A Disturbing Book in the school libary. Read by an 11 year old to the school board.

[Shadow Wolf]

Well I’d argue that disasters are better with popcorn.
Just saying lol

They often are.

 

[SomeRandom]

First, 11-year-olds are looking at far worse than this online every single day, unimpeded. And yet not one of these outraged parents or politicians are "shocked" by the reality of this. Nor do ANY of them intend to do anything about it.

Secondly, perhaps if these parents and politicians would allocate a little bit of money to properly fund their school's library such books could have been designated off limits to the younger students and lent out by permission for the older ones.

Lastly, anyone with a thinking brain should have seen immediately that this is a deliberate underhanded 'stunt' to try and drum up outrage instead of seeking a solution. If they were so concerned about this 11-year-old reading this material, why are they MAKING him read it out loud, in public?

Omg thank you!!!

You know what concerns me with kids these days?

Them following and learning from figures like Andrew Tate, for example. Now that is cause for parental concern. And kids can access such tripe 24/7 with the mere touch of a button. Even if they don’t have their own phone.
I’d honestly prefer my young nephew reading smut than following or even idolising (alleged) human traffickers, tbh lol

It’s not the 90s anymore. When we could claim naive innocence when it comes to material easily accessed online by the youth.
A smutty book is absolutely nothing these days. Hell it wasn’t even that bad when I was a kid, compared to what I could easily access and watch. And that was a time when parents legitimately didn’t know anything about the internet. But the parents of today grew up on said internet. So what’s their excuse?

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

You know, if schools (let’s say high school age) were to ban any and all books that contain “smutty material” they’d have to get rid of the Western Literary canon.
Might make teaching English a tad hard to do.
There’s nothing bawdier than the classics, as they say ‍
Just saying. Not every book that can be construed as “smut” is without academic merit.

I never said ban any other book. I was only talking about this particular one.

 

[Revoltingest]

At least the kid dint read the Bible.
That thing has some hard core non-consensual violence & sex.

 

[SomeRandom]

I never said ban any other book. I was only talking about this particular one.

But why?
I can agree it’s perhaps not entirely appropriate for an 11 year old. But neither is what they see constantly on say Tik Tok. At least in the context of a classroom the teacher might be able to put things into perspective and hopefully teach them something.
It’s better than nothing

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

But why?
I can agree it’s perhaps not entirely appropriate for an 11 year old. But neither is what they see constantly on say Tik Tok. At least in the context of a classroom the teacher might be able to put things into perspective and hopefully teach them something.
It’s better than nothing

So any book is ok with you then? Do you think the parents or the school administrators should decide what kind of book a child should be reading? Sexually explicate books, such as this one should have to be approved by a parent prior to a child reading that book and should not be available to any kid to check out.

 

[SomeRandom]

So any book is ok with you then? Do you think the parents or the school administrators should decide what kind of book a child should be reading? Sexually explicate books, such as this one should have to be approved by a parent prior to a child reading that book and should not be available to any kid to check out.

They do. It’s typically known as “curriculum.”
That this book was lent out to a child is inappropriate, I agree.

Though not being American, I’m not entirely sure of your age groupings you have in your schools.
Since “Middle School” isn’t really a universal thing in Australia.
We likely have more age overlap, so my schools likely had explicit material. So I feel a bit hypocritical to admonish this school library, to be honest

 

[metis]

My theory is that the Pubs don't want children to read because then they'd be far smarted by the time they graduate from middle school.

 

[Twilight Hue]

So any book is ok with you then? Do you think the parents or the school administrators should decide what kind of book a child should be reading? Sexually explicate books, such as this one should have to be approved by a parent prior to a child reading that book and should not be available to any kid to check out.

The logic that some have expressed already is its nothing that 11 year kids dont already know about.

These are the type of people that probably would condone things like Hustler, Gallery and Penthouse to be included in a school library to that particular age group in a grade school setting.

Parents be damned on what they think on the matter.

That is the mentality of these people who feel they know what's best, other then a child's own parents.




.

 

[SkepticThinker]

First, 11-year-olds are looking at far worse than this online every single day, unimpeded. And yet not one of these outraged parents or politicians are "shocked" by the reality of this. Nor do ANY of them intend to do anything about it.

Secondly, perhaps if these parents and politicians would allocate a little bit of money to properly fund their school's library such books could have been designated off limits to the younger students and lent out by permission for the older ones.

Lastly, anyone with a thinking brain should have seen immediately that this is a deliberate underhanded 'stunt' to try and drum up outrage instead of seeking a solution. If they were so concerned about this 11-year-old reading this material, why are they MAKING him read it out loud, in public?

Great point!

 

[Curious George]

No commentary. Just letting the vid stand on its own as it plays out.

