Dear LM_NET,
Thank you so much for all your input! My original question was, do
teachers have the right to censor their students' reading. The
overwhelming response was no, they do not. A few people did think that
Stephen King is too mature for fourth grade.
I am planning to call the parent and find out exactly what her feelings
are. If the student was correct in saying that her mother does not mind
her reading Stephen King, then I will speak with the teacher. I will take
it to the principal as a last resort.
Replies below:
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Absolutely not! The teacher has overridden the parent's wishes. However,
I would never check out a Stephen King book (among others) without written
permission from the parent, just to protect myself. When my first graders
wanted Goosebumps, I said certainly, but your parents must call me or
write permission. I think some documentation is necessary. I would talk
with the teacher first then take it to the principal. Good luck!
***********************************************************************
Unless the student is being disruptive with the book - passing it around
so that students can giggle at the "swears," I think the teacher is very
wrong. When I had sixth graders, I had to occasionally "disappear" the
fine art books until the kids got over the fact that there were "nekkid"
people in some of them, so I know that kids will do that.
If, however, the child is simply carrying/reading it, then the fact that
the parent okayed the book should be enough to silence the teacher.
Perhaps the principal could make it an informal policy to have teachers
check with you - or call a parent - if they have concerns and BEFORE they
make a big deal in class. I am sure that EVERY student in that class now
wants to read those books!
***********************************************************************
The teacher can question the student's reading - but it is the parent who
has the final word. Since the book came from the library - the proper
procedure would be that the teacher would tell you what s/he had done –
and one of you would call the parent. It should be a team
effort.
***********************************************************************
Your situation reminds me of working in a K-9 school and all of the
problems involved. I also had teachers with strong opinions and I tried
to take that into consideration. The approach was that a student could
have one book at home to read (the Stephen King) but one more "approved"
or on level to keep at school. That seemed to place the decision of
controversial books on the parents where it belonged. I liked it because
that eliminated younger kids checking out the "fat" books to impress their
friends at school when they found out the book had to be kept at home to
read. My older students then had more access to the more mature books. I
can't tell you how many times I would preach the "five word rule".
Younger students would read a page and put up one finger for every word
they didn't know. If they hit five, that would be a book that would have
to be read to them at home. When communicating with parents I repeatedly
placed the burdon upon censoring their students up to them. Good luck--I
hope this helps. This policy kept me on the good side of teachers,
parents, and students.
***********************************************************************I
I have always let students check out what they want. Like you, if a parent
objects, the student can certainly bring the book back and get something
else. I think that a parent is the ONLY person who has the right to say
what their minor child can or cannot read. I think it is a parent's
obligation to monitor what their child is reading the same way they should
be monitoring what their child is watching on TV or the video games they
are playing. Parents are the ones who knows if their child is ready for
certain material. However, I as I have explained to parents, please don't
tell me that I am not to let "Suzy" check out books about "whatever" or by
a certain author. I cannot keep up with what every student can or cannot
read. Thats between them and their child.
***********************************************************************
As a certificated principal (but currently looking for a first
principalship) and school librarian, I'd say that the teacher has the
right to control what a student reads /in the teacher's classroom/ only.
If the teacher doesn't want the child to read Stephen King in the
classroom, that's fine - the student shouldn't read the books there. The
books belong to the school library, and have been properly checked out to
the student. The teacher need to either return the books to the student
with the instruction that they are to be taken home or return them to the
library. If the latter, you should check the books back in, then privately
talk to the student about checking them out again and taking them straight
home. I'd suggest that you meet with the teacher privately and explain
how the library works (books are there to serve ALL students k-12) and
that you will honor /parent/ requests to restrict books, but that you
cannot control the whole school. Explain that if the teacher doesn't want
certain books in the classroom you will remind the students that the
teacher doesn't like those books and if the student still wants to check
it out the book is to be put in the desk/locker until the end of the day
and then taken home.
If that doesn't work, you will probably have to get the principal to tell
the teacher how it will be. I don't know how much your principal will
support you on this, since Stephen King /is/ a bit beyond the typical 4th
grader. However, if the parent says it is okay for the child to read the
book, that ought to end the discussion about whether the child can check
the book out. You, the teacher, and maybe the principal will have to work
out a way for the child to check the book out, get it home to read, and
return it without offending the teacher too much. If the teacher won't
even allow the book in the room then I guess the other option is for the
child to be allowed to come to the library or office just before the end
of the school day to pick up the book.
***********************************************************************
Have a policy where books at certain levels will need a parent permission
letter before checking out. Totally covers your butt, allows freedom to
choose for students, and LETS the principal and staff know that you are
aware of what is age appropriate.
I am middle school. I do not have Stephen King in my library. I just say
that you can go to public library or wait until HS. I am in a 5-8 school.
