Temple of Heaven, Beijing
(photo taken by Dr. Repman, May 2008)
This week's discussion topic come from Dr. Lechner. In addition to posting your personal response to the reading and issues Dr. Lechner raises, you should also respond to at least one other person's post. That response should try to extend the discussion by raising related issues. In other words" great post" is not the kind of response you should post!
In her article “Four Questions to Ask Yourself” Knowledge Quest
36(2), Dec. 2007, editor Debbie Abilock outlines four important points
to consider when selecting materials. All four questions are of great
importance in developing a balanced collection of print and online
resources for schools. Question 4, however, is the hardest: Why must I confront my deeply held beliefs? Debbie Abilock brings up several
issues: 1) labeling by age/grade level - a practice made especially
popular with computerized reading management programs; 2) internet
filtering; and 3) violence in children’s media.
Statistics collected by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom
suggest that far and away parents are the ones most likely to initiate a
challenge to materials in schools. Teachers (including school library media specialists) are listed as among the least likely to initiate a challenge. Then why concern
ourselves about the questions posed by the article? For one thing, the
statistics collected by ALA are based on reports sent to ALA or found in
local newspapers. These statistics, therefore, probably under
represented the true incidence of challenges initiated by teachers and
media specialists. More importantly, when we do not confront our
personal beliefs, when we let our own beliefs rather than principles
guide our actions, we may not even realize that we are censoring, rather
than selecting., Debbie Abilock deals with the issue of what happens
when we do not confront our deeply held beliefs in “Four Questions to
Ask Yourself” on pp. 10-11, but guest editor Helen Adams’s
introduction, “Intellectual Freedom 101,” Knowledge Quest 36(2):
12-15, Dec. 2007 provides good background for the issues.
The question to comment on this week, then, is “what are some of your
deeply held beliefs that you might need to wrestle with as you select
materials for the school library or classroom collection (not materials
that you would yourself teach directly)"?
Posts
My own deeply held beliefs? I love baseball and think that all children no matter their gender should be as excited about baseball as I am. I happen to think that the faces of characters in picture books should rarely be white. I know that sounds odd, but for so many years, books have had pictures of what society indicated was a perfect looking family. They were almost always white with a mom, a dad, a son and a daughter. That is simply not what the world looks like. I value international travel and feel like everyone should see the world. I know this is not feasible for everyone and can see myself potentially buying books that encourage this lifestyle more than some would want. I believe that we are horrible stewards of our planet and need to take better care of the Earth. I can see where all of these beliefs could carry too much weight in my decision making processes and think having to think about them (and write them down) will cause me to think twice and consider all systems of thinking when making selection decisions.
ReplyDeleteGreat question, and one that I have already wrestled with this semester. I do have some deeply held beliefs that could certainly create a bias when choosing books.
ReplyDelete1) I am a christian. I will need to put my own beliefs aside and choose books that discuss other religions.
2) I am not an environmentalist.
3) I do not believe that homosexuality should be promoted in the public school as a choice.
4) I do not see "color" in/on other people. However, I want each nationality and race to be able to see themselves in the books that I choose. This will be an issue that I will have to remind myself to make sure to have a balanced collection.
5) I am conservative politically.
I truly want all to feel represented in my mc whether I agree with their views or not. Having to discuss this now, will hopefully make me more open and aware to my own weaknesses so that I am do not become the censor within the mc.
This is a topic that I have wrestled with before when we have had discussions/posts. There seems to be a fine line between the issue of censoring and allowing inappropriate literature that does not belong upon the shelf. I feel like I am an open-minded person, but like others I have beliefs as well that I do not want to interfere with that of my patrons. There are many topics that we may choose not to listen to, read or even watch on television. We may even become naive to the world around us. I may not believe in many things but I know that there is a need to create an educated person for society. A person who will hopefully make the right choices based upon their own mind and reasoning. The moral belief of a person shouldn't change because of the writing or reading of a book. A lot of people think that censoring certain information will keep people from pursuing that topic (usually not the case),but being naive about something is not right either. Information in a school environment(media center) may be better because there are those that can help find the answers the questions posed by students. When selecting literature for the mc, I want to provide information for my patrons because they have the right to seek information from all points of view and not just mine.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to read Patti's comment above. I am also a Christian and it will be a challenge for me to seek and choose books that focus on other religious. I also agree with Patti's third point. It will be even more difficult for me to choose literature about "non-traditional" families.
ReplyDeleteAll that aside - as a professional, I will have to be sure that the collection in my media center is fair, unbiased, and reflective of the population in my school.
posted by Holly Boykin
Being an elementary teacher, it is difficult sometimes to tell the difference between censoring and removing literature that may not be apprproiate for younger readers. However, I do realize that I cannot let my personnel judgment be a sole decision when evaluating a piece of literature. The following are some personnel beliefs that I may struggle with when selecting materials for a school library or classroom.
ReplyDelete1) I am a Christian and teach in the "Bible Belt," so it is difficult to remember to select materials that introduce or teach about other religions.
2) I am conserative, so I do not approve of litarature with an abundance of profanity, sexual content, or violence for elementary children.
3) Growing up and teaching in the same place, I am naturally drawn to books about my own culture. I must always remember to select literature that will provide a variety and balance amoung cultures.
4) I believe children should learn a lesson and be taught moral value when reading. Literature can help introduce children to reality and relize that the world is not perfect. I can see myself straying away from fantasies and make-believe stories. However, these genres carry their own special value in a library and classroom.
I do want a library to be a place where every patron feels welcomed and accepted. If my selection is well balanced than hopefully every patron will find a book of interest to them. I do feel like children and adults should read a varity of genres.
I would like to comment on sfuentes post on March 13. I appreciated the comment about literature shound not make someone believe or not believe in something. People should be able to make educated decisions based on their own beliefs. I also feel like children should not be exposed to "everything in the world," esepically at a young age. On the same token, they do not need to be completely sheltered or navie about the world around them. When they are faced with certain struggles or peer pressure, it may be easier for them to handle the situation if they have read about it first.
ReplyDeleteI, along with several others who have posted, will have a difficult time with books that involve issues which deal with sex, drugs, profanity, violence, and abuse. I have actually read books from our media center and thought (Should these books be read by middle schoolers?). Turns out they are the books that are checked out the most. These are issues in which I believe deeply and will have to wrestle with as I select books for the media center. To make sure that my beliefs don't lead to biases, I will have to check my orders based on the needs of my students and teachers. I, along with the other posters, want my media center to be one in which each child(no matter religion, race, or other circumstances)is represented. It would also help to have a review committee review books that may be of a questionable nature. This would hopefully ensure that my beliefs aren't skewing my decisions.
ReplyDeleteThe question to comment on this week, then, is “what are some of your deeply held beliefs that you might need to wrestle with as you select materials for the school library or classroom collection (not materials that you would yourself teach directly)"?
ReplyDeleteThis question really came up for me with the presidential election this school year. I believe that politics should be kept out of the classroom. My students had many questions about both candidates and their viewpoints that I have strong opinions on and had to be very objective. Many students wanted to read materials on the candidates and I frankly did not want to put the material in my classroom.
I share some of the same viewpoints as others, and am not an environmentalist either. In fact, I myself prefer fiction over nonfiction. I probably have more than double the amount of fictional books in my classroom than I do nonfiction. I also believe that homosexuality does not have a place in schools and should not be promoted or discussed.
Patty and Laura Maples both commented on literature related to other nationalities.
ReplyDeleteIt is important that every child see themselves in literature and read materials about people from their own culture as well as others. A balanced collection is important. I believe many times we find out that we're more alike than we realize. By reading about other customs and traditions from people of other nationalities and cultures, students may come to realize similarities too.
I would like to respond to Laura's post. I have the exact issues you do. I too teach where I attended school and have the same conservative values as you mentioned. It is hard to know when you're crossing from censoring to removing inappropriate literature. I also agree with your second post. I don't think kids should be sheltered from everything (I was one of those sheltered kids.), but I don't believe they should be exposed to everything in the world either. There's a line one has to draw as to what is and is not appropriate at certain ages. I also agree that it is probably easier to deal with an issue if you have read/heard about it before going through it yourself. It makes you feel as if you're not alone, and it could also give children ways to cope with problems as they arise.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard question for me. I find as I grow older a lot of my firm convictions have softed somewhat (when I was very young, we used to say "never trust anyone over 30" I think for this very reason). I admire those who do hold firm convictions, but I have been married, divorced, rich, poor, young and old and the one thing I have learned is that there is never one answer. As a child I had perfect attendance at church for 12 years, now my religion is much more open and more private. I see the reasoning behind a lot of religions and sometimes see little difference in the bottom line. I have close friends who are gay - but that is one thing that hasn't changed over the years. I went to school when segregation was the norm, but definately do not agree with it now. My brothers have always been very conservative, but I was the liberal flower child, theater major who has grown more conservative.
ReplyDeleteAll of this said, I believe this "history" may be my deeply held belief that I need to overcome. I have a tendency to show favoritism to the books I read as a child. When we weeded the media center, it was hard for me to weed books that I remembered, but many were outdated and not being read...not all of them, just some. The issues are not the same and the books have lost their relavance. I have to accept that the favored books of today are not the ones from way back when. I have a problem with some of the "potty humor" of today - not a huge fan of Captain Underpants, but students love him and this gets them to read and I am a fan of that.
I also have to accept the importance of the internet in media and education. I am "old school", but internet classes have definately introduced me to the 21st century. I am beginning to appreciate all of the possibilities, but they still intimidate me.
Like everyone else, I really believe that it is extremely difficult to keep our own views, opinions, and prejudices out of the selection of material for our media centers and classrooms. I really believe that, for the most part, our students have an extremely sheltered view of our world. We are a very Western society having limited knowledge or desire to branch out and learn about the ways in which people in other societies live, communicate, and feel. I believe that books can help open these doors to the rest of the world for our students helping them to become multicultural, knowledgeable citizens. I believe that I am often guilty of this type of closed mindedness myself; I have to work at being someone who embraces diversity within my world.
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on Brittany's and Patty's posts. Brittany, I am right there with you on baseball..I also gravitate to books on the subject. If you have not read "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson", by all means pick it up. Also, I was your "perfect looking family" for years - my son was 9 and my daughter 11 when their father left..nontraditional families were even more so in the 80's and I am sure my children would have appreciated more books that made them less abnormal, especially since they went to a private Christian school where divorced families were far less common.
ReplyDeletePatty and others have stated that their religious beliefs may make book selections harder. I have found that understanding other religions helps me understand mine. Ferrol Sams wrote that "there is no true faith without doubt". I believe if we see other sides of the question, it can make our deepest beliefs stronger, so it is important for students to understand other beliefs. (I stated in my post that my religion is more open, but that does not mean that my faith in God is any less - if anything it is stronger) Also, I don't believe homosexuality should be promoted any more than Brittany's "perfect looking family" should be, but I also do not believe it should be shunned or looked on as a disease - as divorce was not that long ago.
The school where I work is a truly secular school. That's the main reason, as a parent of a student, I was initially drawn to it. The lines of separation between church and state have become too blurry for my tastes in the past eight years, so I was overjoyed to find this school. That seems to be the case for the vast majority of our families as well. We have quite the assortment of religious, spiritual, and non-believers in our school.
ReplyDeleteMy beliefs are at the other end of the spectrum from others who have posted before me. I am an atheist, a liberal, an "extreme" environmentalist, and I believe that gay people don't choose to be gay any more than anyone chooses to be straight. I was raised by devout racists, but I am decidedly not, nor are my siblings, thankfully. I'm also a political junkie. I am very open-minded, so much so I've been told my brain might fall out. That was meant as an insult when it was said to me, but I took it in stride.
The main issues I have had in my libraries are ones about religion. Thankfully, the issue doesn't come up that often. I don't have a problem with Bible stories like Jonah and the Whale, the Tales of Noah's Ark, etc., but I have issues with books that preach and try to convert to whatever. Any books that have ever been in question, have been ones that have been donated. To me, issues of religion and spirituality are personal and complex and belong in the realm of the church and family. Schools should be for developing the skills to think, research, and communicate so they can tackle complex subjects like this and make informed decisions on their own as adults.
Overall, I feel like I am very open to what is shelved in my libraries. I also don't think that anyone, that doesn't know me, could walk into either of my libraries and be able to deduce from the contents of the shelves what my beliefs and prejudices are.
Paula said
ReplyDelete"I also have to accept the importance of the internet in media and education. I am "old school", but internet classes have definately introduced me to the 21st century. I am beginning to appreciate all of the possibilities, but they still intimidate me."
This is me as well. When I was in 7th grade, a teacher told me that I should never work with computers, because I was really bad at it. Of course, that was back in the early 80's, when working with computers meant, that you had to enter 10 lines of code just to get the word "Hi" to flash across the screen. I don't blame that teacher for my technophobia, but because of her, I'm very careful of what I say to my students when they are having problems with a certain subject. I should also say, that none of my students have problems with computer class. I swear, all kids now are born knowing how to turn on a computer.
I'm overcoming my technophobia thanks to this class. I'm not so intimidated by the technology as much as I am the vast amounts of information out there. It's hard for me to determine where to start so I can bring it all to my students.
I would like to offer a response to many of your posts involving being a Christian and how that could be a bias towards your book selections. I, too, am a Christian but very politically liberal and probably religiously liberal as well. I say that because just as you would not want someone pushing their Muslim or Buddhist faith towards you, others will not want your Christian faith pushed towards them. Recognizing people's differences, including their choice in sexuality, is essential. If we don't offer other options as choices for our students, I fear we will create a society similar to that in The Giver by Lois Lowery. Just something to consider.
ReplyDeleteI have to really agree with Paula Hunt and say that as I have grown older, I am much more accepting of other points of view. I no longer think I have to convince anyone that I what I believe is "right" and am more than willing to listen and learn about what others believe or think. I love learning different points of views, learning about other religions and cultures, etc. That being said, I live in a VERY conservative community in the Bible Belt and will need to consider the community when I am a media specialist here. We have had parents complain about books at the primary school where I work and it really surprised me, because our books are really not controversial at all. Someone complained that Red Riding Hood brought her grandma a bottle of wine and they didn't think that was appropriate, for example.
