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Peterson, Karyn M. NCAC: school visits nixed for Medina, Rowell. School Library Journal. School Library Journal, Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2013/09/censorship/ncac-school-visits-nixed-for-medina-rowell/
Banned Books Week has just ended (September 22-28) and schools and libraries have all celebrated in different ways. As for two schools in Virginia and Minnesota, banned books week became a controversy other than a celebration.
Let me ask you this: Is it right to continue to "ban" books from children? Were the principal and parents right to censor these author's works? What can we do as educators to help this still present problem?
Building student awareness of the book banning practice in some school libraries is key to taking back the freedom to read. The Banned Book Display in my middle school library this past week inspired passionate conversations among students about the injustice of banning books and also expanded their awareness that not everyone in the country thinks as liberally as most Bay Areans.
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ReplyDeleteI have to say I have read both of these books, and although the language can be sketchy at times, so are the ethics of a bully. I think that we have some administration that is still living in the golden age and need to evolve into the present day. The ALA states that we do not have the right to remove books just because "we" feel they should be removed. Banning books takes away the freedom to expand our ideas on topic areas that need to be put on the front burner.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I am lucky to live in a super liberal town and don't hear much about banning books. Our libraries, both public and school, do big Banned Book week events and there is a lot of shock that banning books still goes on. We just had Sherman Alexie (who's book was also recently banned) here for a sold out author event.
ReplyDeleteI just read both of the books mentioned above and loved them. I feel the issues they raised are so important for the high school students I work with. "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass" may be the best anti-bullying book I've ever read and it definitely appeals to the kids with its outrageous title.
As a parent, and educator, I tell my kids they can read anything they want as long as we talk about it. I'd rather have a discussion about bullying with a child who read "Yaqui Delgado" than have my kids get their messages from Glee or some other popular TV show.
Shannon