Although I have had no problems with "The Golem" in past schools and am
familiar with the book and the legend, I am concerned with the
superintendent's mixed message of a book being "inappropriate" because of
the "violence" and the "religion"? (Isn't that supposed to be "violence and
sex"?)
Would "Prayers for A Child" (Caldecott winner, 1945) be unacceptable
because of the "religious" implications? What about "Animals of the Bible"
(Caldecott winner, 1938)--don't animals bite, maim and kill? Isn't that
violent? Do the animals of the Bible act better or worse than the animals
of the Koran or the Torah?
Would "Where the Wild Things Are?"-- Caldecott winner, 1964 (with the
monsters showing their terrible claws and rolling their terrible eyes) be
considered "violent" also? Is it condoning violence to allow Max to dress
up in his Wild Thing suit and run with a fork in his hand? (And talking
back to his mother!!)
Is "The Egg Tree" a Christian tradition at Easter? Would that book
(Caldecott winner, 1951) be inappropriate to read as Easter grows closer?
Should we "prune" this book from our collections?
I'm going to "extremes" to demonstrate how extreme some people take simple,
innocent educational materials and escalate the lesson to a "what if"
session that must be molded into today's politically-correct society.
Teaching children ABOUT folk lore and religions is not against the law.
Teaching that there is only ONE correct religion (in public schools) IS a
violation of the law. Reading a story written for elementary students that
demonstrates beautifully illustrated images and retells a story of another
culture is not a violation of the law. It's called instruction.
The attitude that your superintendent has about this issue tells a lot about
him / her. This person is more concerned about what the "impression" would
be regarding the "religious" background of the book and the isolated
"violence" that the Golem demonstrates than about the other subjects you are
teaching along with this award-winning book (obviously the superintendent
hasn't heard the story, hasn't read the book, and doesn't know anything
about Jewish culture--or perhaps disagrees with the culture / religion).
Will this person want to isolate the students from various educational
lessons in future courses in high school -- for example, the Holocaust?
Is this an inappropriate book for 4th grade? As far as I'm concerned, "No."
It is appropriate for various reasons-- story content, history, folk lore,
art work, author information, comparison of similar stories to those of the
Jewish cultures...etc. I suggest if your superintendent has a problem
with this book being in the collection, that he be given a "Reconsideration
of Materials Form" that is in your library's selection policy and be allowed
to file a complaint that will go through the appropriate channels used by
all other "citizens and library patrons." Even those with the "top seat"
shouldn't be allowed to dictate to others what is or is not appropriate
within the classroom without a fair review of the material by a board of
otherwise, educated individuals.
(And by the way, I'm not Jewish....I'm just a librarian who has several
hours of Multicultural Librarianship classes at the University of Oklahoma
and who worked on the Intellectual Freedom committee in the state.)
You are doing the right thing to introduce your children to these great
works of art and literature. If you do not move across cultures to
introduce and explore with children, we will all feel the grief that
ignorance creates for us in the future.
My thoughts...off the soapbox.
~Shonda Brisco
Trinity Valley MS / US Librarian
Fort Worth, TX
sbrisco021@charter.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Johanna Halbeisen" <johanna.newsong@RCN.COM>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2003 5:53 PM
Subject: ELEM: objections to The Golem (Caldecott version)
> I was reading the Caldecott winner The Golem to a fourth grade.
> Someone was videotaping in the school for a district video and caught
> just a part of it. The super saw it and questioned my use of it.
> Apparently the objection had to do with the violence and the explicit
> religion. I was told it was inappropriate for fourth graders.
> Anyone had any problems with this book? Or thoughts on problems of
> this sort??
>
> Thanks!
> Johanna
> --
> Johanna Halbeisen, Library Media Teacher
> Woodland Elementary School (preK-4)
> 80 Powder Mill Rd, Southwick, MA 01077
> johanna.newsong@rcn.com
>
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