ReplyDeleteBeing in a primary school, however, I do want to protect children from things I do not feel they are old enough to understand or that they should not be exposed to yet. I feel that books on abuse, alcoholism, sexuality, etc. are much more appropriate at this level for the guidance counselors office than for the library. As far as religion goes, our students do not really study religion in these grades, so our library has hardly any books on this topic at all since we can't relate them to the standards.
I have developed more deeply held beliefs since becoming a parent. My children are now thirteen and ten and I find myself trying to see the world through their point of view and at the same time struggle with wanting to protect them from views that I may not necessarily feel are appropriate. My beliefs have become much more conservative over the years as I have studied God’s word and through my walk with Christ. That being said, I believe that we all have been given free will and as citizens of the United States of America are afforded the right to believe what we want. I feel teaching our children tolerance is of utmost importance. A few of the topics that I believe I might wrestle with are sex before marriage, teenage pregnancy (out of wedlock). I am not naïve enough to think that these incidences do not occur on a regular basis. Evidently, I was born to an unmarried teen. However, I do not want my own children reading about those incidences at the ages they are at now. What is an appropriate age to read about those topics? I am not sure, but am leaning towards age 16 and above. Do the kids already know about these topics before age 16? I am almost certain that they do, but I don’t think it should be glamorized and sensationalized. Another topic I would wrestle with in the selection of materials would be violence of a horrific nature (beheadings, murders, rape). Again, maybe some students who are more mature can handle some of these topics, but I am an adult and I struggle with those topics reading them in the news.
ReplyDeleteLiz. I sympathize with your wish to keep such subjects away from your children, but I am afraid 16 may be a bit late. Most children will know more than you may want by the time they are 12 or 13 - maybe younger.
ReplyDeleteThere are personal beliefs that I may struggle with while making selections for my classroom or library however by being aware of these deeply held beliefs I will be better prepared to make selections that will make a diverse and well balanced collection.
ReplyDeleteSome of my beliefs come from being fortunate in having a mother that raised us to be tolerant, stand for what you think is right and true, and exposed us to the realities of the real world. I can say that I struggle with issues dealing with the practices of the "darker side" of life(witchcraft, satanic elements, occult) however I also am aware that others have the right to these materials. I also struggle with purchasing books or materials that don't personally interest me. I love the sciences and find myself drawn to those topics as well as certain types of fiction. Since I am very conscious of this, I am careful when making choices in order to provide equity in the selections. Another area that may cause a struggle is materials about people or groups of people that commit unspeakable deeds. I have a difficult time with those who commit horrible deeds(molesting children, brutal murders and rapes)being sensationalize in materials that they also are paid huge amounts of money for telling their "stories". I don't think they should be paid or be allowed to make any money from their deeds. Another personal belief deals with religion which is a topic I think children should be exposed. I think they should be exposed to different religions or a lack thereof in order to have an understanding of other cultures as well as people. It does not serve as a means to covert, which often people think, rather it exposes them to the realities of real world/global experiences as well as history. Often by becoming more knowledgeable about other religions it makes a person more aware of their own.
By being knowledgeable of ones own personal beliefs and prejudices opportunities for personal/professional growth develop through recognizing limitations these can create and working to overcome them.
Paula I know what you mean when you talked about what ever you've been through only one thing is for sure and that is there is NEVER one answer. I was also raised in the church and my grandfather was a minister so religion had a significant role in my life as a child. I too was in school when they were segregated which didn't make sense to me as a child since our neighbors were African American and we all played together. As the flower child of the family, I have always seen things from a different viewpoint than most and wished more parents raised children the way I was raised.
ReplyDeleteI also love the books I grew up with and read some of them to my students who find them rather amusing. It is hard to let go of good "old" books however as times change children and their interest also change. Unfortunately from my view few children today are being exposed to books and the library at an early age rather sports have become the most important "event".
My deeply held belief...
ReplyDeleteI have had to give much thought to this topic. To address this issue, I think I have to confront the things that were disturbing to me as a classroom teacher. I remember choosing this book recommended by the media specialist to read with my class. I had never read the book before. In reading it on my own, I was shocked at the content. I even felt that the book should not be allowed on the shelves yet alone, provided as a selection for class reading. I even feared parents being upset because we were reading it. What things bothered me? The books was littered with gratuitous language, graphic details of drug use, and illicit sexual acts. This was just too much for my taste. I read it anyway and the students loved it.
From this experience, I learned that it is not my job to teach my beliefs and ethics. It is my job to expose students and allow them to shape their own beliefs based on what they learn from the experiences of others. This same mentality will be carried over into the media center.
It is not my place to select materials according to my personal preferences. I need to be careful of not selecting materials because it may have too much vulgar language, mature sexual content and subject matter, racial epithets, and intense violence that are unsuitable for my tastes. Just because it makes me uncomfortable and I would not choose to read it, doesn't mean that it is not material that is unworthy to be included in the media center.
Additionally, I was exposed to some great classics in literature late in life. For this reason, I have a strong sense of appreciation for them and feel that teenagers should too. Therefore, I must understand that contemporary literature has just as great of a value on the library shelves as the classical works. This same line of thought is true when considering nonfiction biographies.
I think these are the major areas I will have to contend with when selecting materials for the school media center.
There have been some great points mentioned in everyone's post.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Bobbie's words: "Schools should be for developing the skills to think, research, and communicate so they can tackle complex subjects like this and make informed decisions on their own as adults."
I speak from the perspective of a high school teacher. Students need to be guided to make informed decisions on their own. I think schools should provide a diverse perspective so that students can make these decisions based upon their rearing and their own conclusions based on what they have been exposed to.
Schools should be able to present all sides of an issue. The best way to do this is to have a media center that is open to all areas of thought. This is one thing that I really like about the media center at the school where I teach. There are books on all subjects. Students are not censored or judged for wanting to explore an interest in what maybe perceived as objectionable/questionable subject matter.
This is one I can honestly say I struggle with each time I think about ordering resources. I know myself well and realize I have to be cautious that I don’t force my beliefs on my patrons either verbally or through developing and maintaining a collection that is one-sided. I have to keep in mind the difference between selection and censorship. I must strive to always protect the intellectual freedom of my patrons. The only way I can do this is by ensuring I develop and maintain a well-balanced collection. My deep beliefs are Christ-centered; therefore, are conservative. I don’t believe in homosexuality, abortion, cloning, Satanism, etc. I do, however, realize it is my responsibility to ensure I purchase resources that support each department’s curricula; therefore, may need to order resources on some subjects that I struggle exposing my students to. However, I also realize that there are some resources that are inappropriate for school libraries. Just this year I had a request for the Satanic Bible. I have to admit I was relieved to be able to honestly tell the student that we did not have any funds to order any materials this year. Thankfully, I was able to receive guidance through one of our discussion questions on this very subject. If the student were to ask again, and we did have funds, I could honestly tell him that since none of the professional review journals have recommended the Satanic Bible for school libraries and it is not required to support any of our curricula, we are not able to order it.
ReplyDeleteI have learned the importance of ensuring an unbiased media center collection. This means that there will be resources in the collection that don’t gel with my beliefs and/or the beliefs of our community. However, I find comfort in knowing that there are also resources that do gel with my beliefs and/or the beliefs of our community. I also appreciate when a resource provides statements about the possible results of choices we make. For example, what may result if a person chooses to live a homosexual lifestyle, have an abortion, abuse drugs, or take a stance against these same choices. In the end, each student needs to have the opportunity to come to their own conclusions. After all, isn’t that what critical thinking is all about? It is my responsibility to ensure they have the necessary resources to be able to research their topic and come to personal conclusions that they can back up.
Paula,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your tendency to struggle with weeding books that you read as a child. But, it’s really good that you realize that some are “outdated and not being read” because times have changed. These changes are resulting in new book topics that we have to make sure are available to our patrons. Some of these topics are difficult for me because I simply cannot relate to them; therefore, do not enjoy reading about them. However, I do realize that many people enjoy reading books about these topics. Like you, I do not like “potty humor,” but it is sure popular today and readily available to young readers. All we can do is ensure we are providing them with a variety of literature so when they grow out of this stage, there are other books that they can read.
Bobbie, I really appreciated your comment, “I also don't think that anyone, that doesn't know me, could walk into either of my libraries and be able to deduce from the contents of the shelves what my beliefs and prejudices are.” Developing and maintaining a collection like this will provide the best opportunity for patrons to come to their own conclusions and be able to back them up with knowledge they’ve gleaned from the research they’ve done. If this research is completed in as non-biased collection as possible, patrons can truly come to their own conclusions.
ReplyDeleteBobbie, I really appreciated your comment, “I also don't think that anyone, that doesn't know me, could walk into either of my libraries and be able to deduce from the contents of the shelves what my beliefs and prejudices are.” Developing and maintaining a collection like this will provide the best opportunity for patrons to come to their own conclusions and be able to back them up with knowledge they’ve gleaned from the research they’ve done. If this research is completed in as non-biased collection as possible, patrons can truly come to their own conclusions.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy own deeply held beliefs? I did not think I would have any that would get in the way of me selecting and maintaining a collection. But it has been enlightening reading these posts! I do have trouble with extreme violence though and will need to make sure I put thought into that when deciding if something is age appropriate. I am very open minded though and think that just because I might not agree with something, that others have the same right to decide for themselves what they want to believe. I think all book choices should reflect that.
ReplyDeleteSome things did stand out to me -
Liz Futch, I agree that by age 16 most kids are ready to read about almost anything ~ and many at a younger age than that. But just because a book might be about teen pregnancy or sex (or insert any topic here) it would not mean it would have to be glamorized or sensationalized. But on the flip side, what if it was? Gangs, drugs, teen sex - all things controversial have been sensationalized in one venue or another but the risks of certain lifestyles are still evident. And what better way to be tolerant of other people and their choices then to fully understand a different point of view?
I think that Kimberly (on march 16) said it wonderfully about students shaping their own beliefs.
Kimberly - you got my curiosity up, would you mind sharing the title of the book you read to the class? And I think that goes one past just accepting other's rights, I would offer something I might not personally agree with but I would never continue to read it outloud!
ReplyDeletePauline it really sounds like you have it together. I am a first year teacher therefore; I have limited knowledge of our collection development. However, I do believe that you must be open-minded and focus on what your school needs versus your own personal beliefs (which we all have a hard time doing).
ReplyDeleteOne area that I struggle with is using AR. Most teachers in my school jump at the thought of AR. I on the other hand, started the school year not pushing it. I believe that children will develop a love for things naturally without me being too pushy. Thankfully (no that the school year is coming to an end), I was right. My classroom levels ranged I had children who came in reading on a Kindergarten level and others reading on a 3rd grade level. I am proud to say that those children reading at a Kindergarten level are now confident enough to choose an AR book from the library and take an AR test. I believe that you have to instill the confidence within the students and then allow them to naturally make their own decisions about what they choose to read. Then they take ownership of their accomplishments.
I guess what I was trying to say in my previous post is that even though I don’t agree with those areas (teen sex and pregnancy), I understand it is a reality. However, I don’t think it should be sensationalized or glamorized. I agree with all of you who say it happens and that kids already know about it by the time they are 16. I also don’t feel those topics should be ‘banned’ from literature or school media centers because, again, they are reality. I just don’t think they should be made to look glamorous, because frankly, they are not. They (teen sex/pregnancy) usually have very traumatizing and long lasting effects upon the teens who take part in those actions. I know my own children are exposed to these subjects but would prefer to make the decision of when or if they read or watch (television) shows on those particular topics as I know the maturity level of my own children better than anyone else. In addition to knowing when and if my children were reading/watching material on those topics, I would be available to talk to them about it. So, as you can tell, that is probably the subject(s) that would cause me the most issues with selecting materials and/or classroom collections.
ReplyDeleteI have noted several others of you voicing your opinion on violence. Again, we all know these events occur in the ‘real’ world, but I would have difficulty adding or keeping items containing acts of extreme violence in the media center. I will say this, however, that there are many gray areas with this topic including the age and maturity level of students and the degree of the violence; both of which need to be taken into account. As Pauline stated, it is important to have a selection policy to help guide through these gray areas.
Wow, what amazing insight I have gained from these posts. As I look inward, I find several issues that I will have to struggle with when purchasing titles for my collection. I am a conservative christian; therefore, I will struggle with exposing students to topics like homosexuality, abortion, extreme violence,satanism etc. As a middle school teacher, I know these issues are not topics unknown to the students I teach. Prior to taking this class, I could have avoided these topics by simply stating "Ask Your Parents". I know some will say that is a sell out, but it keeps me from being called on the carpet.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and learning about intellectual freedom, I do now realize my job as an MS is to provide a wide variety of viewpoints on controversial issues.Fortunately, there is support for those MS that stand firm on intellectual freedom. (I will admit if I was given the choice by an administrator to pull a book on homosexuality or loose my job- I might not be as bold.)I think as long as an MS is able to stay true to intellectual freedom and have the support of a sound media policy the task of developing a well balanced collection will be obtainable.
Kayla Stephenson,
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement with you. My son, a struggling reader, is totally turned off to reading because the AR goals are set very high in my system.Right now, we are checking out non-fiction because they are the shortest and can be read in one night.He is only in second grade.What about the love for reading that will carry us throughout the next 10 years?? I have students at the middle school that admit they hate to read because of AR. (What a shame!)I know many teachers live and die by AR. I know it has it's positives, but as a mom of a second grader it is hard to see your son and others not participate in AR rewards.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteThe book is Go Ask Alice by anonymous.Ironically enough, it is on the band book list, which I did not know at the time. I saw students reading it and requesting it. I was looking for a good book to read as class, and we had a class set. My media specialist told me it was diary entries about a girl who becomes addicted to drugs and students really liked reading it. I thought it would be great since I always saw students reading it, and it was, for them.
