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Judging an entire book by reading an excerpt?
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:13:30 -0600
Greetings to everyone in IF-WISC electronic community!
The Evansville book controversy has stirred several of us to post messages to IF-WISC.
I assume that others will want to weigh on with comments related to this particular situation and/or the way it's been handled by various media are responding. That's one of the reasons IF-WISC was established and why the technology undergirding IF-WISC continues to be supported by the Wis. Library Association Foundation, Inc. We need to hear from each other. I'm thankful that we have a venue for civil exchanges of information and opinion related to Intellectual Freedom.
The living out of our First Amendment rights as U.S. citizens is often a complex matter. I with Sandra George's comment about the WSJ editors apparently thinking they were doing readers a public service by printing the excerpt and inviting them to make up their own minds. Thanks for pointing that out, Sandra.
In my opinion it's never wise to judge the worth of a whole book by examining only one page or section out of context. It seems to me that the Wis. State Journal's presentation of the controversy on 11/9 misled readers by inviting them to evaluate the worth of a specific book on the basis of a fragment from it. Dianne Hopkins clarified why it's never appropriate to make an evaluation decision based on an excerpt.
The board-approved policies of most Wisconsin libraries and schools itemize the ways a fair, democratic process will be used if and when there is an attempt to remove or limit access to library and/or curriculum materials in any format. Usually those procedures state something to the effect that the entire work will be re-evaluated, rather than a portion of it. In preparation for a discussion of a formal request to limit access to or remove an item from a library or classroom, the committee or board authorized to respond to a formal complaint is expected to read or view the entire item under question.
If you're interested in following other dimensions of this current controversy, visit the websites of the WSJ and Madison Capital Times. You'll see that since Sunday, each paper has published an editorial emphasizing a rational, reasoned approach to the Evansville controversy. I can certainly applaud those positions. It was reported in the Capital Times on 11/11 that the Evansville Board's Policy Committee will meet on Nov. 18 to consider whether board policy has been violated. The committee's findings will be forwarded to the full board, which will consider the matter at its Dec. 8 meeting. If you have a comment related to this situation or about the matter of making judgements based on excerpts alone, I hope you'll take advantage of IF-WISC to share your thoughts with the rest of us. By doing that, we'll continue to learn from each other.
Peace, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu
Received on Fri 14 Nov 2003 03:13:30 PM CST
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:13:30 -0600
Greetings to everyone in IF-WISC electronic community!
The Evansville book controversy has stirred several of us to post messages to IF-WISC.
I assume that others will want to weigh on with comments related to this particular situation and/or the way it's been handled by various media are responding. That's one of the reasons IF-WISC was established and why the technology undergirding IF-WISC continues to be supported by the Wis. Library Association Foundation, Inc. We need to hear from each other. I'm thankful that we have a venue for civil exchanges of information and opinion related to Intellectual Freedom.
The living out of our First Amendment rights as U.S. citizens is often a complex matter. I with Sandra George's comment about the WSJ editors apparently thinking they were doing readers a public service by printing the excerpt and inviting them to make up their own minds. Thanks for pointing that out, Sandra.
In my opinion it's never wise to judge the worth of a whole book by examining only one page or section out of context. It seems to me that the Wis. State Journal's presentation of the controversy on 11/9 misled readers by inviting them to evaluate the worth of a specific book on the basis of a fragment from it. Dianne Hopkins clarified why it's never appropriate to make an evaluation decision based on an excerpt.
The board-approved policies of most Wisconsin libraries and schools itemize the ways a fair, democratic process will be used if and when there is an attempt to remove or limit access to library and/or curriculum materials in any format. Usually those procedures state something to the effect that the entire work will be re-evaluated, rather than a portion of it. In preparation for a discussion of a formal request to limit access to or remove an item from a library or classroom, the committee or board authorized to respond to a formal complaint is expected to read or view the entire item under question.
If you're interested in following other dimensions of this current controversy, visit the websites of the WSJ and Madison Capital Times. You'll see that since Sunday, each paper has published an editorial emphasizing a rational, reasoned approach to the Evansville controversy. I can certainly applaud those positions. It was reported in the Capital Times on 11/11 that the Evansville Board's Policy Committee will meet on Nov. 18 to consider whether board policy has been violated. The committee's findings will be forwarded to the full board, which will consider the matter at its Dec. 8 meeting. If you have a comment related to this situation or about the matter of making judgements based on excerpts alone, I hope you'll take advantage of IF-WISC to share your thoughts with the rest of us. By doing that, we'll continue to learn from each other.
Peace, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu
Received on Fri 14 Nov 2003 03:13:30 PM CST
