'Challenges our authority': School board in Florida bans book about book bans

[Bradskii]

We all share reasonable expectations when it comes to our children and any public school that allows smut and makes it freely available for children - even if my children choose to not read it - is still a violating that reasonable expectation that we all agree on.

This is about a novel for children about children and censorship. And this keeps being raised, but you are not the arbiter of what is acceptable or not in regard to other people's kids. Only yours. So you can't deny other children from freely accessing books that have been authorised by the qualified librarian. If you don't want your kids reading something that they have, simply tell them not to read it and explain why.

Again - it is not really about censorship if the books are available elsewhere.

It most definitely is. The school library is obviously accessible. If there is a public library it may not be. Just note this: US book bans and attempted bans rise as efforts extend to public libraries

It really is about banning books.

 

[Bradskii]

Parents tend to take their children to the public library, and they check the books out for them.

Or they can track what books the child has checked out.

As I said, school libraries are available during school hours. Public libraries may be extremely inconvenient to access. Notwithstanding the Guardian article to which I just linked.

Much easier for parents to know what the children are reading.

No more difficult than it would be from a school library. And quite possibly a lot easier. Just ask the school to inform you as to what books your child has accessed.

 

[Zaha Torte]

If the material is controversial then it is exactly the material that a library should have.

Not a library for children. The material needs to be age appropriate.

And if the school library is run by a properly trained librarian then it probably is.

I have seen enough examples of books found in these libraries to attest that they were not.

 

[Zaha Torte]

And that implies that the books are available. Which isn't the case.

?

 

[Zaha Torte]

It certainly made sense to them, huh?

It's consistent.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Why should libraries cater to your parenting choices? And apply those choices for all students, regardless of their parents' choices?

Some parents want prayers back in schools.

Not praying at school does not stop anyone from praying elsewhere.

Not having certain books in schools does not stop anyone from reading them elsewhere.

Just because you apparently can't control your own children doesn't mean you should be able to control everybody's children.

No one is being controlled. They are free to read whatever book they want at home.

 

[A2SG]

Some parents want prayers back in schools.

Not praying at school does not stop anyone from praying elsewhere.

Not having certain books in schools does not stop anyone from reading them elsewhere.

True enough...however, that's not a justification for banning books. Not even in a school library. Especially considering the criteria for banning is highly questionable and moralistic.

No one is being controlled. They are free to read whatever book they want at home.

For now.

-- A2SG, first they came for the school libraries.....

 

[Bradskii]

No one is being controlled. They are free to read whatever book they want at home.

Exactly where they'll be reading them when they take them home from the school library. If you don't want your kids to read some books then you can check what they're up to. At home.

Why is this not making sense to you?

 

[Pommer]

???? I’m always learning, sooo

Attempt to put yourself in transgender person’s skin?

 

[Pommer]

I remember in my public library, they had a copy of Mein Kamph. I don’t know if anyone read it, but it was there.

Bill Maher used to (I ain’t watch his RTwBM for a few years now) a bit called,
”I don’t know it for a fact, but I know that it’s true!”
and my supposition is that low level FBI agents (when things are “slow”) are dispatched to libraries to find out who is checking out such tomes, just to see “what pops up”.

 

[Pommer]

My late grandmother always knew when winter was coming when her knees were hurting, apparently.

I can feel weather a day or two ahead of time.

 

[Pommer]

If books I consider to be inappropriate are included in these public-school libraries - then my child could check them out without my knowledge.

The question is “would you first read the books?” (to determine the appropriateness of them)
[Also, as an aside, and not to pry, but do you actually have (a) child(ren)? Feel free to not answer this.]

 

[essentialsaltes]

Some parents want prayers back in schools.

Right, we don't change the school's policies about organized prayer just because of a few parent complaints.

Why should we change the school's library just because of a few (or even just one) parent complaints?

 

[BCP1928]

We all share reasonable expectations when it comes to our children and any public school that allows smut and makes it freely available for children - even if my children choose to not read it - is still a violating that reasonable expectation that we all agree on.

We don't share those expectations. That's why there is a problem.

 

[essentialsaltes]

A Florida school district banned a book about banned books (gift article)​

The Indian River County school district banned Alan Gratz’s “Ban This Book,” about a fourth-grader determined to return removed titles to her school’s shelves.

A parent involved in Moms for Liberty, a right-wing parents-rights group, submitted a complaint about the book in February, alleging that it depicted sexual conduct and was “teaching children to be social justice warriors.” Though a school district committee recommended that “Ban This Book” be kept on shelves, the Indian River County school board voted to ban it last month.

Jennifer Pippin, the chair of the Indian River, Fla., chapter of Moms for Liberty ... said she complained about “Ban This Book” because it referenced other banned books with sexual content. [my emphasis]

In the complaint, Pippin cited pages in the book where the characters mention other materials that reference sex. [my emphasis]

“Nobody has the right to tell you what you can and can’t read, except your parents, and they shouldn’t have the ability to tell other parents what books their kids can and can’t read,” [the books author] told The Post. “And that’s the core message.” [QFT]

School board member Kevin McDonald said during the meeting that he disagreed with the review committee’s recommendation to keep the book. He said “Ban This Book” encouraged undermining district officials and promoted “inappropriate books.”

“I thought it was ironic that this book is intentionally and overtly saying that school boards shouldn’t matter, only 9-year-olds and librarians should matter,” he said. [No, what's ironic is banning a book entitled Ban This Book.]

 

[ViaCrucis]

Why did you find the Book of Mormon difficult to read?

I could answer for myself why I found it difficult to read. But you wouldn't like the answer.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Zaha Torte]

Right, we don't change the school's policies about organized prayer just because of a few parent complaints.

Why should we change the school's library just because of a few (or even just one) parent complaints?

What if the majority of parents wanted organized prayers back in schools? Would that even matter?

The point is that not having organized prayers in schools does not prevent anyone from praying.

Just like how banning certain books in schools does not prevent anyone from reading those books.

 

[Zaha Torte]

We don't share those expectations. That's why there is a problem.

You don't expect schools to not have smut?

 

[Zaha Torte]

I could answer for myself why I found it difficult to read. But you wouldn't like the answer.

-CryptoLutheran

You are free to share as long as you don't violate the forum rules.

I am curious to see if your answer will be based on nothing but your bias.

 

[BCP1928]

You don't expect schools to not have smut?

What you call smut other people call literature. Why should it not be available to them in a public library paid for by the community as a whole?
The same thing applies to the public school. Why should we remove books that are deemed useful by the librarian many of the parents just to protect your children from them? Yes, the parents could go buy the book, but why should they have to, just because a few parents have lurid ideas about sexualizing children?