Comments on: Oversimplification and Book Challenges

By: Jimbobby

Jimbobby — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:32:34 +0000

Then you may ask who gave them the authority to establish a constitution?

By: ALI

ALI — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:28:06 +0000

WHY WHY WHY can’t adults use books with sensitive topics such as rape or drug use to educate children about those things???

Good parenting or teaching, in my opinion, is to educate young people to be prepared for the challenges that life will surely bring. It takes a mature, confident adult to understand that we shouldn’t run from the tough topics, but should embrace those topics as LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES.

By: soldier

soldier — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:22:53 +0000

JimBobbalu, if you think the authority of the state is ultimately derived from God, well then you DO need an education in what the U.S. Constitution says. The very first words of the preamble make clear that the authority of the United States derives not from a divine source but from the people of the United States. And should you be tempted to retort that “God’s law” is higher, read the Supremacy Clause (Art. VI, clause 2) of the Constitution. And this most certainly has to do with public libraries – or any public institution – because ultimately what they do must conform with the supreme law of the land.

By: Paigers

Paigers — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:55:28 +0000

JimBobbaloo, your comment is completely nonsensical in the context of a library for the public. The end.

By: JimBobbaloo

JimBobbaloo — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:43:33 +0000

I don’t need an education of what our country’s history or Constitution says. I am not appealing to either of those to form my judgements since those appeals have already failed to produce a public code of ethics which is actually moral in all respects. We have a problem because our morals are bad. The library has attempted to block the door to all the sewage coming in from the outside and has not done a good job. Sure the problem didn’t start with the library, and the solution won’t either, but a solution for us could keep us from the evil morass of our society.

Simple logic: The authority of the State (which is what most libraries are part of) is ultimately derived from God. It follows that our moral code should also be derived from the code of ethics He has laid out. Inasmuch as we have strayed from this, we have had problems in our society and libraries. Nobody has any foundation on which to stand when they make a judgement. Our morals are based on such amorphous things as “community standards”. All you need to do is challenge that, and away downstream goes your “moral” code.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:23:19 +0000

While we may debate whether the U.S. is a “Christian” country, it is indisputable that the U.S. has enshrined the separation of church and state in its constitution. Article VI of the Constitution states that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” So your country’s own constitution opposes the idea that the moral standards of schools (a public trust) should be Christian. Naturally, private religious schools can teach whatever nutty ideas they want, but if you think a public school is teaching immoral ideas, you have to defeat these ideas with logic, not with “the Bible says…”

By: Leah

Leah — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:20:25 +0000

I’ve read Speak. The context of the comment about the cheerleaders definitely was not presenting teenage sexual behavior in an encouraging, positive, or admiring light. Nothing in this book promoted teen sex. NOTHING.

I agree that some YA lit seems far too similar to soft porn for my taste, but Speak is NOT one of those books. It’s beyond pathetic that this “professor” is so deficient in his research skills and basic reading comprehension.

By: Paigers

Paigers — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:07:13 +0000

I think your list could have stopped after #1.

By: LauraV

LauraV — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:31:35 +0000

“3) These moral standards should be Christian.”

Why? What does Christianity have to do with curriculum unless we’re talking about a private, religious school?

By: JimBob

JimBob — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:25:29 +0000

1) We need to read the books.
2) We need to have moral standards.
3) These moral standards should be Christian.
4) We should have professions in place who are of upright character and can mediate between the moral standards and access to materials.

Part of the problem is that many immoral things are in libraries and so some overzealous people think they have to do the job we should be doing. The truth is that most librarians are more liberal then the public. Libraries are notoriously liberal, as are public schools.