Selection and Censorship of Children's Lit - 2008

[Judi Moreillon]

Dear Children's Lit for a Diverse Society Group,
Next week, school and public librarian graduate students from the University of Arizona will be posting questions and thoughts related to selection and censorship of children's lit in school libraries.

My goal (as their professor) is for them to broaden their understanding of the issues by hearing from and communicating with people in the field.

I hope you are willing to share your expertise.

Best,
Judi

[Trish Gardner]

As bothered as I was to learn that in the Wollman-Bonilla study (1998) it was discovered that teachers “commonly objected to texts that reflect gender, ethnic, race or class experiences that differed from their own” (p.289); I was even more disturbed by the fact that “most teachers are unaware of their own biases in text selection.” (Jipson & Paley, 1991; Luke, Cooke & Luke, 1986). This lack of awareness strikes me as an insurmountable barrier to children’s First Amendment rights and is probably one reason censorship occurs in school libraries. However, building a collection in a school library is limited by budget and dictated by the curriculum and teacher requests. And, within those parameters there is less room for personal bias to enter the equation.

For cases like the situation in Pima County, where there occurs a word in a picture book that is offensive to some and not to others, I believe there are ways to address the situation without a cry of censorship. It sounds like in El Trasero del rey, the word is simply not age appropriate for a picture book. But there are words that are offensive to people in the Pacific Northwest that wouldn’t bother someone in the Bible Belt. Much depends on the social morays of the community, and those evolve over time, too. Take the word “squaw.” It used to be a perfectly acceptable term in Phoenix, but within the last few years has become as volatile as the “N” word.

As someone who has never dealt with this issue first-hand, I am only theorizing; but I would suggest when something like this comes up, a Community or Parent Advisory Committee would be the way to go, to assure that the community’s standards are accurately reflected.

Would it work? Have any of you been part of a group effort to deal with a challenged book? Or, does it work better to have the buck stop with just one person, who makes that decision? Is opening up the discussion to the community/parents just asking for controversy?

[Chris Ruiz]

I was part of a panel assembled by the principal of a public elementary school to review a challenged book. I was chosen to represent the community as an objective parent. I posted this here and like I said, I didn't know if this was their "policy", or ' lack of policy". It was representative of the community and school.

[Sue Rasmussen]

On the contrary Trish, the inclusion of parents and community members on a reconsideration committee offers the needed forum to discuss the challenged book openly and intelligently, rather than relying on rumors and gossip. The key is having the composition of the committee well spelled out in the policy to get as wide a representation of the community as possible--in our district the committee is chosen from pool of parents, staff and community people who have agreed at the beginning of the school year to serve in the event that a challenge is initaited. I was part of the committe when our district's policy was put to the test in 2001 by a parent who challenged the use of the first Harry Potter book in a 7th grade classroom. Although the right of the parent to not have her child read the book, the book was not pulled from the classroom.
The irony here is that the same superintendent who not only led the process back in 2001, but proposed passage of the procedure two years before that, completely ignored the policy this summer by not allowing the use of our community's Big Read title Bless Me, Ultima from use in the high school because of the language. Mind you, he hasn't banned the book from the library ( and there are copies on the shelves), just from being used in sophomore, junior and senior English classes (a decision had already been made to use an alternate title with middle school students and freshman) and the librarian is not allowed to distribute free copies to students--discussion ended. One more interesting piece is that this is the title for Academic Decathalon (they didn't know this when it was chosen last January) so the Academic Decathalon team at the same school must study the book. The Big Read team has chosen not to formally protest the decision because they want to keep lines of communication open for furture projects, but the controversy (which has grown through discussions, gossip and letters to the editor) has spawned a great deal of interest in the book--seems everyone wants to see what all the hullabaloo is about.

[Tara F.L.]

Sue,
I am glad to see that you use collaboration and communication with other professionals in the field when considering a book you have personal feelings about. Getting perspective and discussing the book in question not only shows that you are avoiding becoming a censor, it demonstrates a respect for the opinions and knowledge of others.
I like your example of the Scary Stories series, which though not always the first pick for a librarian, are sought out by kids at all types of libraries. I read with a group of kids ages 7-10 two days a week and all they seem to ask for are scary stories. While I worried about using these books and possibly sending kids home with nightmares, I did give in recently and read them a few of the Schwartz tales. Not only did I find my fears were unwarranted, most of the kids said that the stories werent scary enough! This was a lesson to me, that kids can handle more than we assume and that it is not always our job to shield them from information they will find on their own in the end. With me as the buffer, the kids can get clarification of words and themes they might not understand, and I can avoid those stories I feel would go too far on the scary scale.

