently lost its state certification and, according to the Flathead Beacon, roughly $35,000 in annual state funding. Cummins announced her resignation this month — the third director to leave ImagineIF since 2021 — and shared her experiences with the state library commission Wednesday in support of eliminating the requirement.
“I was being billed as an uneducated, inexperienced, backwoods book-burning bigot,” Cummins said, referencing the backlash on social media and elsewhere to her hiring. “Library professionals that I have previously presented to at library conferences or worked with on collaborative projects were calling for my resignation before I ever stepped foot into the director’s office. It was a completely humiliating and totally dehumanizing experience.”
Cuthbertson, one of the five commissioners to vote for repealing the standard, also serves as a trustee at ImagineIF. Anticipating pushback on perceived ethical grounds, she told fellow commissioners that she consulted with Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, State Librarian Jennie Stapp and others and “came to the conclusion that my situation does not present a conflict of interest.” In a memo read aloud by Scribner, Juras supported Cuthbertson’s position, writing that she “does not have any private or personal interest” that would preclude her from voting on the standard.
The Kalispell library and its ongoing challenges were a recurring thread in the commission’s debate. ImagineIF trustee David Ingram voiced his support for striking the standard during public comment, arguing that the broad swath of Montana libraries are “allowed to hire a director as they see fit” while those in high-cost, high-growth areas are expected to navigate additional hurdles. Meanwhile, individuals who spoke in defense of the standard framed its elimination as a decision of statewide consequence made in the interests of a single community.
“I know for a fact you don’t want the Bozeman Library Board setting the standards for Kalispell,” said Bozeman Public Library Director Susan Gregory, “and we expect to have that sort of respect.”
Gregory added that Montanans expect their accountants, physicians and attorneys to meet certain educational benchmarks and that removing a similar standard for library directors sends the message that “librarianship is not a profession that needs a professional course of study or license.” Vice chair Taylor reiterated the sentiment ahead of the commission’s official vote, stating that as a licensed teacher, “I can’t lower standards for education, that’s just not in me to do.”
Hall’s motion to eliminate the graduate degree requirement passed 5-2. The commission’s draft rules will now be sent to the secretary of state’s office pending final adoption, and the public can continue to comment on them for 30 days.
On Wednesday, the commission also rejected a motion to hire a public information officer for the Montana State Library — a proposal that Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office had recommended and encouraged the commission to approve. In debating the proposal, Burnett said he was generally opposed to the hiring of more state employees, a position echoed by Arntzen, Cuthbertson and Hall. Arntzen further voiced a reluctance to take action on the proposal until the commission could see a job description and a detailed explanation of how the position would be funded.
Several opponents also questioned whether public messaging would be better left to the individual directors of various library programs, with Cuthbertson suggesting that they lean on the governor’s own public information staff to disseminate press releases. But those supportive of hiring a PIO argued that existing staffers aren’t necessarily trained in dealing with the public and the media, and having an employee dedicated to such responsibilities would be a greater use of state resources. Jennifer Birnel, director of the state library’s Montana Memory Project, told commissioners her current duties simply don’t afford her the time to broadly promote her work to the public.
“I feel like this is really important for our agency in more than one way to have somebody help us message and send through the proper channels those press releases and that kind of information about the work that we’re doing,” Birnel said.
https://montanafreepress.org/2023/10/...
Good news from the next generation of VirginiansHanover Girl Scout fights censorship with 'Banned Book Nooks'
As Virginia School Boards and libraries face debates over the content of the books on their shelves, one Hanover County student is pushing back. A Girl Scout, this student is hoping to put banned books in the hands of those she says need it most.
Reading a book is usually a silent activity, but if you tuned into the Hanover County School Board meeting in June, you’d hear the sounds of “ey’ votes removing 19 titles from the school system’s libraries.
The vote is also what got Hanover student and local Girl Scout Kate thinking.
“Personally, the idea of censorship to me is appalling and I think it's terrible,” she told Radio IQ in an interview at children’s bookstore BBGB in Richmond’s Carytown District.
Kate, we’re using only her first name because of her fear of online attacks, is 17 and first started watching county meetings as part of a high school civics assignment. A Girl Scout of 12 years, she spoke with her troop leaders, local librarians and educators, and even sympathetic members of the county’s Board of Supervisors to develop Free to Read, an effort to give access to banned books via in-person free libraries, called banned book nooks. It’s also her Gold Award project, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn.
“Understanding that that’s a reality for kids, even younger than high school, is really important,” she said.
Notably Kate isn’t providing all 19 books that were banned in June. Two titles by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club among other acclaimed but graphic works of fiction, were among those left off the list.
“I think those books should still be available, but I thought resources should be better spent in my case,” she said.
Among those participating in the project is Josh Morris, co-owner of Morr Donuts in Mechanicsville. Josh and their partner Caitlin were thrilled to participate, but faced a wave of online hate after they opened the banned book nook next to their donut counter.
BBGB Books, where Radio IQ interviewed Kate, is also doing its own display in support of Kate’s work. Owner Jill Stefanovich said she’s been supporting “banned books” in her children’s bookstore for years.
Evil censor of the day: M4L Bedford County chair Amy Snead
Snead and other Moms for Liberty members were in town to speak in support of his school policies limiting transgender students’ access in schools, and said they were invited to stand withGov. Youngkin by his staff.
