Re: [LM_NET] Selection for Whom?

[Thomas Kaun <tomkaun@GMAIL.COM>]

Dear Laura and all LM_NETters.
Well put. I couldn't agree more.
Tom Kaun

On 2/25/07, Laura Brooks <brooksla@northville.k12.mi.us> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I*ve been following the *Lucky* censorship debate as it has raised many
> fundamental questions in my mind. Sadly, many of the posts suggest that we
> are indeed what the media has portrayed: fusty book marms who feel compelled
> to censor. Yes, selection does inherently mean we censor and not necessarily
> in a negative way; after all, as it has been pointed out, we all have
> limited budgets. However, I think that in pre-selecting a Newbery title
> based on *what*s age appropriate* or *what*s best for our community* we
> shirk our responsibility to provide access and to support intellectual
> freedom.
>
> Does anyone remember ALA*s *Library Bill of Rights*? The AASL has the
> *Freedom to Read Statement*. The International Reading Association has the
> *Censorship Statement*. The National Council of Teachers of English has *The
> Student*s Right to Read*. Does this mean that when we become library media
> specialists we suppress our professional ethos? Who makes us the arbiters of
> morality for an entire community? Just who are we protecting from possibly
> inflammatory material? Our school district? Our administrators? Ourselves?
> We*re certainly not protecting children*.
>
> How can we let a fear that a solitary title may provoke controversy
> interfere with connecting children with good, quality literature that may
> stimulate their curiosity and intellectual or emotional development? I*ve
> been bored by some Newbery winners, but don*t we let readers make
> connections and decide what they like? How dare we take away that right. I
> doubt the word scrotum will mar a person for life. In our collective years
> of teaching, how many of us have really dealt with a community hearing over
> a library book?
>
> I find this all very alarming. Yes, the Newbery Committee awards
> challenging titles that stir both mind and heart; isn*t this a key standard
> of any literary award? If we were to strip this criteria away, are we then
> awarding based on popularity? Goosebumps and Pony Pals would then win year
> after year. I thought we had literary awards to guide us in collection
> development, not censorship. I have had several students pride themselves on
> reading Newbery winners; I, for one, will not squelch their enjoyment,
> spirit, and sense of accomplishment based on the small probability of
> offending an adult.
>
> Laura
>
> Laura Brooks
> Library Media Teacher
> Amerman Elementary School
> Northville, MI
> brooksla@northville.k12.mi.us
>
> "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
> nothing is going to get better. It's not."
> -The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
>
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-- 
Thomas T. Kaun
Library Media Teacher
Bessie Chin Library @ Redwood High School
395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, CA 94939
tomkaun@gmail.com | http://rhslibrary.org

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