I'm liking the blog experience too-as the blog "owner" I had all of the comments sent to me via e-mail so I'm collecting them in a folder. I am pretty sure if I added an RSS feed you all could subscribe and something similar would happen-I'll try to sort that out. If anybody has knowledge about this please share it with me.
Anyway, a few thoughts about issues raised in some recent posts.
Faye posted that at her school a committee reviews books that have been purchased prior to putting the books on the shelves to see if there is anything controversial. YIKES! This is absolutely unacceptable. I do try to be realistic (and try not to sound preachy-Melissa is right, that can be challenging) but this is a case when a media specialist has to stand up and say this practice should stop. If you have a selection policy in place you should follow those procedures, which start with purchasing items based on reviews in standard sources. If an item causes a concern there is an established process to follow.
One post discussed looking for hidden meanings in words or pictures and used Shel Silverstein as an example. He stays controversial for many reasons but in his early career he drew cartoons for Playboy, which makes him suspect in the eyes/minds of many.
I would also like to raise the issue about censoring videos. When the movie Schindler's List was released Steven Spielberg provided a free copy to every high school in the U.S. The video sat unusued b/c of rules in place that prohibited high schools from showing any R rated video. If you can't read Beloved to learn about the horrors of slavery and you can't see Schindler's List to put a human face on the horror of the Holocaust how can students ever try to come to terms with these historical atrocities that have had such a lasting impact on our civilization? And how could reading Beloved or watching Schindler's List be any more horrifying than watching the current news coverage of Virginia Tech?
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This post reminds me of the 9/11 events. I was not teaching at that time, but my husband was. At his school, everyone wanted to turn the television on to see what was going on, and all of the kids were curious. However, the school administrators would not allow the kids to see the coverage. I feel like this was complete censoring, because this is now a part of history. Certainly the kids would find out what was going on, why couldn't they watch it as it was taking place? - Especially since it is now a part of the history textbooks - Now, when their children and grandchildren ask them what they were doing when the planes hit the twin towers, all they'll be able to say is sitting in school not being allowed to see it.
I'm happy to read the response about our school committee meeting censoring books. I feel uncomfortable going through the procedure, and I think part of it is due to the fact that the current selection policy needs to be modified (which I have done in an earlier assignment for this class). If all goes as planned, this is the media specialist postition I will be taking after next year. It will be challenging at the least!! As the old saying goes, "How do you fight City Hall?" If the board has implemented this policy of censorship, doesn't that mean I will have to follow it?
I have to agree. There are so many horrible events that children can view on the news. We need books that show these events and how people their age deal with the situation.
However, on another note, when you teach in a small town where most people feel that many subjects are taboo, controversial books are never ordered. How do you really deal with a situation where your principal or superintendent says to take it off the shelve? I'm not sure if I'm really willing to go against the "head honcho."
Wow, Faye, I can't believe that a committee has to review books before they go on the shelf. That's not even practical. I'm always so excited to get new books and get them shelved so students can read them.
I just read an interview with Susan Patron, author of The Higher Power of Lucky (http://ncac.org/literature/20070316~USA~Interview_With_Susan_Patron.cfm). Patron explains that the fear censorship should not be an issue during the creative process, but she also feels that controversial elements should not be used for shock value in an attempt to up book sales. She also mentions a few ways that librarians can defend the First Amendment, such as having a strong selection policy, building diverse collections with various points of view, and creating banned book displays.
I hadn't really thought about the issues discussed here with movies (probably because I work in an elementary school). My husband previously taught in a high school and now teaches 8th Georgia Studies so I asked him about showing these movies in class. He felt that if the movie were important to the unit being covered, he might send home a letter explaining the significance to parents and get permission for students to watch the R rated movie. Although many might not feel comfortable allowing their children to watch it, at least some would have access to it. I wonder if as a teacher or media specialist, you could even go as far as setting up a preview night for parents to come in, see the film, and discuss the importance of the piece in the context of the curriculum. Many say no without really even understanding what they are saying no to (like objecting to one word in a book that they have never read), so at least their decision could be an informed one.
I was surprised to discover that our district policy is G movies only. I wanted to show October Sky to an 8th grade class and was informed that I couldn't do it because it is rated PG. It was disappointing to me that I cannot share this story that sends such a positive message about overcoming adversity and having a dream because of a few cuss words.
