Censorship rears its ugly head. Sort-of. *SIGH*

[luvmychicknkids]

Well, here is the note he will be taking to school tomorrow, and it better work.

Mrs. Librarylady, (obviously not what it says)

Hello, I am Smart Child's mother. He expressed an interest in checking out books in the series' by Stephanie Meyer and was told he could not. I am writing to let you know that he already owns book in two of her series' and is allowed to read them. I do not mind buying them for him at home, but money is tight and feel he should be allowed to check them out from the library. I realize they are a mature level, but he is a mature reader. If there is any material that concerns or confuses him he knows that he can, and I know that he will, come to me and we will discuss it. You can rest assured that there is nothing contained in any book, in a school library, that I am afraid for my child to read.

Thank you,
Proud Mom

*Names in this note were changed to protect privacy....blah...blah...BS.....BS

 

[texaschickmama]

I just wanted to add that a child should be praised not held back or flat out refused to read a book. I'm not familiar with the books that you speak of, but they can't be that bad if they are in a public school library. Who is the librarian to choose which books SHE thinks your son can handle or not? Wow, this thread hit a nerve in me I guess.........

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
Yeah, I was very shocked and it hit a nerve with me, obviously.

I drive a LONG way every day to take my children to one of the best schools in the area, and then this!!!

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I am a public school teacher and I would like to loudly protest this generalized bashing of the public school system. The original post does not require such anger or complaint at ALL of us who work our hind ends off for the future of America.

As is true in any profession, there are employees that aren't as competent as others. If you have a problem with an employee, go see that employee's boss. Go to the principal, the school board, or the superintendent if you have to. Visit with your school's curriculum director. See if your school district has a program where your child can take a higher-grade-level English class while the other kids are studying their normal class.

Please remember, in the midst of all your bashing, that the public schools are also under a lot of pressure put upon them by government officials who have never taught a child in their lives, but think they know how to. The "No Child Left Behind" legislation is where things like "levels" and so forth come from. It's all about data and tracking, tracking, tracking... Tell your elected officials what you think of these policies.

As far as the school "having control" once a kid enters a building, yes, to an extent that is true. This is the result of bad parenting. Kids get sent to us who think it's okay to fight, swear, steal, etc. They get into fights and then their parents come up to the school so that they can help their kid fight the other kid, too. Yeah... We have control over a lot of things at school so that we can have order, because the parents aren't teaching their kids how to act but the kids have to be in our buildings, anyway. Does this hurt the good kids? Sure it does... but there's no helping it.

For those of you who are proud to homeschool, remember that not everyone has that option. For the children of those parents, the public schools are there (and a lot of the kids I teach feel a lot safer at school than at home because of how horrifying their home lives are). You can look down on public schools all you like, but we're just trying to do the same thing you are. Kids can't help it when their parents need to work, or can't/don't/won't take a personal interest in their children's education to the point where they want to help teach.

 

[Katy]

It's one thing for a child to be able to read the words of a more mature grade level book, but another entirely for them to be mature enough to read them. Has nothing to do with how smart they are. There are books that I wouldn't have a problem with a high schooler reading but wouldn't have wanted my 5th grader reading. I don't know anything about the author you referred to, so she might be just fine. It is strange tho that they have books that they won't allow a student to check out unless the library serves the whole school system.

 

[Poison Ivy]

We have the same problem here with the school library. She is suppose to read AR books weekly. They have told Sierra she wasn't allowed to check out higher level reading books from the school library. So we just go to the public library and get the books she wants to read. Then she goes in and takes her AR tests at school.

 

[Sammysmom]

This is unbelievable!!

Reading should ALWAYS be encouraged and it is not the librarian's nor the school's job to dictate what can and can't be checked out from a free lending library!! Just another example of political correctness and "we don't want to offend anyone" type of thinking. I have always read consistently to my son and, even though he just entered Kindergarten and doesn't know how to read yet, will take a book off of the shelf and read it to himself from memory. I certainly hope I don't encounter this type of problem in the future. Best of luck to you and I hope the school will come to their senses in this regard.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
This library is for middle school only (5th through 8th at our school). They actually have some of her books set at a level 6....and won't even let him check those out.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
This library is for middle school only (5th through 8th at our school). They actually have some of her books set at a level 6....and won't even let him check those out.

It will be interesting to see what her reasoning is I guess.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Oh, just for the record, TheChickenLady, I am not and would not bash the pubic school system. I am upset and frustrated and working to rectify the situation. However, I felt the need to vent. I don't take my children to public school because I HAVE to but because I CHOOSE to. I feel it is the best way for them to learn to work within a diverse society. Teachers are way underpaid and generally under-appreciated. I simply want my child to be allowed to continue challenging his mind and becoming the person I know he is capable of becoming.