My previous post was about censorship and challenged books. I work in a middle school so there are certain books that I just don't have, even though I know they would circulate well. For example, in my post about the top ten books, I know that John Green's The Fault in our Stars would have made the top ten.
But I don't have that book in my library. There are teenagers who have sex and there is explicit language and some of my students are eleven years old. That being said, if a students asks me if it's good, I tell them it is wonderful and they should read it if it's alright with their parents. Am I right in this situation? Or should I purchase this book for my library?
In my censorship post, I discuss the book And Tango Makes Three. This is based on the true story of zoo workers who notice that two male penguins, Roy and Silo, seem to only want to spend their time with one another. Perfect circumstances arise when another penguin couple hatches two eggs and can only care for one, so the zoo workers give Roy and Silo the extra egg. They take turns caring for it and give it the same love and care as all the other penguins in the zoo. And then Tango is born and they are a family.
This book was on the challenged list 6 times due to homosexual themes. I understand that some people do not like homosexuals (I don't understand why but I know it's a thing). But by challenging this book, what are you saying to the student who grew up with two moms or two dads and finally gets to read a story about a beautiful couple who basically raised a baby that would have died without them?
As I taught this lesson to a class it came to my attention that one of my students was raised by two moms. I only knew because someone I worked with knows these women, not because there was anything different about their son, not because he was teased or asked questions about how his life was so different. Because it wasn't different. Every student I have shown this book to basically thinks it is adorable and wonderful. Not once has a student brought up the fact that a baby penguin was raised by two male penguins.
The real discussion I want to generate from this post is that I don't actually have the book And Tango Makes Three in my library because I don't really do pictures books as I teach in a middle school. When I teach this lesson, I borrow it from our elementary school library. I noticed, though, that the book is not on the shelves for students to check out, but rather is stacked in "professional reading" so that only teachers can check it out. This school is grades k-2, so I want to know what you think of the book being labeled as "professional" rather than being available to all students.
Erin, I'm not sure if censorship would include making decisions about what is and isn't age appropriate reading. I mean we wouldn't give Penthouse Forum to a group of upper elementary school students, even though the writing is written at a level that would be appropriate for them (as most general audience magazines are written for a grade five reading level). But the content isn't appropriate by any measure. I think your tactic of making recommendations, adding the caveat about the parental agreement, is a good strategy. I think avoiding those books altogether because of the content would fall under the umbrella of censorship. But using the professional judgement that you have been taught and have developed based on your experience, to include or not include books because their content may not be appropriate for all of the audiences that your library serves is fine. I get the sense that if you had just upper middle school students or secondary students in your facility, you'd have the book in your library. So the issue isn't that you're excluding the book because of its content. You're excluding the book because in your professional opinion some of your readers may not be mature enough to understand or appreciate the content in the way it is intended.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michael. I think one of the reasons that particular book is an issue for me is because I know that a TON of my students have read it and they love it and it breaks my heart to have to tell students I don't have it. Generally, though, I do trust my own judgement....thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael, there is a difference between censorship and and filtering for age and school appropriate materials. When I was selecting supplemental reading materials and class sets of novels, I deliberately refused to order certain books because they were not age appropriate and the language (especially considering they would be read aloud). Just because a book is good does not mean it should be available in a school library. There is a difference between filtering what is available and censorship. Go with your gut, you stated valid reasons why it is inappropriate for your student population. and go from there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cheronne. Any thoughts on the book "And Tango Makes Three" being listed as professional reading rather than being available to K-2 students?
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad when we have to skirt hot button issues like same sex couples. We're having a similar issue in our district now (I teach at the high school level), and some of our school board is concerned that the district purchased curriculum is "too liberal." Personally, I try to balance any perception of that by including more "conservative" novels", though I don't really see it as too liberal. But furthermore, I think the conversation really needs to focus on the idea that children aren't empty vessels and that by denying them that opportunity to read a book about two male penguins raising a child is doing two things - 1) rendering very real versions of that family invisible and 2) shutting down any opportunity for a conversation and thus learning opportunity. I think our students are in school to learn, and we have to teach them how to do that. We give them the skills necessary to think and learn and discuss and debate. We don't teach them the content, in this situation, but we give them the tools to make their own decisions. Now, personally, do I want them to see the two male penguin family as just as valid as the one male, one female? Yes, of course, but if I value the education system as we've designed it, I recognize that there will be disagreements and that instead, I just want to make sure that my students walk out of the room with solid defense of an opinion, knowing the difference between a reliable source and not, and being able to have a sound and reasonable discussion with someone on an issue. I think by labeling a book like that "professional," we're shutting down a conversation and rendering part of our population invisible. You can't ignore them, but there are very real children in your school (as you even pointed out), whose family look just like that. What do you say to that child then? As for the sex scenes in older books, I'm never sure how to handle that, but yes, I would go with parental permission. But I don't think that a loving relationship is the same as a sex scene in terms of parental permission. We need to educate, not protect, our children.
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about letting the kids make their own decisions and us giving them the skills to think and learn. So often kids just have the same opinions as their parents or other adults in their life (which makes sense) but to give them the tools to make up their own minds is what we need to be doing as teachers.