Too close for comfort…
This case is simply too close for comfort. Over the last week, headlines in the Daily News have centered on a local censorship case that has become ugly enough to merit national attention. Headlines read…Petition Started to Oppose Restricting Access to Library Books ran on Saturday…Ethics Probe of Mayor, Alderman Sought…Four Tossed Off of Library Board. The alderman in question is a teaching colleague of mine, censured for his outspoken opposition to the efforts of a local community member to remove, from the collection, YA books that include characters who are GLBT … on the grounds that these are “pornographics” in nature. Other local blogs (Cap City Liberty | West Bend Parents for Free Speech | Motley Cow) offer a closer look at the circumstances,while attention from the National Coalition Against Censorship reviews the case within the context of censorship across the country.
The case is disturbing, professionally, on many levels. As a youth librarian, I am certainly familiar with the books in question. Typical of good YA lit, the books offer sensitive insight to students of ALL orientations at a time when issues of sexuality and peer pressure permeate their lives. As a parent, my heart aches for the young people caught firmly between the adults who are polarizing around the issue. As a teacher, I am frustrated with the failure of some adults to recognize that exposure to ideas is not teaching, but is rather an opportunity to teach…an open door to the discussions that are so often lacking in the relationships between generations.
So … for Nick … because I am proud that he stood strong in defending the right of young people (and their parents) to engage with YA literature, DESPITE the fact that I KNOW he would, himself, always rather teach the classics 
… I am posting (for the first time) a public edit of Book BBQ.
The song itself, was written in 2003, by 4-year student library aide, Tyler Tomaszewski, who was a quiet presence in my library until his senior year, when he discovered that his music could be used as a voice for awareness and change. He and other members of his regular band (Kyle and Eric) formed up as “Literatus,” to perform this song, written when I requested a “library theme song.” I got so much more than I expected — BookBBQ — a response to a volume on banned books Tyler found in our library at Craig High School.
Here goes…
P.S. Thanks again, Tyler. You remain one of those students who shaped who I am as a teacher, today.
Tags: bookbanning, censorship, YA
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April 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 am
Lora- I miss you. I cannot believe that people are still banning things like this…
There is so much backward thought in the world. Oh, and I’ve read 2/3 of the books they mention. The Geography club is so not perverse!
May 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
“I am frustrated with the failure of some adults to recognize that exposure to ideas is not teaching, but is rather an opportunity to teach….”
I am frustrated with the failure of some adults to recognize that exposure to ideas is not the issue, but is rather an exposure to sexually inappropriate material for children that is legal to keep from children.
May 15th, 2009 at 1:27 am
Thanks, Dan, for your thoughts. I think the disconnect is in how the the word “children” is being defined. The application of a magical number is arbitrary. That is, 18 may be the legal age of majority… although in the state of Wisconsin all 17 year old “children” are tried as adults…but teens at 15,16,17 are hardly at the same developmental level (physically, mentally, intellectually, socially) as pre-teens. Parents who advocate freedom to read for YAs are not advocating those same titles for younger children. They simply recognize that kids mature at such varied rates, that the responsibility for monitoring lies in the hands of the parents (who know their children best) and not in the hands of a public institution. I would hope that all parents DO control when and how their pre-teens have access to the public library (checkout privledges and even a ride there).
As far as teachable moments…I don’t speak wholly from my vantage as a teacher. As a mom (of 4) my children have never learned anything (privledge withheld or not) with a simple “NO!” We need to dialogue with our kids about the world they face.
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Then, Ilcowell, I would suggest you allow them to flip through Penthouse the next time they ask what’s in it.
January 18th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Hmmm…GAMazy, I don’t really understand the reference here.
As a parent, I’d not answer such a question is such a “flip” way. I can’t imagine showing this to my kids, although I suppose they could have come across this on their own sometime. As the mom of girls, I would have a long discussion with them about self-respect and the exploitation of women.
As a teacher/librarian…I’d challenge you to find any institution that offers access to this material to kids of ANY age. More likely they’ll come across it at home on the Internet than in a library where filters are active and this type of adult content would be inaccessible (if subscribed to at all) to minors.