In a statement a spokesperson for Youngkin said “Parental notification of sexually explicit material is not the same as the banning of books in schools.” Parental notification and opt-out policies were already in place before Snead and her group got involved in local school meetings. And Youngkin did not respond to questions about Hanover’s removal of books.
Snead said there were no books removed from Bedford County, but reporting from WSET suggests that wasn’t from a lack of trying.
"It didn't sit well that these had been reviewed without the complainant being a part of those conversations," Snead said after books she complained about were kept on the shelves.
Hanover is likely well on their way to banning more books from its schools. Tuesday night the school board approved the creation of a Library Materials Committee made up of citizens approved by the board. Complaints will first be filed with the school before being handed to the newly empowered committee. They’ll make the call to remove books subject only to appeals to the school board itself.
Kate, meanwhile, thinks all this public fighting and intervention is a symptom of a larger issue.
“They’re pouring all their energy into attacking the schools and school libraries when they should be having conversations with their kids about what they think about these issues,” she said. “If that’s what you’re trying to change, the solution is to communicate more clearly with your children.”
The Banned Book Nooks, available at Morr Donuts and Think In Ink in Ashland, are only part of Kate’ project. Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent protecting student demonstrations, she plans to bring some of the banned books directly into Hanover County Public schools via student-run reading groups in the coming week.
https://www.wvtf.org/news/2023-10-12/...
Go Kate!
On a special episode of the 5 Things podcast: The conversation about book bans in schools has hit a fever pitch, and there are worries that the same pressures to ban books are now spreading to public libraries too. Book bans often come from parent or community complaints. But who actually has the power to restrict books? To get to the heart of one of America’s growing culture wars, Nadine Farid Johnson, the Managing Director of PEN America Washington and Free Expressions Programs, joins the 5 Things podcast to describe what's at stake in this fight.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Tampa Bay Times: Be aware of the unseen cost of censorship in Florida's schools Opinion piece:
Why is it that the removal of a book — one that’s been an important work of literature for decades — can happen in an instant, but the preservation of a book takes an entire community spending seemingly endless hours in grueling advocacy?
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023...
Good news in North Carolina, at least in university centered area...Chapel Hill Library encourages patrons to support “the Right to Read”
The freedom to read is under attack according to Chapel Hill Library Director Susan Brown. “Libraries across the country and the state face coordinated campaigns to remove books from shelves, dismantle displays, and cancel programs,” Brown said in a press release about the library’s Right to Read campaign. The goal of the campaign is “to educate and engage our community about what’s happening and what they can do to voice their concerns.”
Hannah Olson, Chapel Hill Library’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator, told The Local Reporter that although Chapel Hill has all 13 most banned books on its shelves, the library hasn’t seen that level of censorship pressure. Even so, the library wanted to take a stand.
“The library staff developed the [Right to Read] campaign in response to the growing wave of book bans targeting marginalized voices, particularly Black and LGBTQIA+ authors and stories, in public libraries and schools,” Olson said in an interview.
The Right to Read campaign includes a library exhibit with information about frequently challenged books and ways to fight book bans. The library is also offering postcards Olson designed that feature statistics about censorship and book challenges. Brown said the library hopes patrons will use the postcards to contact elected officials, library boards and school boards, “urging them to reject book bans and to send messages of solidarity and support to those targeted by censorship, including librarians, teachers and authors.”
The postcards are free through October as long as supplies last.
Read on to see what a panel discussion had to say
https://thelocalreporter.press/chapel...
The Right-Wing Textbooks Shaping What Many Americans Know About HistoryTextbooks produced by Abeka, a publishing company that has long been part of the effort among conservative institutions to teach an airbrushed version of history—one that presents a narrow vision of a heroic, Christian, capitalist America. For the most part, these books have been limited to private schools and homeschools, though the founders of these networks always hoped to influence public life.
Historical evil censors :
Bob Jones university founder 1920s-1960s
Arlin and Rebeka Horton 1950s-1970s textbook publishers (still active publishing company)
started their own textbook publishing company — originally A Beka Books, At first, they purchased the copyrights for older, out-of-print textbooks and added biblical quotations and patriotic clip-art to the margins.
During the late 1970s, a network of white-dominated private religious schools grew rapidly. These schools promised to maintain prayer and traditional teaching. Most importantly, they promised a refuge from court-ordered desegregation efforts. These schools needed textbooks that would teach the lessons that parents who opposed such measures wanted their children to learn.
In response, Abeka expanded its publishing efforts. The company eventually published original textbooks in every subject, for every grade. The goal was to provide an alternative kind of curriculum, one that—in the words of one Abeka leader in 1979—would teach students to cherish the Bible, “master the three R’s,” maintain a healthy “respect for authority,” and develop “pride in America.”
The history content of Abeka textbooks was—and remains—dramatically distinct from mainstream books.
"white victimhood" and the evils of communism, anti-Black Lives Matter/activist
As of 2019, Abeka’s market included a large slice of America’s 1,689,726 homeschooled students as well as nearly three-quarters of a million students in “conservative Christian” private schools.