I have really enjoyed reading the post of this question. I believe, like so many others, that my biggest problem areas would be in the topics of teen sex/pregnancy, abortions, homosexuality, gang related topics, extreme violence and Satanism. Things have changed so much since I was in school and I don’t consider myself that old. These are topics that just weren’t discussed when I was growing up. Maybe I was sheltered to a certain degree but I’m not sure that was such a bad thing either. However, I know that times have changed and most of these topics are discussed pretty freely among a lot of students. I have a 16 year old and an eleven year old. They are so much more aware of “topics of concern” at their age than I ever was. Although I don’t agree or believe in these topics, I also realize that being a media specialist I will have to have material in these areas. I know that I can’t transfer my values and beliefs on others. I also feel that the teenage years are really hard years and so many teens are trying to find themselves and find out who they really are. Books are a resource that may assist teens in doing this. Students should have access to materials which cover various sides of controversial issues. This may help them to develop into the person they are to become.
ReplyDeleteThis is in response to Kim Exley’s post. I work in a very poor rural county where the majority of the students have never left the county and they don’t know how other people live. They only know how things are “done” where they live. Some of our students have never even eaten at a McDonald’s restaurant. I’m not sure that with some of our students it is a lack of a desire to branch out but more so an impossible feat because of finances. So, I agree that our kids lack in the knowledge of understanding how others live, how they talk, dress, what they believe in, etc. So, with our kids, books are a way of opening the doors to another world that some will never see or get to experience.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Patrice and Kim, I completely agree. We have to step into the lives of our students and figure out how to accommodate for their lack of knowledge by using resources such as books and videos. Ultimately this is a difficult task, but it can be done with awareness of classroom situations and with teachers or media specialists who are willing to take action.
ReplyDeleteI've just finished reading many of your values and beliefs posts and I want to thank each of you for being so honest in sharing your "starting points" with all of us. I personally found these posts interesting in light of the discussions on the banned books many of you had selected to read. I think that next year Dr. Lechner and I might need to structure this assignment so that you are required to read a banned book that is outside of your personal comfort zone. While it's interesting to revisit (or visit for the first time)titles by authors like Judy Blume and Katherine Patterson I'm not sure those titles really force you to come to grips with your own value system and the basic belief librarians have in Intellectual Freedom. Certainly it wouldn't be hard to find ya titles that have themes related to many of the values you all have identified. It might be a little more challenging for children's titles but books by Babette Cole and Robie Harris might work.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we would like to shelter our elementary students, I am not naive enough to believe that books are the only source of information. Before ordering books, I think it is important to read reviews from journals and parents/readers. I have found myself "steering clear" of books that have lots of controversial reviews. I know that is my way of avoiding possible issues with challenges. It's hard to "overlook" risky reviews. I guess I feel that there are so many quality books out there and a limited budget, that it is easier to order appropriate, highly recommended titles for my elementary students.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the negative comments about the AR program: This program is as good as the teachers/MS who are monitoring it! When our school of 660 students did not use the program, our circulation was very low. Students just weren't reading! Now however, with the implementation of AR our circulation has tripled (or more). The majority of our students work hard to meet goals for prizes,celebrations and recognition. The assigned zones help them choose books that can be read independently. The MS plays a huge role in helping students find books that they will enjoy, to keep them motivated, and to have a large selection of AR books to choose from. I think the program fails when teachers make it a part of the report card grade and constantly "nag" about goals, etc. We must teach children that reading is fun when they are reading something that they enjoy. That's when they will move from reading for extrinsic rewards to intrinsic.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the question this week and the accompanying articles, I had to do some serious "soul searching." I am a Christian and a conservative. I teach elementary children and do not believe that they should ever be exposed to sexual content, obscene language, violence, etc. However, I realize that most of these children watch movies and television shows that even I wouldn't watch. I also believe in the "traditional home." Yet I know that most of our children today to not live in what I consider a "traditional home." I recognize the need to consider the rights and freedoms of all people when purchasing materials for a media center. I know that I will have to make conscious decisions not to censor materials based on my own beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI was so happy to read bcassels post about AR because that is exactly how I feel! I have seen AR increase our circulation and the number of students reading. Before AR, the majority of students never went to the library because they did not "like reading" or were just too lazy to read. I have seen our comprehension scores rise due to AR. I, too, know that AR will fail if the teachers and staff do not use it correctly. This is true for any subject that we teach. Not all students like math, science, social studies, etc. but we still must teach it. However, we can fail in these also if we don't do our jobs correctly. AR is just another tool in our arsenal. It is not the only tool that we should be using!
ReplyDeleteSome of my deeply held beliefs include…
ReplyDelete1. A love of hunting and fishing and the outdoors (something that not many people in Atlanta, where I live, are familiar with).
2. I also love alligators and would have a whole library filled with these books, if I am not careful.
3. I think that other religions are intriguing and I enjoy learning more about others’ beliefs because I think we can all learn more about the world that way.
4. I disagree with some other people’s views on non-traditional families… I think that same-sex couples should have the same rights heterosexual couples have; hence I think that books dealing with gay/lesbian families should be more than welcome in the school media center.
5. Lastly, my daughter is adopted so I think that books that portray adoption in an accurate and healthy way should have a home in every media center.
Dr. Repman,
ReplyDeleteI think that having people choose books outside of their comfort zone would be more interesting and beneficial. It would require us to evaluate our own beliefs and then challenge them.
This is a topic that I have also wrestled with in our discussions and postings. It is actually something that I have not even thought about before, being new to all of this. But after reading a post from Cynthia this week on how they have a policy in place for complaints about books and someone just took it upon themselves to have the book removed without going through the process that they have in place in their district, I was a little upset by that. Especially when others have also spoken up to say that they do not have a problem with the book that had been removed. I am a pretty open minded person as well, but also have deeply held beliefs like some of the ones that patty mentioned/listed. There are some things that I believe are just “wrong,” or do not believe in, and I guess that could cause some difficulty when selecting materials. After reading and researching why parents and others wanted my book banned, it has given me a better perspective about the topic of banned books. I want the media center to be a place that provides a variety of experiences for students, that meet the standards, and that also meets the teachers and students needs.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is funny how some have mentioned that they have a fear of filling their media center with books that are on topics that they love, such as alligators, baseball, fishing..... I had not really thought about that, but I can definitely see myself doing something like that! :0)
ReplyDeleteI also agree with many of the comments that the others have stated about it being difficult to choose materials relating to other religions or "beliefs." I think this is a topic that I would probably be quilty of censoring myself.
Dr. Repman
ReplyDeleteI had a real knee jerk with your comment about our chosen banned books. Although I had never read "A Wrinkle in Time", it is a book on the edge of my "I tend to pick older books" comfort zone. If I can find time, I think I need to read another newer banned book...any suggestions anyone.
Delta,
ReplyDeleteYour comment, "I will admit if I was given the choice by an administrator to pull a book on homosexuality or loose my job- I might not be as bold." made me realize I will probably struggle with bias for the rest of my life. This is especially true on subjects in which I have firm beliefs. For example, I would be willing to stand firm to the point of possible job loss over freedom of religion; however, I would not be over exposing students to subjects such as abortion, homosexuality, etc. unless they were presented in an informational manner, i.e. non-glorified. In otherwords, I would willingly pull a book on topics that I would rather not expose students to and would fight for those topics that I believe students should learn about. This is definitely not my right because I am encroaching on their intellectual freedom. This week's readings and blog are quite eye-opening for me!
Delta,
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many high school students that I've spoken to that refuse to check a book out of the media center to read for pleasure because, in their words, "I had books crammed down my throat because of AR." It really makes me sad; however, I will keep trying to find that one book that will help them to learn to read for pleasure.
In respone to bcassel, my only point with AR is that it should be something that the students choose to do, not something that is forced. I believe that naturally students will become interested in AR. Therefore, most of my 2nd grade students now participate in AR (by choice) whereas, they were not that interested at the beginning of the school year. Now that they are confident in their reading they are comfortable with the program.
ReplyDeleteI have many beliefs, values, and morals that I will have to learn to set aside when selecting materials for a media center. As a Christian, it will be very difficult for me to select books that I believe promote different religions. This will probably be the biggest challenge I'll have as a media specialist because I will feel personal guilt and responsibility for possibly introducing others to a religion other than Christianity. Honestly, this will be a huge tug-of-war between personal beliefs and professional obligations. However, in the end, I know I will do what is expected of me as a librarian.
ReplyDeleteIt will also be difficult to select materials that contain extreme profanity, sexual content, or homosexuality. I can tolerate some profanity and sexual connotations but, if used often, they can turn me away from a book or movie. I especially do not agree with this if it's being used in an elementary or middle school leveled book. Homosexuality is against my Christian beliefs and I would not want to promote this lifestyle through my media center.
I would not have any problems selecting materials with illustrations of various cultures and ethnicities. Because our schools consist of whites, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, etc. I do believe that a library collection should contain multi-cultural titles and promote a sense of belonging to all of its patrons.
DCorbitt,
ReplyDeleteYou and I share similar beliefs. I, too, realized through this activity that making unbiased selections for a media center will be difficult with strongly held Christian beliefs. I also believe in traditional families and the omission of profanity and violence in children's books. This will be a challenge that you and I will likely face one day as media specialists.
I have really enjoyed reading these posts. It has been very thought provoking for me as it has really made me wonder about my own beliefs. Having taught high school kids for a number of years, I find that by the time the students get to me, they already know so much about sex, drugs, violence, etc. They learn so much from TV and video games that filling the media center with books that discuss these topics seems so minor. I guess I cannot see the big controversy about it in a high school. All that being said, it would be hard for me to include topics like those in a middle school media center. I honestly can see myself not being as objective as I should be when it comes to putting books on the shelves. I do see the potential for me to order tons of cool science books since I love the subject, and I can see myself staying away from books that contain a lot of sexuality. Not showing any bias in the media center would be extremely difficult.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Pauline about AR: I teach high school students and I have heard that phrase many times from kids. So many of them hated AR in elementary school because they were "forced" to read. My daughter and son are in elementary school and they love all the AR "things" that are promoted at the school. They are both big readers anyway, and my daughter reads more books that are not AR, but they both love to earn the points.
The question posed to us this week has caused me to reflect deeply on my firmly rooted Christian beliefs and how those beliefs will affect my collection. I do not support books that glamorize gangs, drug use, extreme violence, teen pregnancy, or suicide in any school. Books that share the reality of these issues are fine in age appropriate centers.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a conservative rural community. My small town experiences have certainly shaped my views on life. While I am not small-minded,
I share the values of most rural Georgians. That being said, I do not feel that my viewpoints should become a limiting factor when it comes to building my collection.
I do believe in biblo-therapy and I will strive to include these types of books in my collection, even if I disagree with their issues. It is my job to have a collection that is well- rounded and that all people can enjoy. I don’t want it to look like a fortyish, Protestant, Caucasians’ collection.
MrsDavis,
ReplyDeleteI think that Middle School MS would be the hardest of all MS jobs. Kids go from being babies to practically grown in 3 years! How can you have books that are appropriate for such a variety of kids. Also, maturation, mental and physical, must be taken into account! Some are sexually active, and some have yet to reach menses! What a mess...... I'm thinking Elementary School is the way to go...or High School.....because they know everything then anyway :0
(from the loving parent of 2 teenage boys)
Jennifer Prall-Barfield:
ReplyDeleteI have thought about this question since it was posted. I've asked myself "What do I believe should be in my collection?" and nothing comes to mind. To explain, I really don't have any beliefs that would shape any bias towards selection and censorship in the media center. Maybe because I was a famished reader and read anything I could get my hands on, and so I know that students will always find a way to get information that is withheld from them. I don't want to come off as this totally open-minded/liberal person, I still think age appropriateness should prevail in what goes in the collection, but I really can;t say that I would have to "get over" any belief I had.
I suppose though, that I would be biased in trying to make my collection as complete as possible and making sure there is "good" literature/information inside. I don't mean that every book has to be a classic or scholarly work, but I would welcome the opportunity to place materials in the collection that do offer different viewpoints, convey a message, present hints or a full fledged view of different lifestyles, religions, practices. I also know that while some people view series books as "lower level literature," series books build fluency in reading and often are hook to get children into reading.....(my experience of working midnight Harry Potter parties at Barnes & Noble showed me that peopel salivate awaiting the next book in a series).
Anyway, although I am not currently working in a Media Center, I am building a collection at home for my daughter (20 months old). I like to look at each book if I can, and determine if it is "worthy" to go in her collection. I have books of differnt types as well as for as she grows (of course I read a lot of the stories to her now). When choosing books, I guess I am biased into choosing books that tell a good story, have interesting artwork, show humor/irony (Jon Scieszka anyone), represent different cultures/customs, and present different viewpoints. Also she has the classics (Dr. Seuss, Leo Lionni, Eric Carle) and those that should be "standards" in any collection (Seuss, Carle, Mother Goose, Shel Silverstein, and on and on)
P.S. I posted using another Google account I have.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJennifer said:
ReplyDelete"I don't want to come off as this totally open-minded/liberal person"
Why? Would that a bad thing? Even if someone is an open-minded/liberal person, like myself, that doesn't mean my K-5 or even my middle school library has copies of Judy Blume's "Forever" or whatever other books would be equally as inappropriate for those age levels.
Being open-minded, and a liberal to boot, does not mean someone lacks common sense.
Having read more posts about AR, I can definitely see how any program, no matter how good, if not used properly can end up turning students off to the very thing the program is meant to promote. This revelation adds so much more responsibility to that of an educator. If our programs are only beneficial to those that already have the skills the programs are meant to teach, what good are these programs? Plus, a technique that works for one student doesn't necessarily work for all students; therefore, we have to be cautious how we meet the needs of students as individuals. This drives home the importance of differentiation. That's one of the beauties of being a media specialist. I can take the time to get to know my students, either through interacting with them or seeking their teachers' input, and then better meet their needs through finding the perfect book, research materials, etc. for them. It's so rewarding when you hit the mark!
