School Library Journal recently had an article chastising those in our profession for what we don’t buy.  “A Dirty LIttle Secret:  Self-Censorship”.  I read it.  I pondered it.  And then I asked myself the questions that always plague me when censorship within the profession is discussed, “Why am I only a good librarian if I allow everything?  Can’t good librarians reject things?”

Then I read an SLJ blog post’s rebuttal to the article.  It was stated much more strongly and radically than I would have written, but I found I agreed with a lot of what The Annoyed Librarian had to say.  I wouldn’t have said it quite that way, however… I’m not allowed to use the “f” word. 

I asked my father what f___ meant when I heard it on the playground in third grade.   My question was truly innocent.  He told me in no uncertain terms exactly what it meant and that I was NEVER to use that word again.  I have not.  Ever. 

In my undergraduate child psychology class, however, I remembered that incident.  I went home on break and informed my father that he had completely overreacted to an innocent childish question.  My father asked, “Have you ever used the word.”  “No,” I replied.  “There’s your psychology,” said father.   You’ve got to love the direct ways of the farmer…

So without the “f” word, I’ll add only a little to The Annoyed Librarian’s rant and I will also acknowledge a valid warning in the SLJ article.  I must be careful as I purchase books not to allow my own prejudices to color my selection.  But the SLJ article was not about my prejudices, it was about allowing the anticipation of perceived or real threats of outside objections to color my purchases.  That is a valid warning; I must guard against that as well!  If I don’t buy a good title just because I know it will upset Mrs. SoNSo, I’m not doing my job. 

I know that “Man who walk down middle of road get run over by trucks from both directions”, but I find myself in the middle as I select controversial materials.  First, I make sure I read most fiction completely, but especially those with potential controversy.  When I read the title, I better find something in it to make it worth defending. 

And ALA and SLJ, I’m sorry – many of the awards have lost their credibility with me.  I shall continue to approach all award titles with skepticism and I will decide for myself whether that title is worth defending. 

The word scrotum did not particularly disturb me in The HIgher Power of Lucky, but I also didn’t see how it added to the value of the book or how it was integral to the story.  I also did not think the title was well written.  It had some wonderful characters and was somewhat engaging, but the author totally dropped the title’s theme!  Dropped it!  Gone!  It was a good story, but not a good piece of literature.  So SLJ – add me to your dirty list.  I didn’t buy it.  It wasn’t worth fighting for!

That is my mantra with controversial materials.  Is the book worth fighting for?  If not, I’ve got better things to do with my limited budget.

WARNING.  Philosophy and ranting ahead.  This is what I once thought all blogs were about… but this is my first rant in almost a year of blogging.  Skip it if you wish!

In Monday’s post on Nora’s Ark I mentioned the need to first share the story of Noah’s Ark with the students.  I could hear the voices out there questioning me, “Can you tell that story at school?” 

“Why not?” I ask. 

“Well, separation of church and state, right?” 

 ”Wrong!”

How I hate the phrase “separation of church and state”.  But what I hate the most is how all of us – people of all faiths and lack thereof – have overreacted to it in light of public schools.  And our students are the poorer for it!

Now I do NOT want to debate the phrase, I will just say that moderate ground is the following statement:  ”When we think of religion in public schools, we think of the students and how they should be free from indoctrination.” 

• Never do I want a student to feel uncomfortable about his personal beliefs.
• Never do I intend to force my religious beliefs on my students – in fact, I’m not there to share my religious beliefs.  I’m there to be the school library media specialist. 
• Bottom line – We are free to educate students.  We are not free to indoctrinate or belittle students.

But I also think we have lost our focus.  Too often people feel that only by excluding things can we be fair to all.  I would like to suggest that we should include all cultures and faiths whenever the opportunity presents itself educationally in view of helping our students learn understanding and tolerance.  And when others practice their faith and/or culture by wearing a cross, a yarmulke, a bindi, or a chador we need not feel threatened or offended, instead we can respect and tolerate the symbols of who they are as an individual.  An educated person should understand world religions and cultural differences.  By avoiding those topics or situations, we leave our students ignorant, and ignorance is ugly. 

Libraries are the great defenders of inclusion.  “There is something in my library to offend everyone,” is one of my favorite quotations.  Libraries strive for balance, freedom of speech, and intellectual freedom.  So why does that often apply to everything EXCEPT mainstream Christianity?  Doesn’t Christianity have the right to be included?  Isn’t it WRONG to exclude a well produced picture book on Noah’s Ark just because it is a Bible story in a public school?

A few years ago I took some heat from one administrator about including the “Left Behind for Kids” series of books in our school library.  The series was hot, then.  Kids were asking for it.  There is no public library in my community to which I could send them so I bought the books. 

If seventy-five percent of my collection is Christian fiction and I refused to buy Harry Potter, we would have a problem.  But tolerance and respect for all faiths INCLUDES Christianity!  And balance does not mean that if I include Christian fiction I have to rush out and buy an equal number of Islamic fiction.  (Is there such a thing?)  -especially if my library would have no audience for it. 