When it comes to Abeka’s vision of history in particular, the U.S. Supreme Court recently opened the door to an even broader potential impact. In 2022, in Carson v. Makin, the court’s 6-3 conservative majority decided that religious schools using Abeka textbooks could not be excluded from a state program that placed some high-school students in private schools.
https://time.com/6316978/conservative...
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Textbooks produced by Abeka, a publishing company that has long been part of the effort among conservative institutions to t..."
Honestly, if I were a student forced to use this kind of text book in class, I would publicly and openly deface the book in class and label the teacher a NAZI. It might get me in trouble, but it would make me feel so darn good (and I also hope that students consider doing the same).
Manybooks wrote: "Honestly, if I were a student forced to use this kind of text book in class, I would publicly and openly deface the book in class and label the teacher a NAZI. It might get me in trouble, but it would make me feel so darn good (and I also hope that students consider doing the same)."
You wouldn't even know there was a different viewpoint. These books are used in Christian and conservative homeschool families where they believe this version of history. They aren't aware these textbooks are brainwashing them. The story began with an anecdote about a country music singer's controversial video and how he went to a school that used this textbook.
Now, when more public schools start using this type of curriculum, and some are, the students will probably know the difference and hopefully stand up for teaching the truth. Kids aren't dumb. They have phones and watch TikTok videos, YouTube and text with friends. As more people move away from these ultra right-wing communities, kids will be in contact with their friends in more liberal truth-teaching friends and see the light. I hope so anyway. It will hopefully work the other way around too as ultra conservative parents bring their kids to conservative schools leaving behind the "too liberal leftist" education and hopefully the friends in the old school will keep in touch and teach their friends what's what.
Now here's a ridiculous, sexist problem that shows a lack of empathy and understanding on behalf of men. A Mighty Girl reports
Since 1994, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing has been the world's largest gathering of women in technology; this year, however, the event was overrun by droves of men, many of whom reportedly lied on their registration forms and claimed to be nonbinary in order to gain access to the event. Numerous conference-goers said that men made up nearly 40% of the attendees, especially at the career expo. Women reported that many male attendees were also aggressive, cutting in front of women to meet with recruiters and even shoving women out of the way.
Computer science student Morgan Young further observed, "It's supposed to be fun and collaborative. But the vibe was so different. You could feel the cutthroatness in the air."
Tanya Goette, a dean at Georgia College & State University, who has attended the conference numerous times said that there were many more men in attendance than usual and that they appeared to be mostly international students. "In the past, the atmosphere of the conference was very uplifting and inclusive," she said. "This year the atmosphere did not have that same feeling." Many female attendees were so disappointed by the experience that an online petition has been created calling for refunds for women due to the conference being overrun by men who engaged, as the petition details, in "sexual harassment, physical altercations and inappropriate behavior."
to protect the special space the conference has created for women in tech for nearly thirty years. As computer science student Nelly Azar reflected, this year's event shows "not only how fragile our spaces are, but why we need them more than ever."
A Mighty Girl recommends two excellent resources to help tween and teen girls learn how to assert themselves with confidence and let their voices be heard:
A Smart Girl's Guide to Knowing What to Say
Express Yourself: A Teen Girl’s Guide to Speaking Up and Being Who You Are
For books for children and teens about both real-life and fictional girls and women who confronted sex discrimination in a multitude of forms, visit the Sex Discrimination" book section at http://amgrl.co/1jdxKIy
For books for all ages about real-life girls and women who refused to be silenced, visit the blog post "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Girls & Women Who Fought for Change" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364
https://www.facebook.com/599305412227...
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/120384...
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A Mighty Girl reports
Since 1994, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing has ..."
Disgusting! And frankly, those disgusting morons who lied on their application about their gender should be singled out and individually shamed and named (and very much publicly so).
And those who shoved women out of the way, they should have also been arrested and charged with assault.
Spoke too soon about the textbooks. Some public schools are subscribing to this sort of curriculum.Montana- Conservative nonprofit obtains Montana textbook license
A national nonprofit recently licensed to provide instructional materials to Montana public schools is sparking controversy elsewhere in the country over its conservative leanings and its products’ handling of topics such as slavery, climate change and colonialism.
According to the Office of Public Instruction, Montana state Superintendent Elsie Arntzen signed a textbook license agreement Aug. 2 with Prager University, a nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2009 by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager. On its website, PragerU, which is not an accredited educational institution, says it “promotes American values” through the use of its videos and “offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media and education.” As of this fall, the organization is also an approved vendor of educational materials in Florida, Oklahoma and Texas.
Those approvals have generated criticism from civil rights groups, media watchdogs and educators who claim PragerU is attempting to push a right-wing agenda in public schools, one that critics allege undermines scientific findings and critical thinking. PragerU has done little to hide its aims, with CEO Marissa Streit telling TIME Magazine this fall that the nonprofit’s “kids” division was set up two years ago specifically to offer an alternative to critical race theory — a catch-all phrase used by conservatives to characterize lessons on racism they deem inappropriate or inaccurate.
OPI spokesperson Brian O’Leary told Montana Free Press via email this week that Arntzen was connected with PragerU by a Montana parent and spoke with a PragerU representative prior to signing the nonprofit’s license agreement. O’Leary repeatedly wrote that the superintendent “approves textbook dealers, not content,” and when asked about Arntzen’s reaction to widespread criticism of PragerU’s instructional materials as inaccurate and misleading, O’Leary issued this response:
“The Superintendent does not believe that licensing of textbook dealers should be politicized. The Superintendent does not review the content of textbooks, this is left to the local school district when making the decision to use curriculum material from a licensed dealer.”