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteI was convicted by your comment, "I also love alligators and would have a whole library filled with these books, if I am not careful." Your comment made me realize another bias of mine. I absolutely love any type of book dealing with history, but are rarely interested in reading books about science. If I am not careful, I can see how my media center would become heavy with history books but too lean with books about science. This would not represent my patrons’ interests and needs, but mine and I do not want my media center representing only my interests. Thanks for the comment!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI guess that my deeply held belief that I might need to wrestle with as I select
ReplyDeletematerials for the school library or classroom collection is that of equality. Religion and the way I was raised have both affected me and my opinion of equality. I am a Christian, and to me that means that everyone is equal - and therefore has a right to be surrounded by literature that is appealing to them. It is not my job to censor what is right and what is wrong; it is my job to provide literature that enables students to find comfort, enjoyment, and learn something, too! That being said, I have no problem with books from different religions, books that discuss families other than “’traditional” nuclear families, books that have characters from a variety of cultures and races, or books that discuss issues parents may find the need to avoid discussing with their children. If a parent finds the need to censor their child’s literature, then that is certainly their option – not mine.
In keeping this in mind, I will try my best to select literature for the target age group and audience. I will not intentionally choose literature that is too old or advanced for my students.
Re: sfuentes post on March 13
ReplyDeleteYou made an excellent point: “I want to provide information for my patrons because they have the right to seek information from all points of view and not just mine.” Even though students have access to the Internet, the Media Center is still an excellent source of information for our students. By providing a variety of information, we are allowing our students to make choices. If they find a book, read a few chapters and discover that they are not interested in a topic, it is their option to make a new selection. I believe that Media Centers provide a great opportunity for students to educate themselves and make informed opinions.
Pauline
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem with history. I love history and do gravitate to history and biographies. It is a little contagious in my family - My son and son-in-law are both history teachers. My brother is a research chemist, and yet the love of science missed me somehow.
It was very interesting to read everyone's comments before posting. It took a great deal of courage to tell others about your beliefs and convictions. I'm sure that we will all have difficulty in at least one area, if not more.
ReplyDeleteI know that I will wrestle with putting books on Satanism and abuse in the media center because these are topics that I don't feel comfortable about in any medium. Do they have a place in a school library? Yes and no. It depends on the age of the students involved. Are there some books that are inappropriate for a school library period? Yes, I think so. One of the ways that I would try to overcome this problem is to seek other professionals (such as media specialists from schools in the area)for their input. I will also tend to choose too many science materials if I'm not careful because of my background. How do I plan to overcome this dilemma? I think that we have all started to face it as we have expressed the areas that we are most uncomfortable dealing with. That is the first step; realizing that we have issues with certain topics. After that, then we can move on.
Paula Hunt,
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by what you said about "A Wrinkle in Time". Could you please explain it? This caught my interest because I also chose that book. Even though this book was first published in 1962 I don't see it as being "old". I need to see if I can get my 12 year-old granddaughter to read it and give me her input. She's been bitten by the "Twilight" bug, so I'm not sure if I'll have much success.
I am amazed by the comments regarding AR. My previous school pushed AR and teachers were held accountable when students did not meet their goals(SACS goal). Some teachers were even frowned upon because they let their lower readers read books on the lower end of their reading level in order for them to pass their test and gain as many points as possible...and failing test were removed so that class averages would be high(and then the teacher look like she was teaching reading better than the honest teachers....anyway.....I am very sad to know the lasting effects of AR as reported by other posts. I can imagine that I would have felt the same way. What a different person I would have been had I not become an avid reader early in life. I definitely would not be pursuing a degree for a job where I am surrounded by books! What a realization!
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking about what I would struggle with if I were responsible for a media center's collection, like many others I would have a problem with wanting to fill the center with historical fiction and historical biographies. I love the subject so much it would be hard for me to overcome my subject area bias. I also feel I would struggle with some books because of my religious beliefs. It would be very hard for me to overlook books addressing drug use because I feel that in exposing students to some works it might glamorize it inappropriately. Like many posters I too would look for a wide range of cultures and nationalities to be represented. I don't think that would be a problem for me because my family is biracial. I am glad that it is the focus of some of the topics of this weeks blog.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletebcassels
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that an AR program is only as good as the teachers and MS that operate it. I find a lot of positives to the AR system but when it is administered incorrectly it can cause students to hate reading.
patty-
ReplyDeletesleighbelle (Stacy Eastwood)
like you I am a conservative Christian and it is important for me to overcome my bias when building a media center collection to make sure varying religious views are represented. It important to remind myself that even though I am a Christian all of my students may not be and I need to be mindful of that when ordering materials.
I have a lot of the same issues as many others have posted. I would have a hard time selecting books on certain subject matter like homosexuality or some extreme religious viewpoints. I have to remind myself that it's not that I am condoning a certain viewpoint as much as making it available so people can become aware of the various aspects of an issue and thus decide for themselves what they believe. I was brought up in an environment of being told there is only one right way and no other viewpoint is valid. It can be difficult to put one's own views aside and be open-minded for the sake of intellectual freedom.
ReplyDeleteI understand where Stacy is coming from as far as wanting to load up on a certain topic in the ms collection. I have a fascination of the ocean and fish, so of course I would like to see a lot more in my media center on the subject. It would definitely be easy to over-indulge!
ReplyDeleteI would wrestle with selecting too many nonfiction. I love nonfiction and naturally gravitate towards those titles. I am politically conservative, so I may be tempted to purchase items with these views. I would also be fearful of anything with drug or sexual content. However, I don't think ignoring these issues is the solution either. When reading Dr. Lechner's aritcle, I realized how using sticker labels can potentially cause students not to check out certain boooks. I would probably wrestle with this since stickers are widely used within my district. I see both the pros and cons of this.
ReplyDeleteIn response to bcassels and dcorbitt, I think that AR has increased student check-out due to the nature of the program. It has been very successful in motivating students. I agree that it should not be for a grade. Comprehension and fluency grades should be based on the core curriculum, and AR should be a pleasurable and nonpressured experience. I do think, as educators, we should highly encourage students to check out books for a variety of reasons and not just to receive awards.
ReplyDeleteI read what Patty wrote about her beliefs, and I feel very much as she does, except that I am VERY environmentally conscious. The articles about intellectual freedom have REALLY opened my eyes about my own beliefs...
ReplyDeleteI view the world through my experiences as a white middle class Christian. I have come to realize that as a media specialist, I must uphold books for the center that I might not/ or won't agree with at all. And although my beliefs are important to me, I realize that for the mc the diversity of the collection makes it that much better. I would have to train myself to be more objective to the many topics I feel strongly about. I would remind myself of the importance of reaching all of the patrons of the media center in which I serve as the media specialist. I would even read some of the material that my beliefs find objectionable so that I am well informed of what the books say....
I believe the library media specialist is an essential link in a new educational learning community which includes students, teachers, administrators, and parents as well as local, regional, state, national, and international communities. The new learning community is not limited by time, place, age, occupation, or disciplinary borders but instead is linked by interests, needs, and a growing array of telecommunications technologies. While I am both a Christian and a conservative, I still believe that our students should not be afraid to ask any question at school. Isn’t it better for them to come to adults or the materials we have provided them in the school media center to look for answers, rather than just wandering aimlessly with nowhere to turn?
ReplyDeleteWe want our students to be information literate and to assist all students in becoming active and creative locators, evaluators, and users of information to solve problems, think critically, and to satisfy their own curiosity through research and reading experiences.
Isn’t that what being a media specialist is all about?
My grandfather is a retired Southern Baptist Preacher…so I know what it feels like to have someone else “push” their faith, and their beliefs on you. As it turns out I do agree with him on many levels now…but I also learned that you cannot expect everyone to believe what you believe…just because you believe it. Does that make sense?
Wow! What an eye opener all these great posts have been! I too am a conservative Christian, and would probably have trouble adding books on homosexuality,violence, sex, drugs, rape, and other religions to my collection.However, my job would be to put aside my beliefs and do what is best for my students and teachers. I agree with Amy Yarbrough when she said it is not our job to decide what is right or wrong, but to provide literature that enables students to find comfort, enjoyment, and learn something in the process. I also can relate with Paula Hunt on being from the "old school". I too find the technology challenging and there is a strong learning curve there for me, but the kids are very comfortable with all aspects of technology, so I'm getting there slowly!
ReplyDeleteKaren I too am an incredibly conservative Christian and I know it will be incredibly to put items on the shelf that are contrary to my beliefs. However, I do believe that suppressing ideas makes learning that informtaion more enticing. Plus Amy is correct we can't force people to decide what is right or wrong based soley on our beliefs.
ReplyDeleteWow - what an insightful article. I like the author find myself struggling to not be biased in my selection of materials.
ReplyDeleteWhy must I confront my deeply held beliefs?
The mere thought of confronting my deeply held beliefs automatically puts me on the defensive as mentioned near the end of the article. I do agree that I should not keep students from experiencing situations through literature just because I do not agree with the circumstances in those situations. I think to be a truly effective media specialist we must be willing to put books on the shelf that shake the core of who we are simply because we are American. If we start filtering our selection we become no different than other countries and their restricting governments.
I almost forgot to answer the question that we were asked to respond to ! One of my deeply held beliefs that would make it tough for me to choose a book on this topic is homosexuality. I am so vehemently against it that I truly would have a hard time buying a book that made it seem okay. I am not saying that kids should not be taught to be nice to everyone - they absolutely should. However, I would have a hard time buying a book that made same sex unions equal to marriage between a man and a woman.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if I as a teacher need to get experienced teachers to help me in finding the right books for my classroom. I want to have a variety of books in which all of the children will find comforting and helpful within the classroom. I hope also to get views from children that I know as well as some parent’s involvement in my picking of books. I feel as if it is very important to have the approval of children and parents. I know that I can and will pick out most of the books in my classroom but I believe that there are some things that I will not like and some children in my classroom will love. I really don’t like dirty yucky type books but some of the boys in my room may love them. I really have to look outside the box when picking and make sure that they are very intriguing for children, age appropriate, as well as have a purpose (goes along with a topic or is just for reading for fun.) I want to make sure in my classroom that I have a variety of books for the children to choose from and a great variety of multicultural books so that all of the children in my classroom feel important and involved. I feel as if I will have a hard time in my classroom picking books in that I really don’t like Accelerated Reader. I hated it as a child growing up and I just feel like you should be able to read for fun and not to take a test after every book you read. I feel as if Accelerated Reader is just used for the points system and the rewards and it might work for some children but not for all. Also, with the program children cannot read just any book. They are forced to read just the books that are on AR which is not right… they should be able to read all different types of books. I feel as if I will have a hard time wrestling with having a lot of AR books in my room but some of the children and their parents are going to be extremely into this program and I am going to have to support that even if I don’t believe in it completely.
ReplyDeleteI also will have a hard time wrestling with the fact that not all books are good to me but some of my children may love that book and so I will need to have a variety in which some I like and some I do not. I need to have a variety whether I like them or not because like I said it might be one of my student’s favorite books. I will need to learn to keep my opinion to myself also because that could hurt the children’s in my rooms feelings.
I also have a hard time with violent,sexual, and non christian books. I will need to be able to put my beliefs especially about religion behind me and choose books that incorporate all religions.
I agree with most everyones posts on AR. I hated Ar as a child because I was forced to read. I thought it was the dumbest thing and thought it was just very forceful!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with everyone in the religious aspects in the classroom and having a hard time chosing books to put in the classroom that are not christian. I also feel it is hard to put books with sexual, violence and content of that nature into the classroom since i don't believe that children should be learning about such things.
Also, I think it is interesting the comment on politics in the classroom and how you wanted to leave it out of the classroom but it was very important to your students and so you decided to bring it in. I agree with you in a way because it is hard to talk abou tit and not voice your opinion. but i also belive it is imporatant because children do need to know about the presidential candidates and i think that my teachers were like this when i went through school and that is why i don't know as much about presidentials candidates and things of that nature.
cp
ReplyDelete1962 may not seem old - and really isn't compared to say "Little Women", but I realize that I really need to be reading more books that were published within the last 5-10 years.
Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteYour comments on the political election and its place in the classroom does involve walking a very fine line. As a social studies teacher, you do have to be very careful not to emphasis either political party since many parents prefer to instill those views at home. As media specialists all we can do as far as collection development is to provide materials that represent all aspects of politics in order for students to have the information to make well-informed decisions.
My own deeply held beliefs? I am a Christian, although I don't belief that I would have difficulty choosing materials involving other religions. I would have some difficulty choosing appropriate materials with non traditional families. I think that it would be very hard to find materials that would be seen as appropriate, partly because I have not seen many; although I do believe there is a need for these type of resources. Students in non traditional families should be able to see themselves in stories also. Another issue I think that I will have is wanting to stock the shelves with multicultural titles. My children are bi-racial so I feel that collections should have more ethnically diverse titles that represent different cultures. I also lean more towards fiction instead of non fiction so that will be difficult for me to not want to just stock stories rather than informational texts.
ReplyDeleteAR can be such a hot button issue. I agree with making students read for a set amount of time daily with materials that are slightly challenging. I don't believe in attaching a test or grade to it. My school does not use the AR program, but most teachers do use reading logs. As a parent, I like that my child is required to read but she is not required to take a test on the book. I talk to her about what she is reading, but she does not have to go through the anxiety of the test. So, I know what she is reading and can help her understand or answer any questions she has. With all the topics we have been discussing, I find myself asking, how would I feel about my child reading that? And as long as we have the type of relationship in which she can talk to me about what she is reading and I can help her understand anything she is not familiar with, like non traditional families. I believe that these materials will only help her to grow as an individual. If I shelter her, she will encounter these situations on her own, without me to help her understand.
ReplyDeleteI'm posting this on behalf of Jess Miles, who is having some computer issues.
ReplyDeleteWow. Firstly, everybody's posts are great and filled with a lot of interesting stuff. Paula, I can understand not wishing to weed the books of your past. I'm only twenty-two and most of the books I read are a child are hard to find in Public Libraries. I recently learned that books I read in high school have been banned in my Alma Mater. I heard of books that are no longer allowed in AP courses that I read in ninth grade. The reason? A radical new preacher (I believe) told his congregation that these books were evil.
