Saddam’s been hanged, but more importantly, I just read this on Meg Cabot’s blog:
“Princess Diaries series has been banned from North Joshua Elementary School in Joshua ISD in Texas. The books were cited for sexual content and found inappropriate for grades pre-kindergarten through 6th grade.”
Meg’s happy cuz she knows that this means she’s finally arrived.
Those effing conservatives need shooting though.
Sarah McCarty
December 30
3:37 pm
Okay. I’ve never read the books, and as they didn’t peak my daughters interest, didn’t have to preview them, but uhm, if they’re targeted for an audience of kindergarden through 6th grade, how much sexual content could they have?
Playing Devil’s Advocate: Oh, just went to Meg’s blog and the books are targeted for kids 12 and up. Seeing that, the restriction at Joshua doesn’t seem that unreasonable. On the surface it does sound like conservatives are running amok, however, I am a parent and am in favor of parents monitoring what their kids read (and what’s deemed appropriate is vastly subjective and will vary WIDELY from household to household) and therefore do see the difficulty of having age inappropriate books readily available for check out at the school library.
Since Meg’s books are targeted for a market 12 years and up, it would seem more prudent for the school district that has to make happy a wide variety of parents with a wide variety of parenting styles upon recieving a protest (which I assume is what precipitated this action) to move those books up to the next age level school. The books weren’t banned from the school district but from the lower age level an age range at which they weren’t targeted in the first place.
And before I run for cover, I’ll just up and confess that I am the parent that requested “The Happy Hooker” removed from the library of my daughters K-5 school. Not the same level of contrast I agree, but my eyes did pop when my 4th grade daughter brought it home. *G*
Sharon
December 30
4:45 pm
I agree with Sarah here. Not sure why the book was ever INCLUDED in a K-6 school to begin with.
Anonymous
December 30
6:05 pm
I have to agree with Sarah and Sharon. Those books are a bit inappropriate for a K-6 school. Middle and high schools, yes. K-6 no.
Karen Scott
December 30
6:35 pm
OK, your school gradings are obviously different from ours here in England, I was thinking that 6th Graders would have been in their early teens.
Having said that, the conservatives still need shooting. (g)
Desiree Erotique
December 30
10:54 pm
Yeah, in the US we’re expected to protect our sixth graders from reading anything that might be considered morally offensive. Which is why we leave all the morally offensive stuff to video games and reality shows.. theory being the residue can’t attach itself to their impressionable minds like the written word 😉
Lori
December 31
6:29 pm
LOL – touché – point very well put Desiree.
Although, I do have to agree with Sarah here. In a K-6, it shouldn’t be in the library. Most 6th graders are in 6-8 middle schools however, and have access to books such as these. So they are likely to be able to check them out of their school libraries.
Dee
January 1
12:11 pm
As a gamer and a parent, I gotta disagree with Desiree. Reason being, schools are responsible for what they make available to your kids when you’re not there. (And only select districts have middle schools from 6-8, at least here in CA. Some consider 7-9 middle school. Probably true in Texas, too.)
But video games and reality tv? That’s on the parents. If you let your kids play DOOM or other Area 51 or House of the Dead or Resident Evil as anything less than a teen, you’re a seriously irresponsible parent. And if you have them watching Flava of Love, you’re just a sick bastard. The point is, schools can be sued. Parents just get stuck with drug rehab and therapy bills and call it normal.
Dee
Anonymous
January 2
2:43 am
I have always wondered about those conservatives in the US! Banning books is like banning your doughter to say hello. Look at Iraq,they banned books for many years and now USA have troops there. If parents dont agree with the books their children are reading, say so. It must take a lot for a teacher or pricipal to take a non good book in the classroom. It is not like a teacher brought Playboy in to the room! Children are there to learn, you arent the teacher. There is a reason why cops catch criminals and not you!
Read my soccer blog by the way. Not all sportsfans are stupid, just singleminded.
http://fundamentalreading.blogspot.com/
Bianca D'Arc
January 3
5:50 pm
Hey! Not all “conservatives” are evil, ignorant Bible-thumpers. I think you may be using the word a little differently than we in the US use it. For example, I’m a born and bred New Yorker and I’m fairly “conservative” – by NY standards at least! LOL!
I also have a degree in library science and agree that some books shouldn’t be in elementary school libraries. But that’s not “banning” a book and declaring jihad on the author. It’s just being age appropriate.
In a K-6 school library, the majority of the kids will be younger than the 12 & older age the books are targeting, right? It only makes sense to not have those books there, unless you somehow want to make the librarians the book police, checking I.D. for age before you let a kid take out a book. LMAO!