[oh barf... listen to this drivel!]
[A] series of cartoons [featuring time traveling siblings], videos challenging modern efforts to mitigate climate change and characterizing British colonial rule over India as having “helped transform the country in many positive ways” including by spreading Christianity and Western values. Both series are part of a division of PragerU branded as “PragerU Kids” and available, for free, through the website.
PragerU also produced a short documentary this year called “Unwoke Inc.,” which spotlights an array of conservative celebrities including 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, writer and filmmaker Jeremy Boreing and Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac. In a trailer for the film, its host — self-described “leftist turned freethinker” Amala Ekpunobi — promises that “Together we can fight wokeism: in academia, in the culture, in business.”
When Clementine Lindley began looking into PragerU’s content this week, she said, she was “shocked.” Lindley told MTFP that as the mother of an openly gay eighth grader in Billings, she’s already witnessed firsthand how challenging a public school environment can be for queer youth. She referenced one PragerU video framing lessons on masculinity from a purely heterosexual perspective as an example of how the company’s presence in Montana classrooms could exacerbate the issues driving high rates of despair and suicide among LGBTQ students across the country.
“I’m almost at a loss for words, because it’s so counterintuitive to everything I know as a mental health advocate, as someone who understands peace and conflict,” Lindley said, noting that she has a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies and has conducted peer mediation in public schools. “It’s just literally mind-boggling.”
Lindley’s growing apprehension about PragerU’s open door to deal instructional content to Montana public schools was echoed this week by former Democratic Helena legislator Moffie Funk, founder of the political action group Montanans Organized for Education. In a statement to MTFP, Funk described Arntzen’s appearance in a video promoting PragerU Kids as “unfortunate.”
“The superintendent has no authority to approve textbooks, but the video both implies that she does and clearly demonstrates her support,” Funk said. “PragerU is a polarizing institution that is widely discredited.”
[Other videos discredit environmental science on how] birds are negatively impacted by wind turbines. In his view, the lesson overstated those impacts when compared to the mortality rates caused by roads, cell towers and lead poisoning.
According to Montana law, the only requirements for obtaining a textbook dealer license have to do with fair pricing of materials. Applicants are required to file a surety bond with the secretary of state’s office as well, at a rate set by the superintendent of public instruction (OPI disclosed that Arntzen set PragerU’s surety bond at $5,000). As long as a dealer meets those criteria, O’Leary told MTFP, the superintendent is required to issue a license.
From there it falls to local school administrators to select which textbooks from what vendors to use — a decision subject to the approval of local school board trustees. Rob Watson, executive director of the School Administrators of Montana, said that process is “fairly complex,” and that the adopted material has to meet statewide content standards established by the Board of Public Education. Districts can modify those standards to some degree, he continued, including adopting material that goes “above and beyond” what the state mandates.
“[Districts] have a fairly extensive selection process that includes a review cycle and a period of time where the public can review the resources and provide comment to the board before they adopt,” Watson said, adding he believes the process is “extensive enough” that concerns specific to a particular textbook dealer would be “caught” prior a board approving any content.
Whether any districts will turn to PragerU for content — and what content they express interest in — remains to be seen. Last month, the New Hampshire Board of Education approved a series of PragerU videos on financial literacy called “Cash Course” for remote use and for graduation credit. The approval, obtained in the face of considerable pushback, contrasted with Florida’s blanket greenlight for PragerU Kids videos to be shown in K-12 classrooms. While Lindley personally finds PragerU’s lessons “horrific,” she hopes any Montana schools that do work with the organization find ways to balance its narratives.
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/con...
Wilson County, Tenn. has a very high number of book challenges perpetuated by people who do not actually have children or grandchildren in public schools. The school board is reviewing its Library Materials policy trying to curb this ridiculousness. "“There is a concern that there is a very small group of people driving these small requests for review,” Carrie Pfeiffer, vice chair of the school board, said.
According to Pfeiffer, 18 books have been challenged this year, with 10 more on the docket. “Our policy was written to basically allow any citizen in Wilson County to challenge a book.”
On Wednesday night, school board members are taking a second look at their policy.
“I wanted to see who was doing all of the challenges, have they gone through all the proper channels and have they read the books?” said Kristi Dunn, Wilson County resident.
“All of the book challenges except for one person are coming from people that don’t even have children or grandchildren in the school system,” Dunn said.
“I can confirm that what is being said by those who made the public records request is true,” Pfeiffer said.
With two more books on the agenda for Wednesday night and more debate expected, Dunn said she wishes the issue could be put to bed, so the school board can focus on other priorities.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/...
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/...
SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO SEVERAL ILLINOIS LIBRARY BOMB THREATSThis week, 23-year-old Jacob Spiro from Skokie, Illinois, was arrested in connection with several of those bomb threats.
Several of the north suburban police departments worked together to bring about the arrest. Spiro now faces a pair of felony charges related to making false terrorist threats and disorderly conduct. These are in connection with bomb threats in Skokie, Glenview, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbook, and Wilmette that include a Goodwill store, Wendy’s, Mariano’s grocery store, and threats made at the Morton Grove Public Library and the Skokie Public Library.