AND I do have some books marked as YA (for subject) that 5/6 need a call
or letter from parents to check out. You might want to rethink your policy
of checking out anything. You are going to have a child lie to you one of
these days, and the parents will come down on you for it. (Experience
talking.)
***********************************************************************
The parents are the only ones who should tell their children they cannot read
a book.
***********************************************************************
It sounds as if you have a most reasonable policy, given the K-12 nature of
your school. And you've even got it in writing! That's more than many of
us have managed to do. The teacher is out of line. The teacher does have
the right, I suppose, to limit what the child reads IN THE CLASSROOM, but
that's it. For example, when I taught English, the policy was that I had
to approve all Independent Study Unit novels -mostly, frankly, to make
sure students were choosing works that were challenging enough. So, if
the teacher decides the novels in question are not appropriate for a 4th
grade book report, well, that's the teacher's prerogative. But to go
beyond that and actually confiscate the books and not allow the child to
finish reading them - when her MOTHER has given permission, is simply
unacceptable. And that's the approach I would take, if I were you - the
child's mother has given permission, and that should be the end of the
matter - don't turn this into a professional turf war. It's too likely
you'll lose if you're the rookie.
***********************************************************************
The teacher could be sued for a violation of the child's constitutional
rights. The teacher can direct what the child reads IN CLASS, but the
teacher has no control beyond that. The loan of the book is between you
and the child, since it came from the library. The parent does not object.
There is no valid reason why the teacher should have possession of the
books. I would demand that the books be returned to the library, then give
the books back to the child. Tell the child that the teacher doesn't want
her to read those books in the classroom, but that she may read them in
the library or at home (or anywhere else, for that matter).
**********************************************************************
I'm certain my opinion will be held by many.
The teacher needs to return the books. The teacher does not have the
right to usurp the parent's authority unless there is immediate harm to
the student. The books are school property loaned to the student. In
effect the teacher has stolen school property.
I would drop the teacher a note asking for the return of the books. You
could do one of three things.
1. Check the books in and allow them to circulate as normal.
2. Return them to the student.
3. Give them to the student's mother. If the mother picks her daughter
up from school this might not be difficult. Give the mother a call and
explain the situation. State that you respect her right to supervise her
daughter's reading and want to make certain that the books are returned.
This supports her as a parent and reinforces the freedom to read.
***********************************************************************
That's a tough situation, especially for a new librarian. You're right, the
teacher should not have the right to confiscate the books. She CAN tell
the student not to read them in her classroom, but that's about as far as
it should go, especially if the parent has already approved the
selections. You are right in taking this to the principal--take it from
the angle that you are new, and you don't want to make anyone mad, but you
need guidance on the situation, especially since the ALA's Reader's Bill
of Rights gives the child the right to read anything. What is the lesson
the teacher is modeling for that child...Teacher Knows Best?
***********************************************************************
I have been a School Librarian Media Specialist in K-12 Schools and higher
Libraries of various grade configurations for over 20 years in 5 different
school library settings in Iowa, South Dakota and Connecticut.
I have experience being censored and countering censorship by
Administrators, Teachers, Staff and Parents.
For 5 years I was in a grade 4 through 8 Library which was
also a Town Library (in Willington, Connecticut). So, I
understand the problems you
are facing.
You are wise to have moved forward with getting a policy in
place. I hope the board approves your policy quickly. In
the mean time, you do need to address the situation. But you
should also take a little time to step back and take a deep
breath and get copies of the School Library Right to Read and
other right to read statements.
A couple of questions.
Did you get the parent's consent in writing for the student
whose 4th grade teacher is censoring the students?
1) Teachers and school personnel believe they are acting "in
parentus loco" or have the right to represent the parent.
2) Only the parent ultimately has the right to Censor their
child.
3) On the other hand, a classroom teacher may choose to
pull or limit a student ONLY WHILE IN THEIR CLASSS if what
they are reading or doing is DISRUPTIVE or negatively
affecting the classroom.
4) Has this student been reading parts of the books out loud
or been using readings from the book to upset other students?
Many Teachers feel their classroom is their kingdom and they
can do anything they like. This is not always a good
situation if the teacher uses it to CENSOR based on their own
opinions and biases. Especially if the teacher does not
recognize the individual students abilities and maturity.
I had many 4th and 5th grade students who loved reading the
Stephen King Novels and who did so with their parents
approval. That school, since it had many adult level books
in the Public Library Collection, chose to have a parent sign
off form at the very beginning of the year.
That released the Library Staff and the teachers from liability with
those students. We often have high level readers who compete with their
older siblings for reading certain authors or certain books. I am sorry
this teacher has chosen to limit the students reading in their class.
