Comments on: Protect Your Children from the Classics!

By: Trolly Bear

Trolly Bear — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:20:23 +0000

Stop trolling the yesterthreads.

Please.

It promotes socialism.

By: David Dunkerton

David Dunkerton — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:58:21 +0000

Torino, I understood the point of the post, and I was only sharing some of my own views in my comment. I agree with the concept that young adults do not need to be shielded from the world. I am tired of people who don't know anything about graphic novels saying they are not valuable literature. Teens should learn to discern, and if anyone censors what they read it should be their parents, not teachers or librarians. Also, I am convinced that the Bible is historically accurate and consistent with science, and dinosaurs and people were on the Earth at the same time!

By: TheIlliterateLibrarian

TheIlliterateLibrarian — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:09:03 +0000

Once again, I’d prefer to have young adults exploring serious and potentially life-altering issues such as sex, sexual identity, depression, suicide, abuse, etc. within the safe confines of the pages of a book and classroom discussion, than having their first experience with such things be in “practicum,” as it were. I really am baffled by this idea that if we just shelter our kids from the uglier or more controvercial things in life, kids will never ever think of them or try them. If we just don’t talk about depression, or suicide, teenagers will never ever have depression or attempt to committ suicide! *shakes head*

By: Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries.org

Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries.org — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:19:55 +0000

Funny, as usual.

Hey, a number of authors and the superintendent are talking in comments on my blog post here:

safelibraries.blogspot.com/2009/11/kentucky-school-superintendent-exposes.html

As author Kelly Milner Halls puts it, “DO NOT MISS the action at this blog.”

By: Torino

Torino — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:40:48 +0000

David Dunkerton, did you completely miss the point of the post?

Great works reveal uncomfortable truths about the human condition. That’s why we read them. Sometimes they have to be graphic. Human beings have done “ugly” things (a subjective judgement indeed) for their entire history (what is that, 6,000 years to you? [btw, the Bible is a book of myths that point to greater truths, not a scientific journal]). Don’t you all say “there’s nothing new under the sun?” Shouldn’t we help kids to understand the human condition? Won’t that lead to more tolerance and forgiveness (oh, most of you fundamentalists are in NO position to give a lesson about tolerance)?

Anyway, teenagers already “get it” – talk to a 16 or 17 year old, and they know pretty much all about these things, sometimes even more than some adults. So, the problem is not really keeping them from being exposed to “BAD THINGS!”, but it’s helping them to understand how and why to control their behavior. That’s not really a librarian’s job. Suppression and censorship will generally lead the poor kid to backlash and rebel someday, and the results will be 10x worse than if you had guided him, rather than paranoiacally controlled what he sees and hears.

By: Montmorency fan

Montmorency fan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:06:54 +0000

I’m sure there’s plenty of parents in Kentucky who are just as against teaching the classics as they are against anything else. So AL need not worry.

By: TwoQatz

TwoQatz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:20:09 +0000

David Dunkerton – jeeze! That’s all I can manage. Reading does not translate to action on the part of a reader. If you don’t want your kids to read something, fine and dandy. Do not presume to tell me what my kids can read.

By: s

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:31:43 +0000

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

By: David Dunkerton

David Dunkerton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:25:39 +0000

The Creation Museum is one of the more intellent things Kentucky has to offer, and if you don’t think graphic novels are appropriate for high school reading, I’m guessing you’ve never read one!

By: Your Friendly Neighborhood Librarian

Your Friendly Neighborhood Librarian — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:50:29 +0000

You can’t get pregnant or catch STDs by reading about sex. You can’t die from reading about suicide. You can’t get addicted by reading about drug use. If you get abused by adult caretakers it probably isn’t because someone read about it and decided to act out. But apparently these nutcases are all about magical thinking, aren’t they?