The two threats received by the Wilmette Public Library are not yet part of this series of charges. They may be added.
Digital forensics linked Spiro to the 11 bomb threats in Niles between September and October. 16 threats in Skokie came in the same time period, and they included local schools. Five additional bomb threats, dating back to March of this year, were also linked to Spiro.
Spiro had a preliminary court appearance Wednesday, October 11. Prosecutors in the case stated that Spiro admitted to the threats and did them because he enjoyed being excited. It appears as though Spiro had been enrolled in his middle school years at a facility that specializes in mental and behavioral health challenges. It is possible that in the coming weeks, the motivation behind the bomb threats may emerge less as part of a coordinated effort by political influence and instead from personal mental health challenges. Arrest does not presuppose guilt or innocence, as this story continues to unfold.
https://bookriot.com/suspected-arrest...
More on textbooks -Miami-Dade, Florida
Miami-Dade Schools adopt social studies books, community has 30 days to challenge process
The Miami-Dade County School Board Wednesday approved new social studies textbooks and instructional materials for grades K-12 without any discussion, even though an outcry arose earlier this year about the state approving books that deleted references to racism. But before the district can implement the 20 titles for courses ranging from to Grade K social studies to AP Macro Economics, the public can object to the procedures surrounding the adoption process, not the materials themselves. The challenge period begins Wednesday and lasts for 30 days. The adoption of new textbooks is part of the state’s effort to move away from the Common Core standards and adopt new standards, the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking, or B.E.S.T., approved in 2020 by the Florida Department of Education. The social studies textbooks are the final curriculum to be overhauled.
The new standards, however, have come under fire in recent months — concerns that were again raised by a handful of people Wednesday. One speaker, Crystal Etienne, a Homestead seventh-grade civics teacher, argued the standards were written by majority “right-leaning groups.” Teachers are “constantly attacked and accused without defense for indoctrinating students. But when you look at these standards and these books, tell me who is doing the indoctrination,” she told board members. Another speaker, Holly Zwerling, president of the Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida, called out the fourth-grade book for what she said was the exclusion of the definition of slavery. She also argued that while board members have said teachers can use supplemental materials, teachers are afraid to do so in the current political environment.
Various textbook review committees composed of about 1,100 district parents, teachers and education professionals recommended the books to the board, according to staff. The committees reviewed a list of textbooks from the state’s approved list, which was announced in May by the state education department, before recommending the select titles to the board.
The initial list of state-approved titles was heavily criticized for including books that were approved only after the department worked with publishers who “updated their materials to comply” with state standards.
One of those changes was the removal of a section titled “New Calls for Social Justice,” which included topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and references to the murder of George Floyd in 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...
Good newsLAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14) — In a 6-1 vote the Las Cruces Public Schools book review committee ruled to keep a controversial book that sparked major debate. Jack of Hearts
LCPS received the complaint August 10 from Sarah Smith and Juan Garcia.
“In a taxpayer funded school this book doesn’t have any place," Smith said.
The book is listed on a state approved list for high school students, according to a spokesperson with LCPS.
Out of the four high schools in Las Cruces, the book was only available at Mayfield High School and had only been checked out once, according to a spokesperson from LCPS.
"I found out that this book was in Mayfield high school and when I look at the context of the book it was clear that it’s really inappropriate for children," Smith said.
Not everyone who attended the meeting was against the book.
“As soon as I found out it was being challenged I got the book and read it and thought about it in the perspective of a middle school parent parent and since it’s in a high school I don’t have a problem with it,” Deena Baker, a Las Cruces resident, said.
The complainants have the opportunity to file an appeal in the following 10 days.
Smith says she "absolutely" plans to do so.
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/las-cru...
Excellent news from Boston - I already did this and sent a whole BOX of books and paid shipping. Boston activists offer to send banned books to Florida residents for only cost of shipping
Boston activists, including tech entrepreneur Paul English who co-founded the travel site Kayak, are offering to send banned books to anyone living in Florida for nearly no cost.
English and Joyce Linehan, a former Boston city official and current member of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, launched BannedBooksUSA.org which offers Florida residents their choice from dozens of books for free. Recipients can select one book per order and must pay a $3.99 shipping charge, the organization said.
Other partners in the project include the non-profit Electric Literature, which will help compile the list of restricted or banned books, and online bookseller Bookshop.Org, which will oversee order fulfillment.
English committed $100,000 to fund the project and the group said they plan to continue raising money for the effort.
“These bans mirror the attempts made by repressive regimes throughout history who try to control the thoughts of, and information provided to, their citizens. Individuals should be given the trust to read any book and make their own judgments," English said in a statement provided by the organization.
In addition to offering the books for free, the project said it plans to donate $1 for every order to the Florida Freedom to Read Project and 10% of the cover price of each book will be used toward Bookshop.Org's project to support independent booksellers in Florida.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/banned-b...
Interesting news.Conservative leaders banned books. Now Black museums are bracing for big crowds.
Marvin Dulaney can’t always field enough staff on Saturdays to serve the growing crowds visiting the African American Museum of Dallas.
The number of visitors has nearly doubled in recent years and Dulaney expects it will continue to climb as more states try to limit some teachings of Black history and ban more books.
