Banned Books Week

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about how schools respond when parents object to popular children's books: Popular books and classics make "challenged" list.

My school has two seventh graders whose parents have asked that they not read the Harry Potter books. They are to do alternate assignments if those books are discussed in class, and are not to be allowed to choose them from the classroom library. Both students come from born-again Christian families, who object to the magical themes in the books. We have agreed to take Harry Potter books away from these kids if we see them reading the books, and to allow them to do other work when Harry Potter comes up in class. One boy is pretty mature and very smart. His parents discussed with him their reasons for limiting his reading, and he understands and acquiesces. Of course, this very maturity probably means he could read the book without being taken in by the references to witchcraft, but that's just my humble opinion! The other boy is very immature, has lied about many things on many occasions, and has tried many times to read these books "under the table." His family is very strict, but doesn't discuss their reasoning with him... instead, he gets punished physically for misbehaving.

It was interesting for me to find so many religious conservatives among my students and their families - when I started teaching, I thought New York was liberal, and issues like this (and evolution vs. God) only came up in places like the Bible Belt. Boy, was I ever wrong! I think it has made me more accepting to have to accommodate these families' needs without infringing on the rights of other kids in the class.