At my last school we never had a book officially challenged or banned. We did have parents call and ask why a particular book was in the library or on a prefered reading list. For example, many people have issues with The Giver by Lois Lowry. It's a terrific book and is a Newberry Award winner. But some of the content is not appreciated by more conservative parents.
There is an official process that must be followed to remove a book from circulation. What my last school did was have a "Questionable Content" list, with cards marked with a blue dot. In order for a student to check out books from the list either the teacher or parent had to give permission.
I agree with you, Lucella, that it's reasonable to monitor which books are added to the collection and which books particular students should or shouldn't read.
As for Harry Potter, I'm personally very tired of the debate. If certain parents don't want their children to read the series that's well within their rights to say so. Their children should respect the parents decision and choose not to read the book.
Honestly, working in a school library was a huge eye opener for me. If parents sat down and read the books available, they'd probably start yanking about half of them off the shelves. The important thing is to have an open line of communication with their child so if they do read something that disturbs, upsets or just plain causes curiousity then they should be able to discuss it with their parents.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
We haven't had any such issues at our school. Our principal is a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter series, so she'd probably go nuts if she was told the library couldn't carry the book.
I feel books are just like television programming, if you don't approve of the storyline, then don't read/watch it, but don't require that everyone in the world bend to your opinion. If the book or show is offensive to enough people, it will fail to be successful and will go away. Personally neither of my children enjoy the Harry Potter genre of books, but I know other children who love them, have read every one, and seen the movies. I don't see them out stirring cauldrons or doing incantations. Books can stimulate imagination and interest in subjects, so I suppose a book with sorcery as the theme could stimulate people to want to learn more about the subject, but it comes down to parents paying attention to what their children are involved in and steering them in the right direction.
I just heard on the radio this morning that yet another school district is attempting to ban the Harry Potter series of books from their schools. They say it promotes witch-craft.
I'm just curious- have books been banned or are there books that there was debate about banning in your school districts? What are your feelings on censorship?
My .02 ~ I am a "monitor not censor" supporter. This has not been an issue in our school, but it worries me anytime I hear about it happening in other areas.