“When you say to people, ‘You can’t read these books or you can’t read this information.’ What are they going to do?’’ said Dulaney, the museum’s deputy director. “They're going to defy you and read those books and also go learn that information that you don't want them to know.’’
Dulaney and others who head museums that focus on the Black experience in the United States expect more people will turn to their institutions to learn more in the wake of efforts to restrict Black history teachings in public schools. Some say they are already seeing more visitors, while others point to anecdotal evidence that interest is on the rise.
“Across the country, we're seeing this wave of people whose blinders have been on or their history lessons have been kind of watered down for them and they want the true story so they want to come into our museums,’’ said Vedet Coleman-Robinson, executive director of the Association of African American Museums.
Black museums across the country – large and small – have provided a space for people to learn about Black history. That mission is even more important now, historians said.
“All this talk about history is making folks more curious about history,’’ said Tonya Matthews, president and chief executive officer of the new International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.
At the African American Museum in Dallas, the 100-person seat auditorium is often packed for Thursday night panels. In the past, only 25 visitors would be in the space.
Dulaney said initial eagerness to get out after COVID was the driving force behind the jump, but he believes renewed interest in Black history has been a major factor in surging attendance. None of the other museums in the city focus on the Black experience, he said.
“We always bragged that we're not only the best game, but the only game in town in terms of being able to learn about Black history,’’ said Dulaney, also president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which held a panel on teaching Black history at its conference in Florida this summer.
Dulaney also attributes the increase in visitors to efforts to push back against a campaign by mostly conservative lawmakers to restrict teachings of Black history in public schools in some states, including Alabama, Florida and Texas. He said movements to ban some books mostly by Black authors have also spurred interest.
In response to growing interest, the museum plans to restart a community African American history course this month.
Educators are looking to supplement history lessons and find ways for students to access more history, including through museums, said Neil A. Barclay, president and CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit.
“We believe that there's an interest in not only learning about African American history, but also finding creative and innovative ways to teach that history to young people,’’ Barclay said.
...
Michael Morris, director of the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, said he took notice one recent Saturday when he saw a group of about 20 Black boys visiting from New Orleans. It didn’t appear to be a traditional school field trip. It was a weekend. The group spent hours exploring the museum.
“They wanted to make sure that they got the real history,’’ said Morris.
Morris said he doesn’t know if there’s more interest in visiting the museum, which is still recovering after closing four months during the COVID pandemic. But he said there’s been interest in the mission of the museum, which features exhibits about the brutality of Jim Crow and slavery and the fight by civil rights activists for equality for Black citizens. More than 600,000 people have visited the museum since it opened six years ago.
Some other groups that focus on sharing Black history have also seen interest grow.
On one recent Saturday, the Gullah Heritage Trail Tours bus wheeled its way around Hilton Head stopping at sites where visitors could learn more about the island’s Gullah Geechee community. The community is home to descendants of enslaved Africans who because of their isolation on the island was able to hold onto some African customs and create a unique and rich culture.
In the last five years more Black customers have joined the tours, said Irvin Campbell, one of the founding partners of the 27-year-old company. Unlike in the past, most customers in recent months have been Black.
Campbell said he’s expecting more Black customers and plans to train more guides and drivers.
“It would do wonders for our community…to know more about who we are and what we’re about,” he said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Margaret AtwoodMargaret Atwood speaks out against anti-LGBTQ+ book-bans in Hungary
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/10/1...
Black history teacher takes Florida education standards complaints to the UNRenee O'Connor, nominated for Miami-Dade Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2022, is on sabbatical. She taught African-American History elective and AP courses for 12 years. That changed this summer when she saw new guidelines for colleagues in middle schools to begin teaching students "How slaves developed skills in which some instances could be applied for their personal benefit."
"It was that moment that was really the nail in the coffin for me," O'Connor said. "I think when you're in the classroom you have to worry about what your principal is going to say, what the district is going to feel about a teacher standing up for herself, for her students and for this really important class. Since I am not in the classroom (I) have opportunity to do things such as go to Geneva."
Members of Florida's Community Justice Project invited O'Connor and three others to travel with a group scheduled to meet the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Along with representatives of Dream Defenders, Florida Rising, Power U Center for Social Change, Novo Collegian Alliance, and SURU, the Community Justice Project published a 16-page report called "Florida: A Shadow Over the Sunshine State."
LOCAL NEWS
Black history teacher takes Florida education standards complaints to the UN
miami
BY LARRY SEWARD
UPDATED ON: OCTOBER 12, 2023 / 11:00 PM / CBS MIAMI
MIAMI - A Miami-Dade teacher packed her bags to haul complaints about Florida education standards overseas to the United Nations.
Renee O'Connor, nominated for Miami-Dade Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2022, is on sabbatical. She taught African-American History elective and AP courses for 12 years. That changed this summer when she saw new guidelines for colleagues in middle schools to begin teaching students "How slaves developed skills in which some instances could be applied for their personal benefit."
"It was that moment that was really the nail in the coffin for me," O'Connor said. "I think when you're in the classroom you have to worry about what your principal is going to say, what the district is going to feel about a teacher standing up for herself, for her students and for this really important class. Since I am not in the classroom (I) have opportunity to do things such as go to Geneva."
