Hi everyone,
I'm enjoying the useful information from this list
serve. As a new LMS, it's been an invaluable source
of advice and comfort! However, the subject of
questionable books raises questions of my own.
I am in a 3-4 grade school. I am not aware of any
titles that have been censored by the school personnel
or parent complaints. My district does have a
complaint/challenge "form" that anyone must complete
before raising the issue. It and the book is then
reviewed by a committee before a decision is made.
However, that still leaves me with questions. I have
not seen this process in action - and hope I don't,
but will admit to being curious.
I am currently pursuing my degree, but since I just
started classes Thursday, I am still clueless about
the selection process, etc. I have had this
discussion with my principal about the Harry Potter
books. As a classroom teacher, I was censored by a
parent - one of the same family who later forbid our
library from carrying the books. I'm not sure of the
legalities of this - but in a small rural town the
my-last-name-is-important mentatlity still exists
unfortunately.
However, I'm in a new district, but still a small
town. To make a long story short, my principal
personally does not care for Harry Potter, but she has
not censored them from the shelves. I personally love
Harry, but am deathly afraid to read or recommend it
to students. The first day of class, I had a student
ask me if HP was bad...and said it went against the
Bible. I handled it best I could, but am afraid
trouble may be brewing just by my having it on the
shelves. I wisely(?) reminded the child to always
follow his parents instructions and guidance when it
comes to things like this...I wasn't sure what else to
say.
My principal also mentioned several of the Newberry
titles as being a bit mature for our kids. She
advised me to make sure the content was on our kids
level - she wants them to be kids and not exposed to
other subject any sooner than necessary. I agree with
that...but I'm getting the feeling that as a
librarian, I shouldn't. I think I did another bad(?)
thing...as I ordered books for our Scholastic book
fair, I asked for 4-6 grade non-controversial titles.
Was that terribly wrong of me?
My personal stance is that censorship is wrong - but
I'm an adult capable of deciding what I expose myself
to. I feel that as an adult, it's my responsibility
to "guard" these children as if they were my own.
Well, maybe guard is too harsh a term. I want them to
make responsible decisions that follow the guidelines
their parents/beliefs set. There are some titles,
even classics, that aren't suited to a 10-year old.
So, where does that leave me? I am new to this job
and district and certainly don't want to start off on
the wrong foot. Give me advice...before I go too far!
Holly Gillum, LMS
Anderson Elementary
Crossett, AR
hagillum@yahoo.com
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