If your parent did not put their approval in writing, do you
have a log or journal for your parent conversation or phone
call discussing it and giving their approval? If you do, I
would share that documentation with the principal. You might
want to contact that parent and ask for a letter giving the
parental consent.
I sometimes learned to be a bit pro-active. For instance, in
that school library, one student requested the Necromonicon.
Our Public Library staff was afraid this was a satanic spell
book and refused to touch it when it came inter-library loan
(we allowed students to request books inter-library loan as
long as their parents had signed off that they could read
anything). Since this has often been a controversial book,
and the public library staff (which did not have a certified
MLS Librarian) thought it was evil, I did phone the parent and
the parent said their child could read it but they would pick
it up and read it with their student.
You might want to phone the parent no matter what has gone on
just to share that there appears to be a problem and you just
wanted to alert the parent in case the student was upset but
not sharing with the parent what was going on. You never know
but the censoring teacher may be setting up an adversarial
relationship and there might end up being other forms of acting
out or behavior problems starting up as the student might be
angry or upset with the teacher for taking his/her books. Or
upset that he will be held accountable for checking out the
books. You could share with the parent that you have recently
been made aware that the teacher has the student's library
books and you will not hold him accountable as long as the
teacher has the books.
I would say that that teacher does have the right to say that
the student can't read the book in their classroom if it
disrupts the classroom. But, since the parent already gave
consent, unless the student was using the inappropriate
language or swears, then the teacher should give the books
back to either the student or the Library. You might want
to set up a book bag or something so that the student can
check out his own leisure reading without the teacher
censoring him in the future.
I would also hope that you and the principal and the teacher
can have a discussion to review the purpose of a school
library. Hopefully you can get the teacher to see that in
addition to providing materials in the Library to support
the curriculum, a library is also supposed to provide
leisure reading materials for students. Many students love
Stephen King. I myself do not like Horror Fiction yet I
wouldn't dream of not having his books as so many students
read only because they can read novels like his fiction!
As a teacher, I would hope a teacher would encourage reading
as long as it isn't harmful. If the teacher feels like this
is harmful. Then there is more work to be done. See if you
can find out why the teacher feels the book is inappropriate
or harmful.
Possibly sharing a list of banned books. How does that
teacher like ROALD DAHL? Perhaps you could share that some
people have tried to ban James and the Giant Peach or Matilda
or his poetry because they felt it caused students to be
disrespectful. Hopefully she will see that censorship isn't
the way to deal with the problem as she must perceive it.
Or how does the teacher like Shel Silverstein or Silvester
and the Magic Pebble? So many good books end up being
censored for silly reasons. (We had some award winners
recently be censored because someone didn't like the image on
the front cover of a book).
Also, does the teacher still have the books? If they do, you
could request they be returned to the Library or to the student.
If the teacher feels they are justified in pulling or keeping
the books. You have your job cut out for you. If the teacher
doesn't feel she needs to return the books. Talk to your
principal about charging the teacher to replace the books if she
refuses to return them (of course add on processing fees so that
it will be cheaper for her to return the books than pay for
them). Explain that they are library property and intended for
Leisure reading and that it is one of the goals or missions of
the library to provide leisure student reading outside of the
curriculum and that it is perfectly normal for a school library
to have these books.
Additional resources:
The Right To Read: Censorship in the School Library. ERIC Digest.
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/library.htm
<http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/library.htm>
National Council for Teachers of English:
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/level/gen/107616.htm
<http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/level/gen/107616.htm>
The Students' Right to Read (note: this has an interesting form... check
it out)
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8521
Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Media Program :
An
Interpretation of the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS --
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8521
<http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8521>
The Freedom to Read Statement
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.htm
<http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.htm>
Intellectual Freedom for Young People
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/foryoungpeople/youngpeople.htm
<http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/foryoungpeople/youngpeople.htm>
Intellectual Freedom Basics --
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/Default2272.htm
***Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A --
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/intellectual.htm
<http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/intellectual.htm>
Censorship in Our Schools and Libraries
http://www.ncac.org/projects/before.html
<http://www.ncac.org/projects/before.html>
Good luck. Keep us posted. And hopefully, you will have a more
enlightened staff and principal and student.
***********************************************************************
Should teachers have the right to tell their students what they can
read?
Most teachers would probably say that a teacher should have the right
to control actions in their classroom. Was the student reading
during class time?
Many times the library profession gets on its high horse and demands
that they be final arbitrator on who should read what. I would
suggest that you take a deep breath and don't over react. Until the
reconsideration of materials is adopted by the School Board, it is
meaningless as a tool.
***********************************************************************
I wrote a response to your query and then started completely over. My
first question would be "have you read many of Stephen King's books???"
