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How Much Do We Tell the Children
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:07:00 -0600
It turns out this discussion is dovetailing with an online discussion on intellectual freedom issues I've been having the past few days with g raduate students studying to become certified library media specialists=2 E
One of the questions posted related to the idea of "protecting childre n." Part of what I wrote in response was:
"I don’t think selection . . . should ever be approached with the mindset of protecting children or not crossing so me line. But that doesn’t mean individual books or other materials won ’ t give one or more of us pause (and it no doubt will be different books for different individuals). Selection requires looking beyond our o wn tastes and opinions, and even being willing to challenge our personal comfort zones and acknowledge that even if we aren’t ready for something to be in the li brary, the readers we serve may be."
And writing that affirmed for me once again how grateful I am that there are such talented authors and illustrators out there willing to write h onestly about their subject matter (whether they are doing so in fiction or non-fiction). Some of them create books that may push at our individual comfort zones as adults who evaluate books for youth or who are charged with selecting books to put in children's and teen's ha n ds; and some of them push at the boundaries of what we might expect to find in a book for children or teens. But I appreciate book creat o rs who approach their young audiences with such respect, offering them what they may want and need whether we are ready for it or not.
That doesn't mean I always appreciate the result (though it's not a l ways because of content). And it still means I sometimes struggle w ith whether a particular book is one I can recommend because of how a pa rticular topic is presented or handled. The fact that it's there to
begin with is usually not the issue. .
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608-262-9503 608-262-4933 (fax)
schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Sat 19 Nov 2011 01:07:00 PM CST
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:07:00 -0600
It turns out this discussion is dovetailing with an online discussion on intellectual freedom issues I've been having the past few days with g raduate students studying to become certified library media specialists=2 E
One of the questions posted related to the idea of "protecting childre n." Part of what I wrote in response was:
"I don’t think selection . . . should ever be approached with the mindset of protecting children or not crossing so me line. But that doesn’t mean individual books or other materials won ’ t give one or more of us pause (and it no doubt will be different books for different individuals). Selection requires looking beyond our o wn tastes and opinions, and even being willing to challenge our personal comfort zones and acknowledge that even if we aren’t ready for something to be in the li brary, the readers we serve may be."
And writing that affirmed for me once again how grateful I am that there are such talented authors and illustrators out there willing to write h onestly about their subject matter (whether they are doing so in fiction or non-fiction). Some of them create books that may push at our individual comfort zones as adults who evaluate books for youth or who are charged with selecting books to put in children's and teen's ha n ds; and some of them push at the boundaries of what we might expect to find in a book for children or teens. But I appreciate book creat o rs who approach their young audiences with such respect, offering them what they may want and need whether we are ready for it or not.
That doesn't mean I always appreciate the result (though it's not a l ways because of content). And it still means I sometimes struggle w ith whether a particular book is one I can recommend because of how a pa rticular topic is presented or handled. The fact that it's there to
begin with is usually not the issue. .
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608-262-9503 608-262-4933 (fax)
schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Sat 19 Nov 2011 01:07:00 PM CST