The debate will obviously manifest itself after viewing the school board video.

People create stories. Children age 11-14 may connect with those stories, even if the stories discuss teenage sexuality. Children that age have often had some age appropriate sexual experiences and are aware of what sex is.

While I am not a fan of limiting information, I recognize it needs to be done in some situations. I think we should be very cautious in our choices to limit access to information. I wonder if this is a situation where that step is necessary? Such a choice should include a careful analysis of the work as a whole. But, there may be a way to empower some of the parents by allowing them access to find the titles of which books their child is checking out of the library. This would allow open discussion about the material and also provide the parents a chance to discuss their individual families expectations and guidelines.

This option however has some drawbacks. Many LGBT+ youth may not want to share or discuss their sexuality with their parents and allowing parents to peruse their book choices when may force such a topic. I think any record collection should be done wIt’s transparency, so the child knows that their parents may access their records.

 

[Twilight Hue]

People create stories. Children age 11-14 may connect with those stories, even if the stories discuss teenage sexuality. Children that age have often had some age appropriate sexual experiences and are aware of what sex is.

While I am not a fan of limiting information, I recognize it needs to be done in some situations. I think we should be very cautious in our choices to limit access to information. I wonder if this is a situation where that step is necessary? Such a choice should include a careful analysis of the work as a whole. But, there may be a way to empower some of the parents by allowing them access to find the titles of which books their child is checking out of the library. This would allow open discussion about the material and also provide the parents a chance to discuss their individual families expectations and guidelines.

This option however has some drawbacks. Many LGBT+ youth may not want to share or discuss their sexuality with their parents and allowing parents to peruse their book choices when may force such a topic. I think any record collection should be done wIt’s transparency, so the child knows that their parents may access their records.

A good compromise would be a parents approval before acquiring 'sensitive' books.

 

[Curious George]

A good compromise would be a parents approval before acquiring 'sensitive' books.

I imagine labeling books “sensitive” will only increase their appeal. If a kid can read and understand a book, then the parents can have a discussion about the book. If parents don’t want their child accessing certain materials, then that is another discussion. Parents should parent their own kids not the library and certainly not the children of the other parents.

We cannot wrap the world in bubble tape. If this were a medical issue or something that presented a safety threat, I may have more sympathy for the parents. But, we are discussing children potentially being exposed to material to which some parents object. While that may have some merit, I think parents need to parent.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I imagine labeling books “sensitive” will only increase their appeal. If a kid can read and understand a book, then the parents can have a discussion about the book. If parents don’t want their child accessing certain materials, then that is another discussion. Parents should parent their own kids not the library and certainly not the children of the other parents.

We cannot wrap the world in bubble tape. If this were a medical issue or something that presented a safety threat, I may have more sympathy for the parents. But, we are discussing children potentially being exposed to material to which some parents object. While that may have some merit, I think parents need to parent.

Which is where parent approval comes in.

It involves the parents in making school decisions. It's not novel as schools had such things in the past.

 

[Curious George]

Which is where parent approval comes in.

It involves the parents in making school decisions. It's not novel as schools had such things in the past.

Yes, but parents are parents of children not of schools. Parents can share their approval and guidance with the children. Parent approval is for the child, not the school

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Yes, but parents are parents of children not of schools. Parents can share their approval and guidance with the children. Parent approval is for the child, not the school

Do kids normally actually take those home for their parents to sign?

 

[Heyo]

A good compromise would be a parents approval before acquiring 'sensitive' books.

Better would be if everyone (including parents) would heed age restrictions and recommendations. People in the US still have a slave owners mentality when it comes to children. In Europe children are seen as people. They need some additional protection that is provided by society (i.e. the state). Sometimes children even have to be protected from their parents.

 

[Curious George]

Do kids normally actually take those home for their parents to sign?

I imagine an internet/intranet interface

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I imagine an internet/intranet interface

Which is what and would look like what?
My question is in reference to how when I was in school it was such a norm for kids to forge their parent's name that one of my teachers reminded her class we need to wait at least until the next class to turn them in so she can at least pretend she doesn't know we're signing off on them ourselves.
So how common is it that kids actually take them home for parents to sign?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

A good compromise would be a parents approval before acquiring 'sensitive' books.

You definitely don't want that because my mom was way too strict along with all those other dumb dummy parents worries Magic the Gathering was teaching us how to summon demons. Should parents be able to ban Harry Potter for equally dumb and unfound claims? Should Christian parents be able to purge libraries of non-Christian books?
Or how about we go by what's age appropriate and just accept some parents are still going to be mad about it but oh well we can't please everyone. And we shouldn't please them all, especially those wanting things like Anne Franks Diary and Marry Wollstonecraft banned.