Previous by DateNext by Date Date Index
Previous by ThreadNext by Thread Thread Index
LM_NET Archive



And I, Shannon, truly appreciate your response, understanding, and =
acceptance of differing opinions. After I read the comment concerning =
laughter and the 1950s time warp, my cheeks burned and I felt =
humiliated. I am very liberal and accepting, but my comments to the =
person who posted that message were that I think we do make mistakes =
sometimes in book selection by review and that we are responsible to =
provide appropriate materials for our schools. I said I think elementary =
children should not have to think about sexuality. The other comments =
pointing out that it was not about sexuality but about acceptance =
reminded me that that is absolutely true. I appreciate that reminder. I =
still think, however, that I must do my best to reflect the values of my =
community in my collection, that the libraries I direct are not my =
libraries but belong to the people in my community. I would never =
ridicule or allow students to ridicule the shortcomings, lifestyles, =
choices, orientations or physical and emotional differences of other =
people. I do, however, make choices in selection of materials based on =
what is appropriate for age and emotional level and for our community =
values. Sometimes I make mistakes. I do my best to represent all views, =
have a balanced collection and to promote acceptance. I personally =
believe that someone who asks for opinions then ridicules the ones who =
are different from hers has an acceptance problem herself.=20


Marilyn Johnson
District Library/Media Services Coordinator
Holbrook Unified School District #3
Holbrook, Arizona
mjohns@husd3.holbrook.k12.az.us



-----Original Message-----
From: Shannon Miller [mailto:blm98j@CHARTER.NET]=20
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 11:34 PM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Please Vote


I've truly appreciated everyone sharing their opinions and providing =
helpful information for those of us who have not yet experienced this =
controversy. I know it's been difficult for some to share their opinions =
for fear of being labeled as biased, old-fashioned, or worse, identified =
as prejudiced. As I've been reading, I was reminded of my job as a =
librarian to not make judgments on issues and to simply provide =
information on either side. Man, is that hard sometimes! I feel that it =
would be beneficial to present some viewpoints of the more conservative =
side and offer a way to respond to it productively as an elementary =
school librarian. It is far more important for us to understand their =
perspectives before disregarding their opinions or preaching against =
censorship. I have no doubt that these books will be on our elementary =
school library shelves shortly, if they're not already, so I view my job =
as finding a way to productively address the concerns of these parents =
without making their values out to be petty.

These days we believe in being totally tolerant of anything and if you =
have concerns about something then you, in turn, are bashed (ironic, =
isn't it?). Although it's not always true, people in the more =
conservative category are often Christians or otherwise God-fearing =
citizens. They feel that h0mosexuality is wrong in the eyes of God and =
fear that if these types of books make it to the school bookshelf, then =
their child will learn to believe that these relationships are the way =
God intended them to be. They feel that the penalties of practicing =
h0mosexuality, in the Bible, are equal to or even worse than death (A =
few are: Gen. 19:4-5, Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13, Romans 1:18-27, I Cor. =
6:9-10, Jude 1:7, 1 Tim. 1:9-10). They hear about the "g*y gene" that's =
recently being debated amongst doctors and wonder why it's any different =
from all of the other genes that make humankind desire unhealthy things =
(for example: alcoholism, obesity, violence, etc.). For in all other =
gene-related situations, there are a number of successful methods in our =
society to work against inherent urges. This group believes that we have =
free will, that we can make our own decisions despite bodily urges, and =
that no inherited gene forces us to do something that God calls sinful. =
They even have thousands among them who now consider themselves =
"recovered homosexuals".  Hearing of these books entering their child's =
library that promote g*y/l*sbian lifestyles strikes fear in their hearts =
because their belief is that this act leads to death. In their minds, =
having such a book in the library is just one step away from having this =
side being taught as truth to their child in the classroom.  So when =
considering the library books available to their child, they are looking =
for consistency.  In the library we claim to believe in presenting all =
sides of an issue, no matter who is offended, and that we provide equal =
reading materials so that our patrons can get an even amount of =
knowledge and perspective.  However, it is doubtful that any school =
library will be allowing the other side to this issue in their =
libraries.  It's simply not the same to have a story about a =
heterosexual family and call that equal representation because it is not =
at the heart of this issue.  In other words, it's not homosexuality vs. =
heterosexuality, obviously.  But can you imagine having a book =
specifically about homosexuality from the conservative "Christian =
family" perspective on the elementary library shelves?  So, these =
parents have logical fears that only one side will be represented, thus =
encouraging their children to believe in its justification.

As a librarian, I would be especially sensitive to this crowd. I am a =
Christian and my husband is a Greek and Hebrew scholar.  Therefore, I =
feel that I could talk with the above-described parents easily.  =
Although not all Christians see everything the same way (in fact they =
rarely do, LOL), I do understand the above-mentioned concerns and I =
admit that I feel similarly. I sympathize with their fears about =
parenting in the coming generations. That being said, I would encourage =
them to check out the books in question, take them home and read them =
with their children, and then discuss their own beliefs with their child =
based on the Bible and their relationship with God. It seems that facing =
this subject head-on would be better than hiding it from children.  =
Trust me, their children will be hearing about it at school regardless =
of what books are on the shelves.  Do they want their young children's =
education to come from another student at school, who might be =
name-calling, or from them?  If they have this opportunity to share with =
their child, then they can also share the Godly perspective about loving =
others even if they don't agree with their actions-which I deem as the =
most important lesson for a child to learn when dealing with such an =
issue.

Thank you for allowing yet another perspective.  It's just a (very) =
general overview of one side and my .02 on one possible way to address =
this positions.  (I inserted * and 0 in some words as I understand the =
need for filters.  At work we were getting hundreds of spam e-mails =
daily asking us if we wanted to view porn and such. There was no way to =
block them so they did the next best thing-added filters.)

Shannon Miller
Previous K-2nd Teacher
Currently completing MLS degree
DFW, Texas

=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=
-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=3D-=3D-=3D-
All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In =
the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation. =
LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=
-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D--=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-
All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

LM_NET Mailing List Home