Members of Florida's Community Justice Project invited O'Connor and three others to travel with a group scheduled to meet the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Along with representatives of Dream Defenders, Florida Rising, Power U Center for Social Change, Novo Collegian Alliance, and SURU, the Community Justice Project published a 16-page report called "Florida: A Shadow Over the Sunshine State."
The report published September 12th chronicles what authors consider "alarming and rapidly metastasizing developments in Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis." The report claims state tactics "stoke fear" in marginalized communities, restrict freedom of expression, stifle truth in education, and attacks immigrant communities.
the UN's Human Rights Committee invited the Community Justice Project's group to testify about problems in Florida next week in Geneva, Switzerland.
O'Connor, Miami Northwestern Senior High School student Ebony Felton, May 2023 graduate New College of Florida Madison Markham, and Maven Leadership Collective founder Corey Davis will testify. All provided written statements.
O'Connor expects to have one minute to speak. Her speech is ready.
"I hope that my voice will be the voice of teachers that are afraid to speak up or don't have the opportunity to speak up," O'Connor said. "I'm really doing this for all my students."
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/bl...
More stories from Literary Activismhttps://literaryactivism.substack.com...
It’s in response to this national trend that the Wood County library [WV] is changing their Collection Development Policy, which includes the procedure for challenging books and other materials in the library collection. As of Sept. 19, the library requires all challenges to come from active library card holders. Challenges are limited to two titles at a time, submitted separately. The library will also make an announcement when titles are challenged to enable public input."
A Colorado court just ruled that library reconsideration request forms, if FOIAd, cannot include information about the people or groups behind them.
It was a boisterous meeting Monday night for the Burke County (North Carolina) Board of Education after dozens of people were bussed to the meeting to ask the board to remove some books from school libraries."
The ACLU condemns the Yorkville School Board (IL) for removing Just Mercy from classrooms. This story has involved students demanding their voices be heard, but the board does not care.
The mayor of Daytona Beach (FL) is concerned a book fair about banned books in the area is going to include banned books.
Mod
I am glad that the NHL's ban on pride sports tape has actually increased sales. But honestly, from now on, I am going to call the NHL not the National Hockey League but instead the National Homophobia League.
Mod
So in the USA and in Canada, it is acceptable to openly and disgustingly support what Hamas did? Thankfully, not the case in Germany and many other European countries (and frankly, much of the rise of Anti Semitism in Europe comes from Islamists, comes from supporters of ISIS and the like). And honestly, and in my opinion, anti semitic words, protests and violence done by non citizens, by migrants and by refugees should definitely result in deportation.
Manybooks wrote: So in the USA and in Canada, it is acceptable to openly and disgustingly support what Hamas did?"The answer is... it depends.
First Amendment free speech? Hate speech? How "woke" are you? Apparently it's "woke" to support Palestine. Yet the part of the city up from Brown University, a super "woke" school, has many Orthodox families from Israel.
In Aurora, ColoradoParents turn out in force to clash and support Cherry Creek in shadow of allegations of library ‘pr0n’
Hundreds of people turned out Monday to a Cherry Creek School board meeting, insisting that critics of controversial library materials are spreading misinformation about books associated with sexuality.
“When we start letting parents walk into our libraries to pull books off the shelf and then declare them as p___graphic or unacceptable in some way, then we no longer have intellectual freedom in schools”
parent Heidi Parish told school board members and the audience.
Of the 200-300 people estimated at the school board meeting, held at Prairie Middle School, the vast majority came to support the school district’s policies regarding potentially sensitive materials in public school libraries.
Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, said that her organization has not done anything that was anti-LGBTQ and that they support all students. She also questioned why it was considered hateful to the LGBTQ community to protect them from p___n?
On Monday, however, most parents stood behind school district officials in saying that allegations by Gimelshteyn and other critics are false, and that her group and others are spreading politicized misinformation about not just the materials, but who in schools has access to them.
The public battle comes just weeks after Superintendent Chris Smith told families that school employees received hundreds of emails, phone calls and voice messages from parents who had been misled and misinformed by activists about explicit books in elementary school libraries. The controversy eventually led to a bomb threat which was eventually discredited. The Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the case.
The threat to Cherry Creek came after Libs of Tiktok, which the Anti-Defamation League defines as “a popular anti-LGBTQ” social media account, published a blog post encouraging their followers to contact Cherry Creek about the alleged explicit books. CPAN made a Facebook post echoing Libs of TikTok’s sentiments.
This week, CPAN and Turning Point USA rallied on local social media and encouraged community members to turn out to the Cherry Creek school board meeting Monday.
The Anti-Defamation League describes Turning Point as a conservative nonprofit group, whose founder promotes Christian nationalism, and the group attracts white nationalists.
CPAN is a statewide organization that advocates for “rigorous, non-political, safe and fulfilling educational experience for all students.” The group, however, has collaborated with conservative organizations such as Libs of TikTok, an organization that encouraged people to contact Cherry Creek about sexually explicit books.
Outside of the school where the school board meeting was held, a few dozen supporters of CPAN, Turning Point and Colorado Log Cabin Republicans — representing politically conservative gay and lesbian voters — gathered in front of a pickup truck where an American flag sat in the truck bed.