[MCarter9]

I think that's a great point-- that it's probably different with a reader as buffer between the kids and the books. I was telling Christa I sometimes feel like I should stop reading to my 8 year old soon, in hopes she'll do more independent reading, but I think we both learn a lot more from the books having read them together. I have a feeling that her vocabulary is enhanced by hearing new words out loud, in context, too. I hadn't thought much about mediating controversial content (yet) but that alone is probably reason enough to stay involved.

I wonder if someday there'll be a kids' book rating system, like on movies and video games? Or an advisory like on music?

[Chris Ruiz]

The idea of rating books according to reading level for beginning readers is actually happening in public libraries. My library has initiated a color-coded system for books as a browsing collection (emergent to fluent readers). It’s been successful as a teaching tool for reading. But exposure to all books is still a best practice. The transition from beginning readers to fiction/non-fiction is more individual and ratings would be impractical. It’s a personal preference. I don’t always agree with book lists for age levels either. A coding system kind of takes away the fun and discovery of books that libraries offer.

[Tara F.L.]

You both make very good points about the pros and cons of rating systems. I think parents (at least in public libraries) really benefit from librarians organizing materials in this way. Some parents have kids who are resistant to reading, or are perhaps a bit behind the rest of their age group, and the parents want to find materials that are appropriate in terms of difficulty. These parents often do not have the time to sit down and look at each and every item while at the library. Having systems like the red and blue markers you mentioned can help parents to narrow in on items that might work, and then they can go through them more thoroughly at home. This also works for parents who have kids who have surpassed the reading level of their peers. It gives parents the ability to select and review appropriate materials before passing them on to their kids. I would be hesistant to use these rating systems to indicate content, but I do think they are helpful when it comes to creating easier access for kids and parents alike. Has anyone seen an example of books being rated by content on library shelves? We have markers to indicate holiday books and genres (like mystery or sci-fi), but I would be interested to hear about other examples.

[Trish Gardner]

Christa, off-topic or not, it's a good philosophical question. Where do parents figure into the mediation process? I know when my daughter, who is now 15, started bringing home books from school that I'd never heard of, I'd grab them, and stay up all night reading them ahead of her... just in case there was something in there that wasn't appropriate. I never want to have to rely on someone else's opinion, like the facts about fiction web site.

As time went by, there were, of course, subjects and events in those books that she'd never encountered, but because she knew I'd read it, too, we could talk about those things, and I could spin it the way I, as a parent, wanted. I don't try to keep up with her voracious reading habits any more, but she and I have a foundation of communication where she can come ask me about what she reads, and I've already had the opportunity to give her "our family's view" of so many subjects.

Trish

[Sue Rasmussen]

Good for you Trish! You've taken the opportunity to not just preach your values but to apply them in a very real way and to show her the importance of talking about these issues in the context of the entire work. Knowing that you would be reading the books also probably helped her think about her choices. You are, however, the exception. Many parents are not willing to make this sort of effort relying instead on sites like Facts on Fiction to do the filtering for them or on the other extreme not caring about the content. In answer to your question, I feel parents should always be aware of what their children are reading, just as they should be aware of their television and movie habits. But it has to be done in a way that helps your child learn and grow (such as you did) rather than just putting your foot down and saying NO!

[Kristina Green]

I thought it was so interesting that you brought up Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories" - I loved those books when I was young! In retrospect though, I can see how they can seem a little disturbing and graphic. On the flip side though, they made my imagination run wild and the illustrations were creative. I commend you for taking the initiative in asking the opinions of other librarians in your district on questionable material.

[Chris Ruiz]

Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories" is widely popular in my library and always checked out.
“La Llorona”, (The Weeping Woman), Latino folklore, is equally popular with Hispanics.
Seems to me like nothing recently has been published in this genre for children and they want more. YA has taken off with the vampire fiction series “Cirque Du Freak”(Darren Shan) and “Twilight” (Stephanie Meyers). Can we expect new fiction for children in this genre?

[Trish Gardner]

I've never read any of the Scary Stories books, and I've only read a couple of Goosebumps. But, I've seen our school librarian steer younger kids away from them. She says it's because there are a limited number of them on the shelves, and she wants to reserve them for the older kids. Then, as an aside, she said "and I don't want parents calling and complaining that their 2nd grader is having nightmares." Such power a school librarian has! Is this censorship?