Talking about videos made me think about plays, what happens when a parent makes a complaint about materials used by a drama clubs in the schools? Our arts council put on the play “Life with Father” in which the father repeatedly uses bad language. A few people in the community called with complaints, but the show went on anyway. Unfortunately not many people come to the community plays anyway, so it wasn’t a huge issue. I also found an article at this website http://ncac.org/art/20070404~CT-Wilton~Prominent_Playwrights_and_Free_Speech_Groups_Oppose_Censorship_of_Student_Play_About_Iraq.cfm
The principal cancelled the play Voices in Conflict because of questions about the students playing the role of United States soldiers and Iraqi citizens talking about the Iraq War. The press release by the superintendent does a good job of explaining the reason for canceling the play. He argues that the materials has been modified or cut and pasted from several sources and has language which is graphic and violent. It would be hard to say who is right without seeing the material, but it sounds like a lack of monitoring during the writing of the play. This website has several interest articles. http://www.ncac.org/
Our media specialist was reading a book that a parent made a complaint about. I asked her what the next step would be and she simply said that she was almost done and saw no reason to pull the book. I was so suprised because I have heard about our media committee working with our media specialist as well as administration on these types of situations. I guess that "procedure" is not always followed. I do know that these situations are very stick and the procedures need to be in place and followed in situations like this.
As a high school social studies teacher, I must admit that I have shown both Schindler's List and October Sky. Our county also has a "G" only video policy. We do have media committess in place at the school level. I showed the films because they were avaiable for my use in the media center and I tied them to the curriculium via my lesson plans.
Both movies are very powerful teaching avenues. The students are able to relate MUCH better with the material after viewing these films. They become much more curious. THey actually want to complete further research on the topics after viewing the films.
I am also guilty of showing Gone With the Wind in one of my sociology classes. We were discussing mores and social values. The object ws for students to pick out these social customs as they watched the film and compare them with the social customs of today. The students really enjoyed the assignment and learned a great deal.
The school in which I currently teach does not catalog many movies. The media specialist leaves that up to the individual departments. What they REALLY want is for EVERYONE to only use unitedstreaming for everything.
My husband (8th grade Georgia Studies teacher) also shows Gone with the Wind each year to his classes, but it is rated G, so no worries there.
The way parents react sometimes to innocent books, I would be worried about showing an R rated movie without first obtaining permission. This situation is different than students selecting a book for themselves off of the shelf; you are in fact giving them no choice but to participate in viewing the movie. I just don't feel that I would be comfortable making that call.
I liked what Jessica said about not using the books for "shock". I was teaching when 9/11 happened, and we did have a lesson in the classroom after if happened. We had so many parents who were involved in the military and we going to be involved, that we felt that we needed to have the children informed on what was happening. It was a very structured lesson provided by our school counselors... anyway... on the topic of reviewing books... yikes! I like the idea better of "easier to ask forgiveness than permission." Order the books, use them, read them, enjoy them, and if someone complains, deal with it then!
As for censoring the 9/11 events, our IT head honcho completely shut down the internet from students after the first plane crashed into the towers. His main concern was students using up all of the bandwidth. Terrorists were attacking America and he was concerned about network speed.
I had to personally inform a mother (I teach adults) that a plane crashed into the Pentagon...where her son worked. Fortunately her son was one of those that miraculously overslept and was late for work.
As for censoring books, I have a friend whom I love dearly, but she is on a personal campaign to see Harry Potter books banned.
She is a grandmother with grown children so she does not have kids still in school, but she is passionate about her campaign all the same. I try to mentally keep up with all of the emails and reports that she forwards to me and others in her contact list about the Harry Potter issue because I know that one day I will have to counter the argument. It is a lot easier to go into a debate when you know what arguments the opponents are going to use.
When I first moved to the media center in an elementary school this year from a high school English classroom, the first thing I noticed was Harry Potter was on the back shelf. I had run into this issue before. I had mentioned the book in class one day and had a student get offended. She stated that the book was against her religion. I won't attack someone's beliefs for being different; we just have to agree to disagree. However, since it was now my decision about where these books must go, I had to look at the situation from every angle. I asked about why the books were placed there (one particularly vocal parent complained and threatened). I asked some teachers and students for feedback. In the end, I placed the books on the shelf and ordered the ones we did not have because the majority wanted them there. Only the one voice of dissension (although I am sure that there may have been more) disagreed. I think it comes down to the my responsibility to create the least restrictive environment for the students. My children are students at this school. I want them to have the opportunity to read these books and not feel like they should have to hide it. It is hard not to go with my true feelings (I have never met the book I would ban). I do try to keep in mind that it is not my personal library. I am ecstatically glad that I could return the books to the shelf with no guilt.
JR's orginal post brings up some good points about using videos in class. I learned my first year of teaching you MUST watch every video before showing it to your class. But, I get frustrated if I want to show something that the students will get something out of and I can't. Schindler's List is a good example. In highschool I took an AP English class. The English teacher wanted to show the class the movie version of every book we read, but she couldn't because of restrictions. Some of the movies were R rated because of language and adult content. To skirt around it, once a month we met at her house one night, ordered pizza and watched the movie. She had talked to every parent ahead of time so that they would know what was going on. She even invited the parents to attend. After the movie, there was usually an intense discussion about the movie and how it correlated with the book. I look back and laugh that my teacher "beat the system."