My mum used to work in a public library and I volunteered there. I would watch this parade of little old ladies come in and ask for the older librarians (not my mum or me) to remove these books because they were un-Christian. This list had everything from Harry Potter to The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis, un-Christian?!). The other librarians wouldn't really fight for the books, but if these ladies talked to my mum or me, we would ask what was object able in the books and they would make comments like magic, sex, or, my personal favorite, magic lessons. Does this little group truly represent the Christians of my area? NO!
What things will I struggle with? Here are a few things I think I will have problems with.
1. As I conservative Christian, I often struggle with justifying my beliefs and what I select. However, I don't want to be the like the little old ladies wanting to ban books they've never read. I personally don't care for the Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (I do like Sally Lockhart, however), but I don't think I would pull it because who am I to judge a book? I also have another firm belief that if a work of fiction can rewrite your beliefs, they weren't that strong to begin with.
2. Politically correct is not actually correct. I'm all for building a multi-cultural and diverse media center, but that also includes other cultures from past and present. These text include terms like the n-word, weak female characters, race slandering, etc. Some people say these terms are incorrect, but the terms exist and should be taught in the proper context before they become evil. Show them what the terms mean and why they are not appropriate today.
3. I don't believe that books about topics students see everyday life or in other media should be banned. Sex, violence, and language are always under fire in books. I assure you, most students have encountered these things before. I'm not saying that third grade and lower should be exposed, but I promise you that in forth grade most know about sex, violence, and curse worse than sailors. We need books to explain this.
My main problem is that I'm stubborn. If I see a point to the book, I will fight for it. Students need to see the world, understand its' imperfections to understand how it works and how to improve it. But how can students truly understand if they never learn about the situation?
Yep, gonna say my problem is stubborn.
I don't want us to get into a big discussion of the pros and cons of AR but I do want to share this resource with you-
ReplyDeleteOne of ALA's set of interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights deals with labeling (which is a key component of AR in most schools):
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/interpretations/statementlabeling.cfm
At the bottom of this document there's a link to an FAQ about labels. I think you'll find many of the questions interesting (especially the ones about using things like the movie rating system we're so familiar with). Here's what the FAQ has to say about AR in terms of intellectual freedom:
Age, Grade, Reading Level, and Computerized Reading Programs
I would like to organize sections of the library using reading level designations, such as those supplied by Accelerated Reader. Is this okay?
While knowing the reading level of a book can assist library users, organizing a library via these labels can pose a psychological barrier for users who do not know their reading level. Many will feel that they should not utilize those resources.
Users who do know their reading level may feel compelled to only select resources from their reading level. This will result in users not utilizing the full scope of the library collection.
Is it okay to restrict certain sections of the collection based on the patron's age or grade level?
Restricting access to library materials based on age or grade level does not respect the individual needs, interests, and abilities of users and violates the Library Bill of Rights.
This weeks topic is very interesting. For the most part I am quite liberal and censorship is an issue I feel strongly about, but I certainly realize the need to choose age appropriate material. There are some topics I think I will have difficulty with once I am in a media center.
ReplyDeleteI think a main concern of mine when I am in a media center will be family life and sexual content in books. By that, I mean kissing, hugging, sex, dating, etc. I would tend to lean conservative on these topics and what students should be exposed too. It will be difficult to figure out what is age appropriate. I think that having a strong support group of media specialists, reading reviews and blogs would be very helpful when choosing books with controversial subject matter.
Another area of difficulty for me will be religion. I do think that religion should be kept out of public schools, but students should still be able to read about different religions. In this area, I might have a tendency to have fewer Christian books and more books on other religions. Also, I will be concerned about choosing titles that indoctrinate rather than presenting a general overview.
As for personal favorites, I love fiction books (fantasy and classics). I will have to remind myself anytime I place an order to remember the non-fiction titles too and to have a range of fiction rather than just fantasy and classics.
In cases of challenged materials, I will have to remind myself to keep an open mind and not automatically assume whomever lodged the complaint is wrong. It is important to consider all of these topics and have policies in place, so that when issues occur in the workplace we are not caught by surprise.
I actually love the idea of reading more recent/contemporary banned books - and ones that range outside my comfort area. For one, I want to see just what the "limits" authors are exploring these days, and because these are probably the books our students are wanting to read these days. I think the best way to relate is know what to relate to. I do plan on tackling a lot of the books in the middle school range that were read and reviewed.
ReplyDeleteAR is such a hard topic to argue for or against. As a media clerk I have seen several sides of this. It is a good starting point to aid in helping students choose books that are within their abilities. We cannot know every student's ability and the AR level gives us a heads up on this. But I really hate it when a teacher will not allow students to read anything under their level. We have a lot of students whose AR is well above their grade level and one second grade student was not allowed to check out Amelia Bedelia because her level was something like 3.8. Then we have some teachers who are all about the points - one overlooked her upper grade students checking out 1st grade level books just to rack up cummulative points because it was near the end of the grading period.
ReplyDeleteOf couse AR level sometimes has nothing to do with wheither a book is appropriate for a student. I have first graders who are perfectly capable of reading "Are you there God, its me Margaret", but I don't believe they are ready to understand it. How do you explain to a young student with an advanced AR that he may not be ready to read a book in his AR level? I really think some of them are missing out by reading books that they are not mature enough or socially savy enough to feel the empathy or understand underlying humor.
I like the idea of choosing a book that is out of our comfort zone and having to write about it and challenge and hopefully expand our belief systems. This would be a good assignment for this course or the literature course requirement. I do think this topic has been very beneficial. Hopefully this info will stick with everyone when they are making ordering decisions.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a most interesting discussion, but I have to admit that I thought it was harder to follow than the discussion board. I have to keep scrolling up and down to find related posts.
ReplyDeleteThere are some posts I would like to make comments on.
Liz wrote about 16 being the age when she thought perhaps her children would be ready for some of these book topics. Liz, speaking as the mother of two grown daughters, and I really mean this in the kindest way - I am NOT trying to be critical. I hope you have these lines of communication open now - you mentioned you have a 13 year old. Unless your kids live in a bubble, I am sure they know more about these things than you think.
Walk down the hall of any middle school during class changes and you might be surprised by what you hear and see. For that matter, there was a 7 year old outside my office today, cussing out anyone and everyone. You can't even turn on the tv at "family" times anymore without having sex and violence and other inappropriate things in your face.
I think that Bobbie and Kimberly both made statements that I would like to make goals when I am a media specialist. Kimberly said that in her media center students are not censored or judged for wanting to explore an interest and Bobbie said that no one could tell what her own beliefs or prejudices are by looking at the books on the shelves. I think these are both things to strive for in a media center.
I was also interested to know that "Go Ask Alice" was still being read in schools and still considered controversial. This book is from the 70's and I can remember kids at my high school sneaking a copy of this book
and passing it around because they weren't supposed to have it. (What better way to get a teenager to read than to tell them they can't read something!)
As far as the AR topic, I have seen schools that have wonderful AR programs(or other test type programs like Reading Counts)and schools that have just run them into the ground. The program is only as good as the people who institute it. I personally have a problem with only allowing children to read "on their level" - my current school is big on this and almost all of the books in the media center are coded for Reading Counts and/or have been marked with lexile levels. I would prefer to see AR used as an incentive, but with all the emphasis on testing, I also understand why teachers sometimes make grades dependent on AR scores and push these tests for comprehension skills.
And finally, I have enjoyed reading what everyone struggles with because it lets me know that I am not alone in worrying about how to handle the responsibility of choosing books and other items for a school media center.
In response to cwagner23
ReplyDelete'Unless your kids live in a bubble, I am sure they know more about these things than you think.'
My kids definitely do not live in a bubble (lol). In all actuality, they have been through more in their short lives than most have experienced in a lifetime.
In another post I went on to explain my point a little further, however, it is hard to explain all beliefs/feelings in a post. Previous comment 'I agree with all of you who say it happens and that kids already know about it by the time they are 16.
I know my own children are exposed to these subjects but (I) would prefer to make the decision of when or if they read or watch (television) shows on those particular topics as I know the maturity level of my own children better than anyone else. In addition to knowing when and if my children were reading/watching material on those topics, I would be available to talk to them about it.'
I stick by my taking maturity levels into consideration pertaining to violence and sex content in books/television. I want to add that prior life experience should also be taken into account. It is highly unlikely that we know each of our student's prior experiences or maturity levels. Would a book containing a violent rape scene be appropriate for a child that has been raped? Of course, I don't think a book like that has a place in a school media center anyways. Once again, a selection policy would help to deal with these issues and keep prejudices out of the picture.
I definitely do not believe in censoring reading, especially in high school. They should have the freedom to choose what they read. However, there are some books where the content has issues that I think may be detrimental to the students. By having these sort of materials in my school library or classroom, I would feel as if I was promoting them in some way. I know you cannot shield these kids from all these issues. Like it has already been posted, if they can't find it at school, there are a lot of other places they can find it. I just need to get past my own feeling toward these issues and let the students develop feelings about them on their own.
ReplyDeleteThis is in response to cdyal. I also share the same problem with my religious views. In whatever I do, I know that I am a Christian first. This makes it extremely hard in the school setting. I think I am really going to struggle when selecting books about religion. I certainly don't want to influence anyone to believe anything else. It's going to be a really tough call for some selecting books in this area. I know I have to keep church and school separate, but I will still have a hard time.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed reading through these posts. Many of you made comments that I agree with or that have made me think. I totally agree with katie when she says that in whatever she does, she is a Christian first. That's me, and I will not compromise my beliefs. I don't think that stance makes me any less willing, however, to give kids the opportunity to make their own choices.
ReplyDeleteBecause I teach a lower elementary grade (2nd) I sometimes find it hard to have a good balance of literature in my classroom. Some students who have older siblings may be more knowledgeable about controversial topics, where as other students may be much more sheltered. Some of my personal beliefs that might interfere with the types of literature I bring into my classroom are my religious beliefs and cultural influences. As a Christian I have a set of moral values that I try to live by, but I shouldn't exclude books that have themes based in other religions. With such a diverse group of students in my school I need to make literature available that can help other students learn about their peers. I feel that religion is one topic that might be more acceptable to be addressed in literature for early elementary grades, however, more mature themes such as sexuality and political views are things I feel parents should have the responsibility of discussing with their children. I also think that being a female sometimes sways the types of books I choose for my classroom. I tend to reflexively go toward "girly" books with cute illustrations, and I have to make a conscious effort to be sure to have a wide variety of books that will interest the boys in my classroom as well.
ReplyDeleteIn response to what several people have discussed, I agree that many students know more than we give them credit for. I'm only 23 and my students know more about the world than I did at their age. I feel that literature with controversial themes can have a place in a school because children can lean what to do if they are ever faced with a similar situation. I think that discussions about these themes can be teachable moments in which our students can learn the right and wrong ways to face some of the challenges that they will ultimately have to deal with in life.
ReplyDeleteBefore taking this class, I never really thought about the First Amendment and students’ intellectual freedom. As a teacher, I have tried not to cross any boundaries when I require specific readings. I have really begun to think seriously about my own personal conservative and religious beliefs and how to keep them separate from the selection process and keep me from being bias about books in my future media collection. In the back of my mind, I always thought that I would be one of the most conservative people when promoting specific titles. However, the selection process is much more involved than I ever imagined, and I am beginning to see books and media collection in a different light.
ReplyDeleteAs a reading teacher, I have already experienced parents objecting to class assignments involving specific books for “whole class” projects. I thought some of their reasons for objecting these books were somewhat peculiar, especially since I considered myself as “very” conservative. Therefore, I am beginning to feel that I can keep an open mind without bias as I will someday hopefully start my own selection in my own media center. I do not think for one minute that it will be easy, but I do realize that it will be necessary to protect intellectual freedom.
My personal struggle with my "deeply held beliefs" would be with materials that deal with brutality or violence and outside of the use of materials in a sex education program, I do not believe very young students should be exposed to sexual material. I may have a difficult time not choosing materials by restrictive grade level ratings because I believe young children should be protected from these issues.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Paula Hunt, I to would have a struggle with the AR issue. I would find it difficult to not choose AR materials if the school administration was adamant about selecting only AR materials. I see the need for some type of reading level guidance but I do not support not allowing a student to read any book that interests them not matter what level it has been assigned.
ReplyDeletePaula,
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you mention how the love of history runs in your family. My daughter has a history degree and my son will finish his history degree in the fall. Interestingly, my degree is in computer science. Even though I would have preferred pursuing a history degree, I felt that a computer science degree would serve me better in my goal of being a media specialist. It has! However, all my electives were history courses.
I have already come into contact with some books that were about topics that went directly against my personal beliefs in Reading Bowl. These topics are about things such as homosexuality, gang violence and suicide.
ReplyDeleteI have learned over the past two years of Reading Bowl that there are many people who think that some topics are appropriate when I do not. One of my students has the exact opposite moral beliefs that I do, but I have been able to relate to her and helped her through some really tough times beccause I understand that she is the one that i am supposed to be teaching (not my morals) to become educated and a productive citizen. I truly believe that the media center should carry as much information as possible because the students will most likely encounter mmost of the situations in their life, whether personally or through a friend, and they need to be prepared. I do think that if a topic is broached, it should be done so tastefully and as gently as possible.
Other than those serious topics, I think that media centers should carry many more multicultural materials. I think that it is very important for students to learn as much as they can about the world around them before they leave their home as independent adults. The reason that I struggle with this is because there are many things within certain cultures that are not deemed acceptable within our culture. This could cause a problem if a students reads or sees something that they have not been prepared for.
I believe that the media center is the source of information for schools and should carry everything that the students need, even if it just one student.
In response to patty's comment that she does not see "color" in/on other people, I think that is a problem in itself with a lot of educators. If we do not acknowledge diversity, then we will not be able to serve our library population the way it should be served. We have to accept that we are not all the same. Different cultures have different believes and what is acceptable or interesting to one culture may not be so for another. In order to preserve intellectual freedom and make diverse selections, we must remember that the world is multicultural.
