At Icicle River Middle School, students will now have to get parental consent in order to check out the book "Alice on Her Way" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The board decided unanimously to do what they considered to be a "compromise" by placing the book under parental consent. Dave Winters, who challenged the book's appropriateness is not satisfied with the outcome because "the book is still on the shelf to any child who wants to read a section in the library and put it back."
Well, duh. Isn't that the case with any book anywhere? If "Alice on Her Way" isn't available to the child in the school library, won't Barnes and Noble be a suitable substitute for light aisle reading while Dad is getting a cup of coffee? Is Dad so wildly unaware that middle schoolers already know about the topics covered in the book? Does he know that some middle schoolers 15 and younger have already had SEX? Or at least THINK about having SEX, A LOT?
I'm glad Dave wasn't my father. I would hate to grow up in a household where I was not allowed to read books that touched upon subjects that are relevant to my life and the environment which I live. I am glad that my father didn't try to cram old copies of "Ladies Home Journal" down my throat so I would have a false sense of reality in terms of what marriage would be like, or sex for the first time. Hell, even what it means to be a "normal teenager." Because ultimately, who knows better as to what it means to be a teenager than the parents??
I offer a suggestion to the teens and tweens who want to read the book. The article states that "parents typically give consent by phone." Be a good friend to someone and make a phone call on their behalf. Nothing says true friendship like a dose of intellectual freedom!!!!
2 comments:
Dawn,
TOO funny that parents can call in their permission! While I respect the father's right to decide against letting his own child read it, it makes me seriously angry to imagine a parent being able to dictate what is OK for MY child to read by trying to take it completely out of the library. Great post!
kathleen
Restricted section? That sounds like something out of Harry Potter. Too bad it isn't just fiction. I wonder if the administrators who made this "compromise" knew full well how easy it is for kids to call in their own permission? Maybe that was one way they could make the book more accesible without saying so overtly. I'm not sure if many school board members think that way, but I would sure be tempted.
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