And would you want your 4th child reading them? Language is the least of
the issues in his works. I know, I read everything he wrote from the time
I started college until about 5 years ago and I taught for 32
years. What's in a movie doesn't always compare to the mental images one
gets when one reads. I would also want to know if the child's mother read
Stephen King, if her only concern about the book was that she didn't want
her child to use that language at school. Does that mean she can use it
at home? Does she really want her child's mind filled with the images
that King creates with his words? Those would be my concerns first and
then the teacher might not have had to make any decisions. Remember, too,
that the teacher is responsible in the
classroom for the many, not always the one. Did the teacher return the
books to the library? Did the teacher tell the student that she should
finish those books at home and provide her with other suggested reading?
There are a lot of things to consider. And one is that all material is
not written for all audiences.
As to whether teachers have the right to tell students what they can and
cannot read, I think all educators have to make sure they are acting under
the policies of the school district and hopefully those policies are
grounded in common sense and respect the culture and mores of the
community it serves.
I think as far as how to handle the situation, you need to make sure that
whatever you do, it is done with respect for all involved. Or you
will have a teacher or a parent that doesn't trust your judgment and will
let others know about it. Not a good situation. I would think in
a situation where you are dealing with every age group, you need to
consider having distinct areas for different age levels. That is how
public libraries handle it...especially for fiction...Adult, young adult,
juvenile, children's sections.
***********************************************************************
First off the teacher should have spoken to you before she took the books
away. But, and yes there is a but, we are professionals, I work in a large
urban middle school and we would not put Stephen King books out for our
students. Yes, at the high school level. So I have a hard time with this
book or others that are not appropriate for this age level being available
to them. I realize that you are a K-12 school and
I not sure what your physical plant looks like, but if possible certain
parts of your collections should be off limits. If the parent doesn't care
if the child reads a certain book, let them take them to the public
library. And, yes we are different from a public library. Sorry, this may
not be the kind of response that you were looking for.
***********************************************************************
I'm sure this teacher has good intentions. I, too, would be alarmed to see
a fourth-grader reading a Stephen King book, although I would also be
impressed at that student's reading level! In any case, this is a tough
spot since you don't want to antagonize your colleague.
I would talk to this teacher first, and let the teacher know that,
according to the student, her parents gave her permission to read the
books as long as she didn't use any of the swear words in public. You
might even suggest calling the parent to verify that what the student
said was true (kids have been known to stretch the truth once in a
while!). If the parent has indeed given their child permission to read
the Stephen King book, the teacher should permit the child to do so in
the classroom. It's not like she's reading Mein Kampf or an X-rated
magazine. If the teacher continues to refuse to let the student have the
King books, and this is in direct opposition to the parent's wishes, then
I would suggest the parents ask for a meeting with the principal and the
teacher. At this point, it's out of your hands. If the parents feel
strongly enough about this, they will choose to pursue
it. If they don't, then you should let it drop as well.
***********************************************************************
No, the student has a "right to read" and that statement, available on the
AASL site, I'm sure, needs to be shared with the principal and then the
teacher--and the parent, if the teacher hasn't already heard from the
parent. The student must feel humiliated and hurt by this kind of
treatment from her teacher. ANY PARENT has the right to decide what his
or her child reads but not what other parents' children can read. The
right to read does not back the teacher's position.
BUT, you have to be diplomatic, as you can well guess. You have to work
with that teacher. If the books were causing a sensation and disrupting
the classroom, the teacher could have put them away for the duration of
the day and then sent them home with the child. You can gently suggest
that you could understand that being the case. You can offer the teacher
some advice from your professional training that could smooth over the
situation if it hasn't blown up already with a mad parent. When I was at
Beekmantown, a parent went to the Board because his daughter was
restricted to using just the Children's Collection at the West Chazy
Public Library when visiting there with her class. The library was
adjacent to the little WC Elem School and the library's board had made
that policy. It got changed to "may use other collections at the
discretion of the school librarian."
That "discretion" word is the biggie; if you talked to the girl before she
took them out about why she wanted to and how her parents would feel (With
sixth graders, my youngest readers, I always use the words, "You know your
parents; you've lived with them your whole life.") and she consulted her
parents, then the teacher should not interfere. You would talk a younger,
less able child out of a King book and steer him or her to more
appropriate books, but you have to trust kids to be honest with you until
you have a reason not to.
I've had some near-censorship issues with parents but always tell them
that their child is lucky that her/his parent knows what he/she is reading
and cares about them enough to worry. So far it's worked!
So, find a way for that teacher to "save face" if possible, but back the
parent and child. Have your proposed policy ready to share and the Right
to Read statement and that's the best you can do.
**********************************************************************
--
Chris Putnam-Pouliot
K-12 Librarian
Elizabethtown-Lewis Central School
Elizabethtown NY
cp4854@albany.edu
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