ReplyDeleteThis is a topic I have not spent a lot of time thinking about. For one, I do not work in a MC so I haven’t really had the opportunity to think about these issues. When it comes to selecting books for my MC, I don’t think I would base the selection on my personal beliefs period. The purpose of the MC is to serve the students and staff—not me. So, why should I let my beliefs dictate what should or should not be included in the collection? If I want students and teachers alike to utilize the MC and its wealth of resources, then I must cater the selection towards their needs, not mine.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to actually censoring books, I may become too lenient. I am a huge supporter for our Constitution, especially the First Amendment, and I want the students to take our Constitution seriously as well. How do we know what is worthy of banning from the MC? Do we base this decision on subject matter? I can understand why individuals would want to ban a book which discusses sex; however, what about this topic would cross the line? Would a book that discusses the path of human development be banned? What about a book about two teenagers losing their virginity? Both of these books could contain information that all students could relate to at some point in their lives. Is it fair to them if we keep them in the dark on these subjects? I am truly torn on what books I would consider banning. Many of the books on the banned list I would like to reinstate into the collection because students should be allowed to read anything that interests them, especially if they were banned for political correctness or profanity. When considering books to be banned, I will employ common sense. Obviously a book about constructing pipe bombs would be banned; however, a documentary on the Taliban would not.
I noticed many people are in favor of banning political books. While we all have our political agendas, this is a topic that should be encouraged in school. Politicians are directly or indirectly involved for just about every aspect of our lives so students should be encouraged to study and discuss this subject matter. School is the perfect opportunity for students to receive a truly fair and balanced education in politics. We have the means, resources, and education to present these issues and discuss them in an educated manner. I know many people believe politics should be discussed at home; but, students may not receive the best information from biased parents. School is the perfect opportunity to teach students to study and embrace politics so they can learn to make their own educated decisions.
@JR:
ReplyDeleteYour comments points out many of the things that are wrong with our education system. We are too quick to ban children from experiencing the world because we do not want to offend them or damage their morals. Students need to be offended and read offensive materials. These types of texts will make them a more experienced individual and hopefully give them to drive to make sure these incidents do not repeat themselves.
I hate how we ban books because they are violent or contain vulgar language. I have never been a strong believer in profanity because we are associating negative connotations to words whose similar counterparts would not be considered vulgar. I have read so many studies about the correlation between violent video games and violence among children. There are probably 20 million young children playing video games and a handful ever become truly violent individuals. If this were true, then we would see the majority of our students turning into criminals at an early age.
Thanks for sharing your comment. It is truly inspirational.
I agree with Liz Futch about accepting and understanding the need to provide information about topics without glamourizing them. However, I guess this could be another form of censorship...
ReplyDeleteMy issues would be many of the ones that have been mentioned in previous posts. I am a christian and would have a hard time purchasing books that go against those christian beliefs and my moral values. I am also pretty conservative, so things that are the extreme opposite of that would be hard for me to purchase as well. Things like homosexuality, drug use, and sex would be especially difficult for me to purchase outside of a high school setting.
ReplyDeleteI have actually struggled with something similar to this issue before. I teach science and when it comes to teaching topics such as the Big Bang Theory, I find it difficult to do much more than expose students to the idea. This in itself is a form censorship, I guess.
After reading these posts, I am much more aware of the types of issues I will face and must be aware of. For instance, making sure that all religions and cultures and lifestyles are equally represented despite my personal beliefs and convictions.
I guess I mostly worry about exposing kids to 'controversial' topics before they are mature enough to handle them. As a Christian, I have certain morals and I want the kids to grow up with these morals, too. However, I also want them to have the freedom to read different types of literature. I also think that literature can be a great tool to help address controversial issues that our students are dealing with-
ReplyDeleteMelissa Otwell
I recently had an experience when one of my student's selected a book in our media center. The book was about World War II. I thought it was about elephants and so did my student(based on the cover) but once I picked it up from his desk and started reading it I found myself in disbelief. Tears kept running down my face uncontrollably.It was the saddest thing I had ever read. The story was about elephants living in a zoo in Tokyo and how they were afraid the zoo would be bombed and the wild animals would escape, so they decided to kill the elephants by starving them to death. I found myself in a real dilema because I did not want this fourth grade student to read this book. I asked him if he would choose another book because I thought it was an extremely sad book, and he did. Afterwards, I really started to doubt myself as a future MS. I do not know if I did the right thing or not, but my insides were saying that this book was just not appropriate for a fourth grader. I do want to censor, but I think some times it just comes down to common sense. Books have age levels for a reason. I am not necessarily speaking of reading levels but age appropriateness.
ReplyDeleteI knew at that moment when I asked him if he would mind checking out another book that being a MS is not going to be easy, but I will just have to use common sense.
I absolutely love children's literature and get excited when looking at book orders or shopping in bookstores. I always have to set a spending limit for myself and stick to it or I could go broke buying books for my students (and myself)! When I select materials for my classroom collection, I generally look for titles and authors I loved reading as a child or ones that are well known and award winners. Right now as a teacher of 3 year olds, I find myself perusing literature and including it in my classroom based solely on whether it would hold my students' very short attention spans. I also take into consideration if it deals with something we have already covered or are currently discussing in class or is on a topic I know my students enjoy. When I taught 2nd grade, I chose literature of various reading levels, books that concerned various topics (including ones covered in the curriculum), and materials that appealed to the interests of my students.
ReplyDeleteThe beliefs that I wrestle with as I select materials for my classroom collection include my thoughts on religion and language. I believe in God and Christianity, but I am not naive enough to think that all my students have the same beliefs as me. Thus, I must make an effort to supply my students with literature that exposes them to a variety of religions and beliefs. Moreover, I feel strongly that profanity has no place in literary works written for children. However, even some of the most beloved children's books include curse words in their pages, such as Matilda by Roald Dahl. It is one of my favorites and I would recommend it to children. Nonetheless, I still become irritated when I come across the profanity in the book. All in all, I understand that the book is well written and has value despite the unfavorable use of language. I must then recognize that certain literary works are worth making a part of my classroom library because they have great value regardless of the inclusion of the occasional curse words.
Another aspect that I wrestle with when selecting literature for my classroom is my own personal preferences. Sometimes I feel I may not choose a book because it is not what I am drawn to as a reader, but that doesn't mean that my students would not be. Therefore, I need to be more aware of my students and their interests when choosing items for the classroom collection and less focused on my own. In addition, I have found myself guilty of guiding a student toward or away from certain literature based on my thoughts of whether the child could or could not read and comprehend the item. My rationale for my actions centers on being worried that the student would try to read the book and not be able to, thus getting frustrated and losing confidence as well as interest in reading. However, I realize students should be given the opportunity to choose the book they want to read regardless of their ability. Even if the child is not able to read the book, they could still enjoy the illustrations or have a parent read it aloud to them.
A great deal of thought must go into creating a classroom library. It is evident that my own preferences, beliefs, and values should be understood, but that additional aspects must be considered when compiling literature to be read by my students. They must be given the intellectual freedom to explore the vast amount of literature available to them and it is my job to assist them.
In terms of keeping politics out of the reading material of a classroom, I have to disagree. I know that discussions of politics can turn into heated debates, but politics is a part of our everyday lives as well as our history. If handled correctly, the issues can be presented and the various sides can be discussed. It does not have to turn into an argument on who is for this and who is for that. I think children should be taught that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs and a great way to express this is through politics. Moreover, some of the most influenticial people in our history were politicians and should be studied about through literature.
ReplyDelete@ Beth
ReplyDeleteI agree that children should be allowed to read a variety of books, including those with controversial material. These topics help children to develop higher level reasoning skills and to think for themselves. They also get a broader view of the world, good and bad. This will help them to become more well informed adults.
Also, teachers often do not know what difficult issues a student may be dealing with at home. I strongly believe that books can be therapeutic. Just knowing that other people have dealt with a difficult problem or situation is important.
I tend to be an open minded person when it comes to issues that I might not agree with. I don't believe it is my place to judge someone because they do things that I thing is morally wrong. But just because I am open minded about it, does not mean that I want to read about it, or think that my niece should either.
ReplyDeleteBut children now days go through so many issues that I never dreamed of having to deal with as I grew up. Therefore, as I choose materials to add the MC collections, I have to put aside any feelings that I may have on topics in books that could help a child deal with issues that are affecting their lives. It is not my place to control what they read, that should be left up to the parents.
I read Are You There, God, It's Me, Margaret for this assignment. This book has been challenged due to religion and taboo discussion about puberty. I enjoyed reading this book when I was younger and even today. I believe that this is a book that all preteens, especially girls should read. Margaret, just like Junie B. for younger students, gives students someone to relate to. Many children do have parents who come from different religions, and they do have to find their own religion - they don't want mom to feel bad about choosing dad's religion and vice versa. And every girl has to have that dreaded trip with mom to find her first bra. I hate that this book has been placed on the challenged list.
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking about this discussion, I thought of many beliefs that I had, but I realized that many of them would not impact my choice of books. For example, as a huge history fan, I see religion and politics as important to history, instead of as an offense to my beliefs about the topic. I was once very concerned about students reading books about drugs, violence, rape, etc., but honestly, when I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, I couldn't quit thinking about how much the book could help someone who had been raped.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I am super conservative. We do not use offensive language at our house. I am a huge proponent of traditional families and morals. When I have kids, I will be very picky about what they are purposely exposed to. I, like many others, do not think books that promote homosexuality are appropriate for school. I am also so bothered when I get a book from our elementary library that has offensive language in it. I prefer books that deal with controversial issues without being explicit. Like Laura, I like for books to confront moral issues.
While I know that some consider labeling inappropriate, I think knowing the general audience a book is suitable for is important.
Susan's comment - "I may not believe in many things but I know that there is a need to create an educated person for society." sounds like something I would say. I deeply desire for the students we are teaching today to become productive members of society. With the ease of communicating with others, these students are going to have to be able to function around all kinds of people about all kinds of subjects. While I do not believe that we should accept everything about everybody, we do have to learn to have intelligent conversations. I really think that controversial issues define who we are.
Religion, as previously and abundantly stated, would definitely be a belief that I have to struggle with when selecting different media. Political views and beliefs also need to be put aside when selecting media. I feel that due to the area where you live and grow up also has an impact on what type of media you will be drawn too. For example, I would be more likely to choose a book based on characters that live in areas similar to me and more likely to choose books about my area. These are just a few of the issues that I may struggle with when selecting media.
ReplyDeleteIn response to mindymp40. I don’t think that politics should be kept from students, however I do feel that there is an appropriate age for this. Government is an issue taught at the High School and Middle School age, so therefore I don’t feel that this is an issue that younger children are capable of fully understanding certain aspects of. Many younger children often mention things that their parents or other adults may have mentioned which might upset other students. I also agree with Mandy in stating that there is an appropriate audience for each book.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see the posts about Christian beliefs as well because that was a concern for me. I would have to put aside my thoughts about non-traditional families and homosexuality because I don't believe in it. However, I know that there are students who struggle with these issues and being able to read about a character who is struggling with those same issues would be a comfort. Also anything to do with the occult(demons, witchcraft,etc.) would be difficult for me -- I teach middle schoolers and know that they like to read about all kinds of odd and scary things. However, some of the books out now have just plain scary covers. Another consideration I would have to be concerned with is the range of ages in middle school and making sure that my choices are appropriate for that group.
ReplyDeleteBoodles Blatherings is Becky Henderson
ReplyDeleteAs I have gotten older and had my two children ages 13 and 4, I have become more conservative. I too, as someone previously posted, want to protect my own children from difficult issues and problems. And know that when I am placed in a classroom or library, I will feel just as strongly about my students. However, as another person posted, they know more than we give them credit for! I will have a hard time purchasing materials about sex, rape, teenage pregnancy (even though I was an un-wed, teenage mother), murder, and violence. I try to keep an open mind about lots of other topics.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paula hunt that it will be hared to not want to keep the books that I personally love even if the children that I serve no lnoger read them. Certain books will always have a special place in my heart and I know I will have a hard time being objective about ordering/not ordering or weeding/not weeding them.
ReplyDeleteAsl for what I believe..I am an environmentalist, and farily liberal. I think all religions should have a fair and equal representation in our library even though I work at a Christian school. I can see myself wanting to buy books that are interesting to me which won't necessarily mean they are interesting to the students I serve. For example I love horseback riding, fantasy stories with magic and supernatural things, and science fiction. I will have to be careful to take the interests of all my readers into account when deciding on which books to purchase. I don't really care for sports and would rather read fiction than nonfiction. I know that all of my own likes and dislikes will need to be in the forefront of my mind when I order books so that I make sure they do not interfere with purchaseing books that meet the needs of my students.
ReplyDelete“What are some of your deeply held beliefs that you might need to wrestle with as you select materials for the school library or classroom?
ReplyDeleteThough I may not believe in many things happening in the world, such as homosexuality, teen suicide, divorce, pre-marital sex and other non-traditional happenings, it is happening in the world. When selecting books for the media center, I must make sure I don’t inflict my personal beliefs into choosing materials. I must take into consideration various cultures and diversity in the public schools. Books are able to teach children life lessons many times better than we as adults can do. As a media specialist, I must be sure to remain open and choose books of all types of literature. If a book is challenged then the proper protocol must be met. Self censorship is so easy to do and not realize you are a participant. Reading the article on how dangerous self censorship can be reminds me that a media center needs to have intellectual freedom. I must be careful not to inflict my own values and beliefs on students.
In regards, to this week’s question “what are some of your deeply held beliefs that you might need to wrestle with as you select material for the library or classroom collection (not materials you yourself teach directly)?” I feel like as a Christian it would be very difficult for me when selecting material not to be impacted by a secular non-Christian. Also, because I have grown up in the South, I believe that certain environmental issues would also affect my selection of media materials. We are typically more drawn to materials that are similar to us. In addition, I believe that I might also struggle with politics, because we all have our own thoughts and beliefs about this subject.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the opinion expressed by many that it is difficult to keep own thoughts and beliefs out of the selection process for classroom and library. Also, about what Lauren Maples stated in regards to students need to read about people of other nationalities as well as their own. In regards to what Rebecca stated about politics, I had a similar issue arise in my classroom. I do not believe that I should talk about politic preferences to my students. I believe that this is the role of the parent.
