Seymour Flops
Diamond Member
In the Middle School in which I teach, the reading teachers take the class to the school library once per week, and allow them to check out whatever two books they choose, with the only restriction that they only get one "graphic novel" and the other must be more text dense.
Who is missing in that dynamic? Parents. It is the librarian who decides what books to put on the shelf, and what books to reject. It is up to the librarian's bosses, in campus and district admin, to ensure that librarians choose wisely what books to shelf. It is up to the school board to ensure that the administrators perform that supervision well, and it is up to the voters to determine whether they approve or disapprove of the school board's policies.
Parents cannot be there every day to monitor their children's book choices. If one ever did show up for that purpose, I'm sure they would become a Youtube celebrity for being a Karen or whatever.
If a parent complains to the librarian, an administrator, or the school board about a particular book, it may be removed. That is how it should work, if librarians do not exercise common sense in what they present to children. If that is "banning" then every single book that the librarian has rejected is also a "banned book."
This is my issue with "Banned Book Week:" The books are often not at all banned, but are books that parents have objected to at one time or another. Books that have been truly banned at one time or another, like various versions of the Bible, are never featured.