In relation to the 9/11 posts.... I had heard that the district that I currently teach in told teachers that they couldn't watch TV that day. I just find that crazy because as an adult, I would want to know what was going on. I was teaching in San Antonio, TX that day. Within 45 min. of it happening, there was an emergency meeting called for the social studies department. We were told to put the entire team of students into one class room, tell them what happened, try to answer as many questions, be honest, turn the tv on and watch for the day. If students were uncomfortable, they were allowed to go to the gym and play basketball. The district got some compaints from the parents. The district defended themselves by saying it helped calm the teachers down (which it did!!!), helped centrally locate the students incase parents checked them out (lots of military around that were imm. called up), and helped stop any rumors and panic going around. Looking back, I couldn't imagine not being able to talk about the events as they were unfolding and not knowning what was going on.
in relation to manderson's post about Gone With The Wind....
I teach GA History.... while the movie is very stereotypical- I am amazed that the actual facts that the students remember about the Civil War after watching it. Since I don't have time to fit it in during the actual Civil War unit, the last couple of years we have watched it CRCT week almost as a review because the Social Studies CRCT is on the last day. Its great!!! Listening to the comments from the students.... "Man, the South was doing good at the beginning of the war." "Things didn't change much for the former slaves after the war." LIttle facts stick in their minds. I would think it would be the same for Schindler's List.
I was sitting in my office on 9/11 watching events via the internet. I can, however, vividly remember being in the school library when the Challenger disaster occurred. I had a large crowd gather in the library to watch the news. I cannot imagine not being able to watch 9/11 events-but that is a very hard decision to make when you think back about it. Nobody knew what had happened or what might happen next.
I can tell you in Hinesville, teachers were told not to turn on the TV's because students in our county have parents who were working in the Pentagon.
In response to 9/11. I do not agree with putting news coverage on TV for the class to watch. My children were young at that time and I did not want them exposed to that in such a manner. I did talk with them and tell them what happened, but in a manner that I felt was appropriate for them. In the news coverage you could see people jumping from the building to their deaths. Many children are not emotionally capable of handling those kind of visual images. Parents have the right to decide how and when to expose their children to things and when we turn the TV on in instances such as this we take that right away.
In response to brailers....
You bring up an awesome counterpoint about TV news in the classroom. We didn't start watching the tv until after both towers fell so by that time the coverage started to be filtered somewhat. I don't know what the exact correct way to handle a situation like this. As a person and having family in NYC and Washington, I needed to sit by the tv that day just so I knew what was going on. Looking back as a teacher and future parent, your points are very valid. For younger students I would say no to watching it, older students might could handle it. JR stated that she remembers the Challenger blowing up. I was in the 5th grade and I remember at lunch overhearing the teachers talking about it. The students didn't get the whole story so of course rumors started to fly. After lunch, our teacher explained to us what happened and we ended up watching the news coverage.
Based on several of your points, I am rethinking the whole idea of being able to watch events on tv as they unfold (thinking in particular of 9/11). I still can't imagine not having been able to watch what was going on but on the other hand I'm not sure it would be a good idea to be trying to watch and understand it with a class of 1st graders.
On 9/11 I was in a high school classroom with no television access. I learned about the event between classes. When the students entered my class, some had been watching the events unfold in other classes and wanted to continue to watch. There were also many students who were glad I had no TV because they had been upset by what was happening.
I also have to question any educational value that was gained. In instances such as that, our primary need to watch comes from a morbid sense of curiosity. It's almost like stopping to rubberneck at an accident. If it were something local that had an effect on the students and the community around them, I could see. At the time, we didn't even know what the cause of those horrific acts was.
Maybe because I don't have children of my own, but I think that students over a certain age (8 or 9) should have known about the attacks the moment they happened. The students must know what is going on, or I think they get more scared when they know something is wrong but no one is telling them. We need to prepare our students. When my parents were younger, they had to go through "bombing drills" hiding underneath their desks. They were informed about world events, and were taught how to react in such an event. Our children should have the same kind of protection. My schools practice lock downs. and my students were curious why. I explained what could happen to us and why we should be prepared. Even at 3rd grade, they understand. Many people under estimate children's understanding.
Out of the tragedy came a lot of good coping literature geared for children.
Below is a link for good pieces of literature directly related to 9/11. I know a lot of adults who read this children's books to help. I think it's good to show how our nation still survived and how people were helping each other through this time of tragedy. These books can be applied to other aspects of life
http://www.ala.org/ala/booklist/speciallists/speciallistsandfeatures1/children911books.htm
Gosh, Katherine's post brought back some memories to me. From birth to age 7 I lived in California and I can vividly remember those bomb drills. We'd even practice walking home from school and identify where we were supposed to meet our parents, etc-California was considered prime territory for USSR attacks. And we were afraid-and that was in spite of the fact that nothing had happened. And how naive we were! Okay, nuclear attack, pick up your lunch box and walk home....
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