ReplyDelete“What are some of your deeply held beliefs that you might need to wrestle with as you select materials for the school library or classroom collection (not materials that you would yourself teach directly)"?
ReplyDeleteOne of my deeply held beliefs is that I am a Christian, and so I have to keep in mind that my students are going to come from all different kinds of religious backgrounds. And, as a result, I will need to have books that represent all different kinds of religions.
In addition, I have a problem with elementary students reading books that contain curse words, violent acts, and sexually explicit material. But, from past experiences, many teachers have told me that some of these aspects are important for the students to read about so that they get a true feeling of a character and the different things that went on and were considered acceptable during certain time periods. For example, Shiloh has a few curse words included in it, but my internship teacher didn't think that this was bad enough to take out of their literature group books, because she said that it helped to develop the type of character/morals that one of the characters possessed. So, I would have to evaluate the books on how important these actions are to the characters in the books and if these actions are justified enough by the text to include them in a library.
In response to Laura Maples comment:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I also realized that I tend to pick out books from the same cultural background as mine. This opened my eyes and showed me that this is also something that I need to be aware of, because it will be important for me to include books in a library that represent all of the cultural backgrounds of students in the school.
To reply to @Josh about the elephants in the Tokyo Zoo title:
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons that I am not an expert in children's or ya literature is that I absolutely cannot stand to read a sad animal story. This sharply contrasts with my choice in reading material-mysteries. Clearly somehow in my mind I can deal with people being murdered but if something bad happens to an animal I cannot stand it. Needless to say I am not going to read Marley and Me nor will I see the movie. I probably wouldn't ever buy Marley and Me to give as a gift. But does that mean I wouldn't put the title in my library? Of course not! It's fine to warn a student that the book is sad and if the student makes another choice that's fine. But we have to see the media center as a place where students can make their own choices.
To respond to the many posts about being concerned about protecting our children and age appropriateness of various topics, I'd urge you to listen to some of the author voices you'll find in the web links section on the home page of our blog. You'll also get some author voices in your reading for this week.
Regarding my values and beliefs, my perspective has changed a bit since having children. I feel that ultimately children should be exposed to mild forms of "real life"; however, parents and teachers should be there to guide the decisions made by young children. I do not believe in exposing young children to harsh violence, sex, and foul language. If a book has a few "bad words" to make a character seem realistic, then I feel that is okay...as long as the teacher prepares students ahead of time. I am a Christian, but children do need to be educated about other religions...not in a conversion way, but a factual way. Parents should guide their children in this respect then let children decide later in life. I would not personally teach or introduce same sex marriage, etc. to my class, but I wouldn't leave a good book out of the library that may help people understand or relate to the topic. I would struggle with books that sway children to view a certain way, because I do not feel that this is an author's job.
ReplyDeleteChildren (no matter if they are in elementary or high school) are influenced by what they read, see, hear, etc., so we need to be careful about how books are introduced and shared with them.
As a Christan I would have a hard time with materials that deal with other relgiions, same sex marriages, abortions. I think as educators we have to try to stay netural when it comes to these types of topics.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that this topic came up, because I do believe that if not addressed, media specialists may unknowingly select materials based on their own values and beliefs. It is therefore extremely important that we remain cognizant of our own values and how they can impact LMC and the learning of its patrons.
ReplyDeleteAs a former soccer player, it would come as no surprise that I would choose resources where students could learn more about the game of soccer. At the school where I currently teach, the majority of students I speak to love football, baseball, and basketball. My goal would be to introduce them to other forms of sports to help them become well-rounded individuals.
I am also one who supports both heterosexual and gay relationships. I do not believe in judging someone based on their sexual orientation. However, I also understand that this is an issue that is highly controversial, especially in schools because it is one that deals with children's and parents' religious beliefs. As a library media specialist, I would have to be careful of which books I introduce to children on such a subject, particularly children who may be in elementary school. I would have to consider age, grade, and maturity levels before choosing materials about this subject.
What are some of my deeply held beliefs that I might need to wrestle with as I select materials for the school library or classroom collection...?
ReplyDeleteNudity, sexually explicit, religion, occult
I am a christian and I try to live my life everyday based on the bible. However I have learned in the past few years to be more open to the beliefs of others and to be more open to learn more about things I don't quite understand. I agree with Kimberly Exley when she stated that Western society has limited knowledge and desire to reach out and learn about ways in which other societies live, communicate, feel. I think back to about seven years ago when I took a world lit class and we had to learn about various cultures beliefs about creation. The christian creation was included among the various interpretations. I could not call all the others ridiculous because they all seemed far-fetched. I still hold to my beliefs but I learned something about other cultures that I value today.
I also agree with Teresa Maddox when she states that a line has to drawn as to what is appropriate and what is not at certain ages. I feel that we should not restrict/ suppress the rights of others to experience and learn about the world around us, it only causes conflict and people to go around you to find out what it is you're 'hiding'. I have teen-aged children who love to read. We talk about what they are reading and my kids know our family values.
Reading everyone's posts and the articles has helped me to really consider my biases and really make sure that when selecting materials- policies are up to date and that I follow it to avoid challenges as much as possible.
Wow, what a thought provoking question! I have some very strong beliefs that I believe I wrestle with every day in books - especially for young adults and children. I don't have an issue with these beliefs in my books, but for some reason, I believe children should be more sheltered sometimes. Other times, I think it is great that there are resources for kids who are going through some of these issues in their day to day life! I guess this is probably just another word for censorship!
ReplyDeleteSome of these issues include: gay/lesbian relationships, sexual abuse/molestation/rape, or sexually explicit material. I am not sure why some of these issues bother me - I guess it is based on the age of the student. I think kids grow up too early in today's society so keeping some of these issues from them will keep them young. But I know this isn't the case. They are going to grow up quickly whether they read about these issues or not. And if they have these resources available, they may be able to get through these difficult years a little easier.
In responding to Laura and Patty's posts, I agree that it is a struggle to not let personal biases come through in selecting materials for a library collection. Despite one's religious views though, I see no reason to feel threatened by educational books that present factual information about other religions. In fact, as a Christian myself I think it would be good if we all knew more about other religions in order to be able to discuss them more effectively.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do think we as adults have a responsibility to promote and maintain a moral, law abiding society based on the founding principles of our nation. Books which glorify or present drug use, profanity, sexual immorality, etc. in positive ways should not be included in any public school media center collection just to create an objective, "unbiased" collection. It is in everyone's best interest to foster a moral, law abiding society for the present and future generations, and books which promote immoral behaviors would be irresponsible for us to include in a collection of books for children and teenagers.
Books, however, that simply deal with these issues as way of teaching a positive morale lesson would need to be evaluated based upon the depth and detail of the subject matter as well as the reading audience. Just as you would address the topic of World War II with 5th grade social studies students with less detail and without including some of the more gruesome aspects of war that you might share with high school students, I think the same is true for other topics (sex, drugs, etc.). We must consider the age of the reader, the appropriateness of the topic for the age group, and whether or not the book will likely have a positive or negative impact on the reader.
I have to agree that it is very challenging now for media specialists in choosing books. I grew up in a Christian home and some of the topics today are very controversial. I agree with Keith that we must consider the age of the reader and topic. We should also consider how it is going to affect the students.
ReplyDeleteIn commenting on paulahunt’s post. I want to add that I completely agree. I taught at a private Christian school for five years. While there I indirectly learned about other religions—obviously not taught at school. Learning about other religions really opened my eyes for me on mine. One of the most enlightening is we had a family from India who were very willing to share – not push – their family beliefs. One thing that amaze me the most was their attitude. One that I had never been around before I suppose. While I am a Christian, I had never been one to push my religion on people. I go to church, grew up in VBS etc. Here is a family from another country being ‘schooled’ at a Christian school, which is something they did not agree with. Well instead of being negative about it. They soaked it up. They were always willing to share their ideas or questions. Before one graduated he even became a Christian.
ReplyDeleteI think Susan stated it best when she said she wanted her patrons to be able to read and learn about their beliefs not just hers. An educated society is a better society as a whole, and a more diverse society is more interesting!
ReplyDeleteI think some of my beliefs that would come into question and make it difficult to choose books if I let it would be: my religion, drugs, and traditional family values. As stated in my previous post, I have learned that learning about other religions makes my opinions on mine more concrete – so that one I would be able to overcome. The topic of drugs, I have very strong beliefs about them as I have an adopted brother whose biological parents have been on and off drugs for 20 years. Having researched things that could go wrong, I realize how lucky we were. He has no side effects (he is 15 years old) because he mother was put into prison when she was 4 weeks preg. That being said, I know if she had not of been, we would definitely have a ‘drug baby’ on our hands. Traditional family values are also important to me, but that stems from my religion. Adding to the values I think the family unit is important to learn about.
I feel that it is a parents job to educate a child. However, children should not be sheltered as it harms them in the long run. I feel that children should be exposed to reality, but this should be guided by the parents. Books in the library should be reality. Children should be able to read and learn about any topic they desire (with parents guidance).
My comment is in response to Rebecca Petty's comments. She mentioned that during the election, she chose not to provide reading materials on that topic to students. Although I agree that we should not be giving our personal opinions on the candidates or their platforms, I think not capitalizing on this teachable moment is a mistake. All of the students were intrinsically motivated to learn about the candidates, the issues and the election process, which are the foundation of our society. My first graders loved learning all about what was going on and why it was so important.
ReplyDeleteIn thinking of my own Values and Beliefs in regards to materials selection, it is a little easier for me to readily provide information to students on alternate lifestyles, politcal issues, controversial topics and edgy material because I am rather liberal myself.
ReplyDeleteI think all students have a right to explore content that is "age appropriate" to learn about their world. In their world there are same sex families, divorced families, racial issues and predjudice. Reading is the perfect way to explore these delicate issues and build a viewpoint that is based on knowledge rather than ignorance.
The hard part for me as an elementary teacher is really knowing when a topic isn't "age appropriate". I'm afraid I might ehr on the side of caution too often, when my students might be completely ready to delve into a topic.
The responses to this important issue have been as varied as the personalities of the people writing them. It is evident that we are each struggling to come to terms with this issue, but at the end of the day, we each must be led by our professional compasses to make materials selections. It's hard! As a parent, I have to think about the information that my daughters come in contact with. I think that open dialogue between children and their parents about controversial topics is the key, not censorship. If you tell a child that they can't read something because it's "bad", you can bet that they will somehow make sure to read it. I know because I was one of the little girls who would sneak Judy Blume books in the 1980's (Anyone remember Tiger Eyes? Wow!). It's scary, though. My worst fear as a teacher and as a perspective media specialist is to watch as my career goes up in flames because a parent blames me for corrupting their child by introducing them to inappropriate books.
ReplyDeleteI am a great believer that freedom of access is important. The only thing I can think of is when someone is writing against God. I would still display and offer the book for checkout, but I would cringe inwardly when a student checks it out. I am not what one would call a religious fanatic, but I do believe that you don't play with God. I also think that this conflicts with my desire to be pleasing in the sight of God. How can it be truly pleasing to offer people the notion that there is not a God. I would wrestle with that, but in the end, I think that issue is more of an at home issue.
ReplyDeleteMy parents raised me with the standard that what you believe in is what makes you who you are. For example, my father will only buy things made from the United States and other specific countries. It is what he believes in and supports. As I read other discussions on how we would choose the media for the library, I reflected on my high school years. During my high school career, I read books that I would now have a problem promoting when I know that there are issues that could arise. For instance, I have read of Mice and Men, 1984, The Great Gatsby, and many more. Thinking back on the different books I have read, I wonder if the teachers chose them just for a choice reading pleasure, or if there was a greater reason. I think back on the discussions and thoughts that these books created, and I realize that they brought out ideas and events that I otherwise may never have encountered.
ReplyDeleteThe old adage that “times have changed” remains true. However, in the end students are dealing with some of the issues from these challenged, controversial books a lot earlier in life. Didn’t we choose to teach for that reason? Doesn’t early exposure to these topics help to make their lives successful?
I think there will always be a “risk” in using books that have been challenged. Even so, I believe that the biggest reason is that the students can take away a “life lesson” from the literature. Being able to connect to the characters and/or events that happen within the storyline then allows the students to create their own discussions as well as provides them with exposure to an otherwise unclear topic.
In response to Ann's answer, I am in the same boat when it comes to homosexuality, teen suicide, etc. Like her, I have to remember that although it is not something I support or personally want to read about, it is my responsibility to provide materials for students that they want to read about. It is not my right to self-censor literature, but to give my students the ability to have intellectual freedom.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think I have a particular belief that I will have to wrestle with. Someone mentioned politics. I am very liberal, which I think would make me more likely to include materials on a wide variety of topics. But I suppose I could over-do it and neglect to include those materials that provide the more conservative view point. It is most often conservatives who are accused of censoring, but certainly liberals can do it too. I definitely want to protect intellectual freedom and model respect for all opinions.
ReplyDeleteI have thought about this for the whole semester when searching through the media center books and when trying to put together the individual projects. Personally, I like to feel that I am open to other people’s religions and beliefs. When reading books within my classroom, I am often questioning myself if the book I read will offend anyone. Many times, I try to approach the situation as a learning experience for my students. I think that students should be taught about morals and beliefs through literature. These beliefs may differ from theirs but they need to understand the diversity of the world today. Naturally I find myself reading books based on my beliefs and culture and by teaching in a small town, most of the students in my class share these beliefs, but we can’t forget the ones who do not. The one thing I do not read within my classroom is books that have profanity or violence. Elementary children do not need that type of literature in their lives. For the most part, I would like to think I teach my students about many kinds of cultures, but looking about on it, there is definitely more that can be done.
ReplyDeleteI am responding and commenting on the same post. I am a Christian also, but choosing books about other religions because I feel it is important for everyone to know what others believe and it helps in making the right choice for yourself.