Phew!  Done with the philosophy arguments.  Now to the rant…

There are stories that children once learned in Sunday School that they no longer know because fewer and fewer people attend church regularly.  Personally, this makes me sad.  Professionally, this means that my students no longer know stories such as David and Goliath, Noah’s Ark, or the stories of Moses.  Stories such as these transcend the Judeo-Christian religion of their roots and have become iconic stories in world culture.  They are referred to in literature and in the mass media. 

Last week when I briefly shared the highlights of Noah’s Ark with the students, many mentioned the movie Evan Almighty.  It was a light-bulb moment for them.  The movie was more relevant and funny once they had been introduced to the background story.  How can they understand a story about a modern day Noah if they don’t know the ancient story of Noah?

A few years ago when I shared Steven Jenkin’s book Actual Size, two of the creatures mentioned were the Goliath frog and the Goliath beetle.  When the student’s didn’t connect the meaning of Goliath with the concept of giant I felt I had to share the story of David and Goliath. 

Can I share the story of Noah or David and Goliath without mentioning God?  No.  But can I share the stories as iconic stories of culture without indoctrinating students into what I believe they mean?  Yes, I can!

So if a Bible story becomes relevant to the educational matter at hand, must I exclude it because of separation of church and state?  I think not.

And when censorship rears its ugly head, I can remind someone that if they can ask me to remove a book on evolution, someone else can ask me to remove the copy of Jerry Pinkney’s Noah’s Ark or those Left Behind books…. and vice versa.

I might also mention that I own a Seder plate which I use when I introduce the novel Devil’s Arithmetic to 5th grade.  And I bought a menorah so that I could share some of the Chanukah stories in our collection with the students.  Education.  It is about education, not indoctrination.  And the argument that religious education belongs in the home – well, it isn’t happening anymore, just like so many other things!  And telling a Bible story ISN’T religious education; it is making sure the students are familiar with key stories in Western Civilization.  If the newspaper article refers to something as a Pandora’s box, how can you understand that if you’ve never been taught the story of Pandora?  If the same newspaper refers to the little school defeating the big school in sports as a David and Goliath, well….I rest my case.

“Can you tell that story at school?”  You bet!  This is America!  Liberty and justice for all – even for the Bible stories! 

Ooops.  What happened to October?  Bookfair, Marching Band and a fatal car accident for one of my daughter’s friends happened to my October.  Here is hoping November is more peaceful.

Jordan Sonnenblick is coming to the ISLMA conference this weekend.  One of the joys of being Awards Chair for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award is hosting the winning authors.   In preparation I have reread the winning title, Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie.  This second reading made me remember why it won.  Sonnenblick is hitting on all points for YA readers – appealing to their interests and emotions in equal measure.  The narrative flows in a natural flow-of-consciousness voice from the main character Steven.  This is yet another strength for attracting today’s YA readers! 

I had a complaint from a parent last April regarding Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie.  (It was interesting timing, since the book had just been named the Caudill winner.)  The mother’s complaint focused on the book being inappropriate for her son.  I had to agree – her son was a fourth-grader with a below average reading ability and maturity to match.  This was not the book for him (as I tried to persuade him when he checked it out).  Since I was in agreement with the mom, her complaint died a quick death and I was able to turn the conversation to convincing her to persuade her son to take our reading recommendations more seriously. 

I successfully sidestepped it, but the mom wanted to complain to me about the book’s apparent focus on “hot girls”.  If this mom had read past page two (which does mention “hottest girl” three times!) she would have discovered wonderful depths in the book.  But she didn’t read long enough to discover that Steven outgrows his obsession with ”hot girl, Renee Albert”.  If she had kept reading she would have seen Steven discovering Renee as a person… and she would have seen him developing a more healthy relationship with Annette.  But she missed it…  (Her loss.  Huge loss.)  Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is NOT a book for less mature readers, not because of any truly inappropriate content but because it is too rich for them.  This title is best for readers grades 6-12.

Tonight I also finished Sonnenblick’s most recent title Dodger and Me.  In contrast, THIS title IS for 4th and 5th grade readers!  More simple and silly, never-less it has the same great flow in the narrative. As a fifth grader, Willie doesn’t see girls as “hot”‘; he sees girls, Lizzie in particular, as annoying.   Like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, though, our hero eventually sees the girl as a person of value.  A friend.  And, like Drums…, it also seems to echo Sonnenblick’s favorite theme:  “give your parents a break, they’re just people, too!” 

Dodger for President comes out in spring 2009.  A sequel is also appropriate for fourth and fifth grade readers who can’t get enough of whatever good thing they are hooked on reading.  Series and sequels suit their reading development needs, so bring it on!  With the election tomorrow and (*sigh) no one running I wish to vote for… perhaps Dodger is the answer!