On Thu, 24 Jun 2004, Sharron L. McElmeel wrote:
> IMHO -- children should not suffer for the sins of their parents.
> The only reasonable answer is to "write the book off." As a taxpayer
> I would applaud your decision to keep the child coming to the library
> with the fewest pangs of guilt as possible -- guilt that they are
> neither responsible for or in control of. In the circumstances as
> described I would not even suggest that the child "work off" the
> fine-- only because that makes the association of her/his situation
> associated with the library. The library should be his/her refuge
> and help build responsibility but in this case the child can be as
> responsible as any mature adult but because she/he is not an adult
> the child has no control over the situation.
>
This has long been my position.
When I took my previous job at an elementary school the principal pulled
me aside early on and expressed her concern that the previous librarian
rarely lost any books. The librarian had taken great precaution to
prevent children at risk of losing books from having access to books
and was quite proud of her record. The principal told me if we were
doing our job, we should expect to lose books.... I nodded and smiled.
I do try to be responsible. I always give a list of any books out to
foster parents; they are sometimes able to get them back. And I
always mail a notice to the biological home (or what have you). Once
in a while they do respond. And, of course, it's not always a matter
of foster care. I know many children who came to school from one
home in the morning only to discover after school the family has
had to pick up and move for any one of a zillion reasons.
But I do not hold the child responsible for things beyond his/her control.
I may discuss it with them if they are old enough to understand. With
most I want them to know I've made a conscious decision based on certain
circumstances and haven't just decided that returning books is no
longer important. But the bottom line is -- I want those children to
have access to books. These kids are often the ones who need them most.
My biggest problem at the h.s. level, however, has simply been truancy
and those kids who just ... disappear from the system never to return.
I mailed out another 60-some letters in May. I've had over 20 of those
letters returned so far. Not a single phone number I've dialed has
been correct or in service. And only one of the books in question
has found its way back into the system so far.
I'm learning to just ... let go! I expend a lot of energy trying to
get the students to borrow books and read! I have to expect I'll lose
some!
J. Rathbun, Librarian
Mojave High School
Clark County School District
Las Vegas, Nevada
Email: jrathbun@orednet.org
http://ccsd.net/schools/mojave/library
Leave it to Beaver was not a documentary.
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