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From: James Elliott <j_c_elliott>
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 09:52:35 -0400
Matthew,
I'm glad you said 'after they have read the "required books"', in re: to choice. When I hear that 'Children deserve to make their own choices', it takes me back to a statement of "Given a choice, children will choose ice cream over broccoli every time".
Has no one taken Children's development courses? Children are not 'little adults'. Unfortunately, they do need to be guided in their choices, and for that reason, I resent the statements equating parents with 'censors' in a negative context.
Yes, YA's are expanding their world, but to say that 'anything goes' really goes against the grain of parental rights as well. There needs to be a positive balance where the librarian/teacher/etc. do not so much undermine the parents, but support them. (Extreme cases abound, as I'm sure everyone will point out, such as "Dead Poets Society" -- the dad was flat out wrong in that one.) If a child requests a book, I'll not deny them the right to check it out. But I'm not going to go out of my way to suggest they read certain books if they haven't expressed an interest. If they like mysteries, I'll take them to the mystery section, if they want religion, ditto. but if they ask for Christian fiction, I'm not going to say, "oh, you need to broaden your horizon, here try this one that really attacks fundamentalism." And I'm not going to order books like that just because they attack it, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to order them at all, either.
An example in the adult realm: I may disagree with Michael Moore and prefer Bill O'Reilly, but I'm still going to order Michael Moore along with Bill O'Reilly, and if someone asks for one, I'm not going to push the other just so they have "balanced view points" on the issues.
Am I making ANY sense? It's early, and I sometimes don't think too well before 10:00.
Now, I'll sit back and await the firestorm.
Happy reading
Jim Elliott Reference Librarian Gadsden County Public Library Florida
Received on Fri 01 Jul 2005 08:52:35 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 09:52:35 -0400
Matthew,
I'm glad you said 'after they have read the "required books"', in re: to choice. When I hear that 'Children deserve to make their own choices', it takes me back to a statement of "Given a choice, children will choose ice cream over broccoli every time".
Has no one taken Children's development courses? Children are not 'little adults'. Unfortunately, they do need to be guided in their choices, and for that reason, I resent the statements equating parents with 'censors' in a negative context.
Yes, YA's are expanding their world, but to say that 'anything goes' really goes against the grain of parental rights as well. There needs to be a positive balance where the librarian/teacher/etc. do not so much undermine the parents, but support them. (Extreme cases abound, as I'm sure everyone will point out, such as "Dead Poets Society" -- the dad was flat out wrong in that one.) If a child requests a book, I'll not deny them the right to check it out. But I'm not going to go out of my way to suggest they read certain books if they haven't expressed an interest. If they like mysteries, I'll take them to the mystery section, if they want religion, ditto. but if they ask for Christian fiction, I'm not going to say, "oh, you need to broaden your horizon, here try this one that really attacks fundamentalism." And I'm not going to order books like that just because they attack it, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to order them at all, either.
An example in the adult realm: I may disagree with Michael Moore and prefer Bill O'Reilly, but I'm still going to order Michael Moore along with Bill O'Reilly, and if someone asks for one, I'm not going to push the other just so they have "balanced view points" on the issues.
Am I making ANY sense? It's early, and I sometimes don't think too well before 10:00.
Now, I'll sit back and await the firestorm.
Happy reading
Jim Elliott Reference Librarian Gadsden County Public Library Florida
Received on Fri 01 Jul 2005 08:52:35 AM CDT
