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Re: Wait, Stop, Halt
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From: bookmarch_at_aol.com
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 17:36:15 -0500 (EST)
Friends:
I am disturbed by the responses to the post from Charles in which he raised questions about the divergence between the makeup and views of those on CCBC and the views of the broad US public. I had raised a similar question at the very beginning of this discussion and only one person replied -- to say that as a white, female librarian she was fully capable of supporting diversity. Of course she is, and of course that is the attitude we all support. But the issue I raised in broad sweeps and Charles broke down into specific categories is an important one: the world of K-12 librarianship in the US is extremely homogeneous. It is overwhelmingly female and white. CCBC I suspect is more diverse in ethnicity but not in gender. Is it possible for a homogeneous self-selected group to think outside of its boundaries? Yes. But there is a real and present danger that any such group will tend not to see its own blind spots, its own self-reference, its own limitations.(think "old boys club") One check against that kind of bien passant self-reinforcement is to make use of statistics. I find it troubling that no one has engaged the hypothetical but plausible statistics Charles has mentioned -- not to diminish the importance of diversity in authors or themes, not to turn us away from any of the forms of action proposed here -- but to broaden the question in two directions. 1) How can this community become more diverse? Related to that, is this community open to ideas generally not shared by the community? The responses to Charles, to Leda, to me, to Thom -- or the lack of response -- suggest to me a community not interested in seeking out other POVs. Is that really a model of diversity? 2) Does the lack of diversity in this community limit its ability to achieve its own ends? From the start I have urged you all to look at math and science. In my view, if we who care about literature and young people want to help people from under-represented communities through libraries and literature the single most important area of focus for us should be math and science -- where the need is great, the resources are poor, and the life-consequences extreme. I find it interesting that in this whole discussion math and science books by or aimed at people from under-represented groups has not come up once -- except in a single response Megan made to me. You may not agree with everything, or anything, I say, or Charles says, but we join in these discussions because we hold the same values you do, but entertain different ideas about how to analyze the issues and arrive at solutions. I find it distressing that our views do not seem to be greeted as examples of honorable debate but rather as reflections of bias, prejudice, or as some play to maintain hegemony. No, we think, we care, we raise issues -- we ask (or I ask, Charles had no part in this post) that our concerns be treated with the same spirit of fairness and intellectual inquiry with which we offer them. Marc Aronson
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 17:36:15 -0500 (EST)
Friends:
I am disturbed by the responses to the post from Charles in which he raised questions about the divergence between the makeup and views of those on CCBC and the views of the broad US public. I had raised a similar question at the very beginning of this discussion and only one person replied -- to say that as a white, female librarian she was fully capable of supporting diversity. Of course she is, and of course that is the attitude we all support. But the issue I raised in broad sweeps and Charles broke down into specific categories is an important one: the world of K-12 librarianship in the US is extremely homogeneous. It is overwhelmingly female and white. CCBC I suspect is more diverse in ethnicity but not in gender. Is it possible for a homogeneous self-selected group to think outside of its boundaries? Yes. But there is a real and present danger that any such group will tend not to see its own blind spots, its own self-reference, its own limitations.(think "old boys club") One check against that kind of bien passant self-reinforcement is to make use of statistics. I find it troubling that no one has engaged the hypothetical but plausible statistics Charles has mentioned -- not to diminish the importance of diversity in authors or themes, not to turn us away from any of the forms of action proposed here -- but to broaden the question in two directions. 1) How can this community become more diverse? Related to that, is this community open to ideas generally not shared by the community? The responses to Charles, to Leda, to me, to Thom -- or the lack of response -- suggest to me a community not interested in seeking out other POVs. Is that really a model of diversity? 2) Does the lack of diversity in this community limit its ability to achieve its own ends? From the start I have urged you all to look at math and science. In my view, if we who care about literature and young people want to help people from under-represented communities through libraries and literature the single most important area of focus for us should be math and science -- where the need is great, the resources are poor, and the life-consequences extreme. I find it interesting that in this whole discussion math and science books by or aimed at people from under-represented groups has not come up once -- except in a single response Megan made to me. You may not agree with everything, or anything, I say, or Charles says, but we join in these discussions because we hold the same values you do, but entertain different ideas about how to analyze the issues and arrive at solutions. I find it distressing that our views do not seem to be greeted as examples of honorable debate but rather as reflections of bias, prejudice, or as some play to maintain hegemony. No, we think, we care, we raise issues -- we ask (or I ask, Charles had no part in this post) that our concerns be treated with the same spirit of fairness and intellectual inquiry with which we offer them. Marc Aronson
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Received on Sun 16 Feb 2014 04:36:15 PM CST