ReplyDeleteMy deepest concerns are the books challenged with "language" and ghosts/witchcraft/wizards/magic.... I don't particularly go for books with these topics, but I don't mind having them in the mc. I read "The Egypt Game" and did not care for it. However, it teaches children how to be creative and how to entertain themselves. The kids learned about the past, even though some of it was a little weird for me. I wouldn't keep it from the mc, but I wouldn't force others to read it either.
I think most parents are not thinking from the perspective of "student's choice". They think because it is on the shelf, all of them will read it. As we all know this is not the case.
I know kids are exposed to so much on the internet and tv, but there is nothing wrong with a good wholesome story every once in a while where a family isn't totally disfunctional, no one really cusses every other word, and no one dies or has an illness. Kids can read happy stories right?
In response to Precilla Jones and Nikki,I totally agree that nudity, sexually explicit, and religion have always been the issues with banned books. I think as parents we are so protective of our children that we don't want them to be exposed to sexually explicit discussions. I agree with Nikki when she said, "kids are growing at a faster pace in today's society and keeping some of these issues from them will keep them young." This is what we as teachers and parents think but in this society the children learn it however hard we try to protect them as they have access to internet, TV, and various technologies. We should help the kids by discussing with them the right or wrong and as mentioned in one of the discussions that a line has to drawn as to what is appropriate and what is not at certain ages.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that we should give opportunity to learn about various religions and cultures because it is a good way to learn about the people around you and also learn to respect others believes as the world is so small that you find so many people with different ethnicity, religion, and culture around you.
I liked reading the discussions and great views.
Aysha
This is a very interesting topic of discussion. I think I will have a hard time including the books with sexuality and wrong use of language. I have been brought up in a very conservative way and learned most of the things when it was time or talking to my friends about it. When I was reading one of Judy Blume's book that was banned "Are you there god? this is Margret."I thought that those were the same questions and doubts I had when I was growing up. I realize that it is not right to take away the right of students reading certain books but I do agree that it should be age appropriate. I am not not comfortable with students reading books which has inappropriate language. I know if we stop the children from doing something then they are more curious to do it and in that situation it will be better as an adult to also tell them what and why and use this as a teachable moment.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I might have to be careful about is to pay attention to other core areas besides Math as I am a Math teacher and I always try to look for the things that can help students to develop their math skills and get side track with other subjects:-)
I find myself, like many others, torn between being a mother and being a teacher. As a mother I do not like the idea of my children having access to materials that focus on drugs, sex, pregnancy, etc... But at the same time I know that they will be exposed to these elements anyway. I understand that they need to be prepared for "the real world" and that being knowledgeable in all subjects helps them become well rounded individuals.
ReplyDeleteI think this will be a tough area for me when I am in my own media center. I do not see myself as a prude but I have found myself getting more conservative with age. To me there are so many things to consider when it comes to touchy topics. For example, how young is too young to expose children to certain topics. The book I chose was "Forever" by Judy Blume and I bought it out of the middle school aged book section. I for one think the topics in this book are a little much for the average middle schooler but should I be the one to really make that decision?
I wanted to comment on Jacinta (March 25,2009), she mentions religion. For some reason this is a area that I find myself somewhat passionate about. As I have bought books for my future collection I try to include books that showcase other religions. I think that kids should be proud of their religions and that others should be respectful of the differences that they may have. Living in rural south Georgia people seem less willing and/or interested in anything that is not the same as what they believe in.
ReplyDeleteThis question relates to personal and professional beliefs and the two can't interfere with professional duties of the media specialist. When reading our text by Adams, I had some issues with two of the items about essential quality of intellectual freedom. 1)are not barred from borrowing or using library materials because of overdue book fines, assessments for damaged materials, or replacement costs for lost materials, 2)select books and other materials, without constraints based on age grade level, or reading level. If the selection process is done using book reviews and curriculum to guide choices, quality of intellectual freedom is prevalent. Collaborating with teachers is also a guide for making choices when selecting books. When a reading program is used at a school, books that have a test will be part of the selection process as it is at our school. The selection of books are not all AR and students are not demanded to only check out books that are AR. The students may check out two books of their choice, but when selecting an AR book students are taught how to find the right book, based on the Goldilocks method, a book that is just right. However, I don't agree with the borrowing of another resource when responsibilty is an issue with a student. The use of the materials while in the media center is not barred, but checking it out is at our school. When a report card can be held due to a missing or damaged book, I don't see barring checkouts as being different. The studnet may continue to use materials in the media center but not leave with the materials.
ReplyDeleteIn examining the question of deeply held beliefs in regards to resource selection, some really interesting points have been brought up. I too would have never thought about biases in the form of sports or activities that I am passionate about. I don’t know why not, that is a completely relevant and important aspect of oneself that should be considered. Thanks for developing that point.
ReplyDeleteAlong with what many others have shared, I am also very conservative in many ways—thoughts, beliefs, dress, speech. That being said, I am very interested in learning about other religions, cultures, ideas, etc. I try not to take them personal in any way, even those that challenge my own beliefs, but see them more as a learning tool…interesting material to read. My Christian beliefs and conservative attitude is very much rooted in who I see myself as as a whole, not a part that can be threatened or changed by someone else’s opinion. So, I hope that I will be able to successfully wrestle my beliefs back and provide access to materials that are not only in opposition to what I like (sports, hobbies, etc.) but also those that are in opposition to what I believe. Like Dr. R said about warning children that a book may be sad, we can also help to inform them that there are many hobbies, religions, cultures, etc… and that they are all interesting to learn about, hence why they should all be in our LMC.
Also, just a side note on the statistics concerning challenged books—one of the schools I am currently working with has had three challenges this year concerning books on the reproduction of animals (none of the challenges were related, but yes all three were on a similar subject). Two of the challenges came from administrators and one came from a teacher. There have been no other challenges at the school this year. I just thought that was an interesting tidbit to share. : )
Shelly
It was interesting reading the different comments. I agree with Tammie that personal and professional beliefs can not interfer with our commitment to our readers. I am a middle school teacher and I cringe sometimes and some of the books that the students are reading. Some they checkout in the media center and some their parents purchase. No, I do not believe they should be reading books with such violence or graphic sexual content. However, most of them or exposed to the same content on TV everyday. I have always believed that if your parents and family explain and talk to you about life issues, that it makes you a stronger person whenever you encounter the situation or hear or read about.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will have a hard time including material that includes heavy sexual content, explicit language, drugs use, and any books that slander Christian beliefs. I know I will have to include this material in my selection, but as SMoore said I would cringe inwardly as certain books are checked out.
I agree with Joy when she said, "students have a right to explore content that is "age appropriate" to learn about their world. In their world there are same sex families, divorced families, racial issues and predjudice. Reading is the perfect way to explore these delicate issues and build a viewpoint that is based on knowledge rather than ignorance". I am more conservative in my views but I do realize from my life experiences that being informed about various issues helps us to have more tolerance and get along with others around us better. The Adams textbook makes a valid point when it says that concepts of intellectual freedom are black and white in hypothetical discussions but it can become gray in our real life situations. We have to remind ourselves daily that one of our jobs as a media specialist is to protect our students' right to receive ideas and information w/o restriction under the First Amendment.
ReplyDeleteIn selecting books I will wrestle with my religion, homosexuality, drugs, and violence. I think that it depends on the age of the child when they should be exposed to books with those types of issues. Our children are growing up too fast in our society.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Aysha's comment on inappropriate language. I agree that a lot of the books they read need to be age appropriate and it is a good idea to go ahead and talk to the children about issues because they are going to be curious.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Patty's original comment, I completely agree with you on most of your beliefs. One thing that I struggle with is finding materials that will not promote but inform the students. Using your example of homosexuality, I think that it is important to have some materials that are available for students seeking information. I also believe that the materials chosen should hold no influence over the students. I also think that the same concept should apply to religion in public schools. I am a Christian and so I struggle with this. What I am saying is that finding the line between being informative and promoting is a hard thing to do, but something that media specialists have to do.
ReplyDeleteBeing a person of faith, I try to include God in all of my personal decisions. I have many deeply held beliefs that I constantly wrestle with as I select materials for my school media center. On a personal faith note – I believe that the Bible is the “Word of God” and there are many things in His word that he asks us not to participate in, mainly because in the long run it will come back to hurt us in some way. However we, with our own intellect, often choose to ignore our Spiritual Father’s advice and do our own thing. If God allows us to see everything that goes on around us, obtain through life experiences and collect information through our intellect, ultimately He is not “banning” certain things from our lives, rather he simply asks us not to participate in them or look to them to replace the role that He desires to play in our lives. You see, I believe He gives us the freedom to choose. I think this is where many people become confused about God’s intent. I believe the whole purpose in our existence is to love, especially Him. As parents, the greatest joy a person can have I think is seeing your child choose to honor and love you. No person wants to raise disrespectful children who hate their mother and father. No, as you raise your children, you do it in love giving them good and nurturing advice for both body and spirit. When your children choose to make good and healthy decisions based on the wisdom you’ve shared with them, this makes you even happier. The most rewarding thing to me as a parent is however, when my children choose to listen and love me because they want to, not out of fear or a sense of duty, but because they choose to. I’ve said all of this to make this point… how can I as a Christian keep others from having the information they might need to make choices?
ReplyDeleteFourteen years ago, I made a personal decision to become a teacher and an art teacher at that! Artists, throughout history have developed reputations as being rebels, often living eccentric and non-traditional lifestyles, thinking outside of the box. Still, I chose as a Christian to peruse a career facilitating aesthetic understanding in my students. In my classes we discussed some of humanities oddest personal expressions, as well as those art forms and philosophies that contain religious connotations (all religions and spiritual beliefs) many being extremely controversial. I often told my students that the most dangerous thing we can do is to believe something without understanding why we believe it. I would tell them over and over, “If you have an opinion, let it be an informed opinion and never let anyone brainwash you into believing something blindly. Choose based on the contemplation of ideas and information you’ve collected.” I am a firm believer that we must, as educators, equip students to make informed choices. Informed choices cannot exist without access to information, but more importantly, training as to how to evaluate that information. It is our jobs as teachers and librarians to provide the information and the parent job to teach their children to ask for spiritual guidance from God when making these choices. This is not to say that we as Christian librarians cannot be a huge influence in this spiritual development. Students are constantly evaluating us, obtaining information through watching the lives of the adults that surround them. I believe if we model a truly holy life (even with all of our mistakes and flaws) rather than preach to them, they will come to see the value of taking their Father’s advice and come to love Him for it.
I must say however, I don’t think this is the real issue behind most of the complaints that lead to books being banned however. Rather, I believe it is a question of “WHEN” or “AT WHAT AGE” should this information be introduced to children. But that is a topic for another discussion…
In response to Pauline’s comment posted March 19th …
ReplyDeleteI think you made a good point here when you said,” I would not be over exposing students to subjects such as abortion, homosexuality, etc. unless they were presented in an informational manner, i.e. non-glorified.” Although you might see this as an error of your thinking and that you would be encroaching on the student’s intellectual freedom, I rather think you are just being wise. We ARE in the business if “information” NOT “glorification of topics”. To fill a library with books that glorify or have an overt attempt to persuade a student to the gay lifestyle is just as wrong to me as a Christian trying to fill a library with overtly Christian selections with an agenda.
I, too, agree with Joy's comment that "students have a right to explore content that is "age appropriate" to learn about their world. That said, one of my deeply held beliefs that I would have to wrestle with as I select materials for the school library or classroom collection includes being a Christian. This presents a huge challenge, as there are many subjects that I may not want to read/learn about personally, but would have to include in my materials selection because ultimately, it is not the MS's responsibility to protect the morality of others. I would try to fill my mc with a balance of materials to reflect the various lifestyles/interests of the patrons I serve.
ReplyDeleteLike so many others on this blog, I too am a Christian. I am not an environmentalist. I love sports. I love to read a "good" fiction book, but I want it to end "right" and be left feeling good, not confused.
ReplyDeleteI am actually serving in the media specialist position in our high school this year (as I am taking these classes) and have purchased material, but I lean towards fiction. I started the year wanting to make the media center the "cool" place for students to come with the newest and best info for them to check-out. Thus, the fiction.
I find it very hard for me to choose nonfiction material to purchase for our media center and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I don't necessarily enjoy reading informational material, I mean why buy the material when you can find it online. This is a huge struggle for me, but I am working on it.
But even with the fiction, I find that I sometimes look over books that have had questionable reviews.
In response to Sherri's post from April 9. I loved your comment:
ReplyDelete“If you have an opinion, let it be an informed opinion and never let anyone brainwash you into believing something blindly. Choose based on the contemplation of ideas and information you’ve collected.”
It is when we have taught students to think and work this way that we have truly helped in the nurturing of informed and intelligent citizens. I am even thinking about putting this on a poster and hanging in our media center.
I personally enjoy certain types of books and I would struggle to not get books that I like. I have some moral reservations about some materials that are read. I can override my own personal feelings to allow all books to be in the Media Center. I will always believe that literature should represent all members of society. Books can change someone's life and I would love to change a child's life one page at a time.
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ReplyDeleteMy personal struggle would be with providing access to materials that are violent, sexually explicit, portray drug use and/or are age inappropriate. I feel the need to protect children and to try to keep them innocent. I felt this need as a second grade teacher, but I have relaxed on this since becoming a middle school media specialist. I will push this further next year as my school and media center transitions from a traditional middle school (grades 6-8) to an early college academy (grades 6-12). Next year we will have grades 6 through 9, and we will add a grade each year until we have seniors. This will make collection development interesting!
ReplyDeleteAnother challenge I have is with filtering information on the internet. My wife, Heather, recently opened my eyes to the need to relax filters. She teaches senior English in a different school district. Her district has strict internet filters. This hampers Heather’s teaching because she likes to have students debate issues and produce persuasive presentations, but the filters block student research on controversial topics as well as not so controversial subjects. She rightfully believes that we need to educate students to monitor their own internet usage and relax some of the filters.