If/when more challenges do continue to appear (and I wouldn't be surprised
if we have one in my district, too), I hope that we will all rely on the
formal processes we have in place that are intended both to protect our
students' intellectual freedom and to ensure that our collections are
educationally sound and age appropriate. I have read and loved all three
books, and if memory serves me, there are several things in the trilogy
that I think will be objectionable to a certain segment of the population:
the character who is the equivalent of God (named the Authority in the
book) is portrayed as a weak, ineffective leader; Lyra and Will become, in
essence, a new Adam and Eve whose actions will determine whether originial
sin is reintroduced in the world; and there are witches, just to name a
few. But one of the trilogy's greatest strengths, in my opinion, is its
moral complexity. The last book points out that without original sin,
there would be no free will either, with which one could choose to do
good, to live a life of service to others, etc. That's a thought that
hadn't occurred to me before I read the books.
The bottom line, though, is that Pullman's trilogy was well-reviewed, it
is included in the Wilson Middle School/Jr. High and Senior High School
Catalogs (as well as other core collection sources), and so it is
perfectly appropriate to have in a 7-12 collection. Any parent who does
not want her/his children to read the books absolutely has the right to
share that expectation with their children, but they do not have the right
to make that decision for other people's children.
I'll be ready in the event that we have a challenge, and I trust our
district's reconsideration policy to do what it is intended to do if that
happens. And I'm thankful that in LM_Net, we all have a support network
and sounding board when we need advice on such things.
-------------------------------------
Kelly Stern
Teacher Librarian
Cedar Falls High School
Cedar Falls, Iowa
sternk@cedar-falls.k12.ia.us
Sheri Haveman <havemans@PELLA-CHRISTIAN.PVT.K12.IA.US> on Monday, October
29, 2007 at 9:09 AM -0600 wrote:
>Hi,
> I thought I would add my two cents worth here. I have only read
>the first one, and found it to have nothing questionable at all.
>However, in my master's of library sicence program, my young adult
>literature professor predicted this last spring. She said that with
>the movie coming out, people would object to the final book and this
>book/series would be challenged a lot. I always knew she was a wise
>and wonderful professor, but it is fun to see how she really nailed
>this one on the head! She did think it was a fairly direct challenge
>to traditional Christianity in my understanding.
>
>Sheri
>
>On Oct 29, 2007, at 8:57 AM, Dr. Allan O'Grady Cuseo wrote:
>
>> I've read the entire series years ago. They are dark but I never
>> though they were anti-God. Now I will have to read them all over
>> again and I am not looking forward to it. Fantasy is not my
>> favorite genre unless it is nice leprechauns (which are actually
>> not nice critters at all).I have removed them from the shelf while
>> I reread them all (ok- no one throw stones).AllanDr. Allan O'Grady
>> Cuseo, MGCDirector of Library ServicesBishop Kearney High School |
>> A Golisano Education Partner125 Kings Highway SouthRochester, New
>> York 14617585.342.4000 x231585.342.4694 (fax)www.bkhs.orgCollege
>> Prep. Plus.-----Original Message-----From: "Judith
>> Beahan" [JBeahan@GRISWOLD.K12.CT.US]Date: 10/29/2007 09:37 AMTo:
>> LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDUSubject: Re: [LM_NET] Target:The Golden
>> Compass complaintI was just forwarded this email by a parent. I
>> have a copy of the book on our shelf but have never read it. Any
>> opinions out there?
>>
>> Snopes says this is true....
>>
>> The Golden Compass--A Warning!
>> THE GOLDEN COMPASS, a new movie targeted at children, will be
>> released December 7, 2007. This movie is based on a the first book
>> of a trilogy by atheist Philip Pullman. In the final book a boy and
>> girl kill God so they can do as they please. Pullman left little
>> doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that
>> "My books are about killing God."
>> The movie is a watered down version of the first book and is
>> designed to be very attractive in the hope unsuspecting parents
>> will take their children to see the the movie and that the children
>> will want the books for Christmas.
>> The movie has a well known cast, including Nicole Kidman, Kevin
>> Bacon, and Sam Elliott. It will probably be advertised extensively,
>> so it is crucial that we get the word out to warn parents to avoid
>> this movie.
>> You can research this for yourself.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Judy Beahan, LMS
>> Griswold Elementary School
>> 303 Slater Avenue
>> Griswold, CT 06351
>> jbeahan@griswold.k12.ct.us
>>
>> "At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that
>> threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their
>> lives forever, for the better." Barack Obama
>>
>>
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>
>Sheri Haveman
>Teacher Librarian
>Pella Christian High School
>604 Jefferson
>Pella, IA 50219
>havemans@pella-christian.pvt.k12.ia.us
>
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