No Subject

[Chris Finer <cfiner@NEWFOUND.K12.NH.US>]

Charlotte wrote:

                 Dear Friends:
                 I am in the position of having to defend some books to a
parent who has
                 never been happy about her daughter's reading material.
Last year the
                 daughter had _Maniac McGee_, among others.

[snip]
                 We are trying to arrange a meeting with the mother, me, and the
                 administrator.
[snip]        We have suggested to her that she
                 may come to the library with the child and monitor her
selection, but that
                 I cannot monitor one child out of a class of twenty-two.
Anybody have any
                 pithy phrases or ideas?

                 Thanks,

                 Charlotte

Chris replies:

Why is the parent making this YOUR problem?  It sounds as if the kid is
savvy enough to know what her mother does and does not want her to read and
the kid is managing to put you in the middle.

I am at the high school level, and when somebody attempts to check out
something potentially controversial, I ask them to tell me honestly whether
it would be objected to by a parent.  I almost always get an honest,
forthright answer, and sometimes I will call before I send the book out.
My point is, though, that the STUDENT needs to make a judgement about
appropriateness.  I'll bet your student knows JUST what will tick her
mother off.  Fun game...

Anyway, MHO.  Good luck and keep us all posted.


Chris Finer, LMG
Library Media Program
Newfound Regional High School
Bristol, NH

cfiner@newfound.k12.nh.us

There's no use going to school
unless your final destination is
the library.
                   --after Ray Bradbury

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