Many dozens more stood on the sidewalk in front of the school carrying rainbow umbrellas and signs that read, “just one accepting adult can save a queer person’s life…protect trans kids” and “protect queer kids.”
Drew Paterson erroneously claimed the memoir “Gender Queer,” written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe, (view spoiler)
The book is a “graphic novel,” using drawn caricatures in the style of a comic book. (view spoiler)
Critics of the organization calling out the materials say the activist groups not only spread disinformation about the character, content and locations of the books, but are anti-LGBTQ in their tactics.
Gimelshteyn said that the book “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, which critics claim is sexually explicit, was available in elementary schools.
The Sentinel has previously reported that the school district does not carry Kobabe’s or Johnson’s book in local elementary schools. They are, however, available in some middle school and high school libraries, which carry a variety of books about biology, psychology, human sexuality and development.
Despite the critics’ allegations, the majority of people who turned out for the meeting expressed support for district leaders, teachers, inclusion in school library books and the LGBTQ community.
https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/pa...
East Seatucket, NYInternet controversy over a novel taught to Ward Melville High School juniors spilled over into the public comment section of a board of education meeting Wednesday, Sept. 27, when two concerned parents stood up to support the book and caution against efforts to ban it.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
The administration has received calls in favor of and against the novel, but there have been no official requests from parents of students actually studying the book, according to Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Brian Biscari. “It’s a bigger online issue than an actual issue,” Biscari said.
The controversy started when a parent shared a passage mentioning (view spoiler) in a screenshot on a local Facebook group, Three Village Moms, where it was both attacked and supported in a series of nearly 500 comments. Some commenters expressed concern over sexualizing children too early, or that the passages may be too explicit for required reading in a Regents course.
Others asked their peers to consider the passage in context of the entire book, or worried the rhetoric might foment into a movement to ban the book, in light of efforts to censor literature at school districts nationwide.
Biscari noted that the district is happy to provide a list of novels taught in Three Village schools to parents who ask, and there is a clear process for parents to request for a materials review for novels in their child’s grade level if they have a concern. If that process does not go the way parents hope, he added, each parent is also welcome to opt a child out of a particular book.
On Alexie’s book, though, Biscari said most of the calls he’s gotten are from parents “who love the fact that there’s a book their kids can read and relate to.”
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/high-school-...
Good news in MichiganCaro Library Board denies appeals to relocate sex-ed books
During the board's October meeting on Tuesday evening, appeals to relocate three books, "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris, "Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU" by Corey Silverberg, and "Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human," by Erica Moen, were denied by the library board. Each book had a different appeal to relocate it to a new library section.
All seven board members and the library director attended the meeting and took a roll-call vote for each appeal to relocate the books from the children's and teens' catalog to the adult catalog. Also present was the library's attorney, Anne Seurynck.
During the meeting, several community members took part in the public comment period and reiterated the statement on how they disagreed with the library's director's decision. One man said he believes the "issue isn't about the books, it's more of a personal agenda." Another said the books don't need to be in children's hands at all, although they are children's books. The total public comment period lasted about the first 30 minutes of the meeting.
Before the board gave its decision, it went into a closed session to discuss the matter. After about 30 minutes of discussion, the board came back and Seurynck explained the issue about the books. She noted the First Amendment and how the books have not been labeled as obscene by any book publisher, as well as the difference in policies between a school library and a public library.
"Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human," by Erica Moen was voted 7 yeas, with zero nays to deny the request to relocate from the young teens section to the adult section.
"Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU" by Corey Silverberg, was voted 6 yeas, 1 nay to relocate the book from the children's to adult section. Board member Sherri Hoy explained that she believes that the board is doing a disservice by leaving this particular book in the children's section.
"It should be moved to the teen's section," Hoy said "The content of the material is just too much for the little ones. I know we're not the parents, but they still seek through. It's my opinion that it's wrong to leave this book in this section. I think we are being remised to the people that voted for us and I think it's wrong. We have to compromise, and I hope they're willing to compromise that we can put those two books in the teen's section."
"It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris, was voted 5 yeas, 2 nays in a roll call vote. Board member Jordyn Nordstrom stated that because of the age group range that the book is recommended for, she believes this book should have been put in the teen section of the library.
After the meeting, Library Director Erin Schmandt said she was glad the issue was resolved. The library board votes are final, and no further appeals or request for reconsideration forms can be filed regarding these three books.
https://www.michigansthumb.com/news/a...
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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There are six candidates running for three of the nine seats on the board and they are sharply divided on issues such as whether to put restrictions on books in school libraries that may contain what some consider inappropriate sexual content.
Jim Poore, who is running in Ward 1, Michael Wagner, who is running in Ward 3, and Tara Finn, a Ward 6 candidate, all favor restrictions
Their opponents contend the current school policy of allowing parents to decide if their children will be prevented from seeing certain books is adequate.
Those candidates are incumbent Dianne Sawyer, who is running against Poore in Ward 1; Aaron Bennett, who is facing Wagner in Ward 3, and incumbent Scott Demenici, who is being challenged by Finn in Ward 6.
There are also several incumbents running unopposed for re-election. They are William Larson in Ward 2, Lynn Porto in Ward 4, Chris Frappier in Ward 5 and at-large members Shannon Johnson, Jim Stors, and Robert Geddes.
James Poore admires Donald Trump
https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/...