White2000GT

It's just typical parenthood. Like when I was a kid my mom hated that I listened to Heavy Metal because she thought it was all satanic. She even went so far as to throw some of my cassettes away.
It's the same with those books. Because the stories are centered on a school for witchcraft and wizardry, some parents, I guess, think it will get their kids interested in witchcraft. I do think the parents have every right to censor what their YOUNG kids read, but these people are trying to have them banned from public libraries. And that is just not right.
I agree with BlueKitty that the one good thing that came from the books is that it got the younger generation of kids to turn off the video games and start reading books again. So what is bad about that?

lemon

disney might have something to do with it - they want their books to be forever instilled in the generations that come along. so, they might be backing the move to remove newer books that portray fantasy that allow kids to imagine, other than what disney wants them to imagine. not quite sure if i made a point there very clearly - but its there somewhere

RecklessTim

No, it's school libraries that are in question here.

__________________
Mr President;
It has been reported that you are here to "lecture" us on democracy and human rights. But with a record like yours, you will not be very convincing.

White2000GT

Yes. And are those not public libraries as well? Granted, you won't have homeless people sleeping on benches there, but the concept is the same.

RecklessTim

School libraries are not open to the public. They are only available to the students that go to that school. That's why I say certain books should not be allowed in school libraries. Because they are available to young children without parent supervision. Put the questionable books in public libraries. That way they are available to those that want to read them, but not available to young children who don't have a parent with them.

I don't believe in censorship of books for adults, but I do for children. Children in public schools should be censored from questionable material, this will give the parents control over what their children are reading and not the school.

__________________
Mr President;
It has been reported that you are here to "lecture" us on democracy and human rights. But with a record like yours, you will not be very convincing.

hhayes

:i'm with homo

SilentEyz

That is not always True, Our middle school library also functions as the public library for the area in which i live.

and based on that theory, the a school should not even have a library at all. Just because one feels one book is acceptable and another is not does not mean the next parent will share those feelings. So if one book is banned, then they should all be removed and parents left to take their children to a public library and pick and choose what they read.

Who has the right to decide what is Questionable material for children? and what age, many schools are mixed ages, so who sais whats appropriate for a I6 year old is also ok for a I3 year old?

RecklessTim

you are right, who's to say. But there has to be some sort of censorship for our children. Do you want Kama Sutra, Mein Kamph, Penthouse Erotic Stories V1, etc to be on the shelves of an elementary school library?

Don't get me wrong, I do not believe in censorship. Although, I do believe in protecting the children from certain things. How would any of you feel if your 7 year old child came home from school with a copy of Kama Sutra that they got from the school library? As far as Harry Potter goes, I don't personally see anything wrong with the book, but I would leave it up to the parents of those children to decide if it should be in their childrens school. Like I said, if was banned in my childs school and I wanted them to read it, then I would get them a copy. That is my right as a parent.

__________________
Mr President;
It has been reported that you are here to "lecture" us on democracy and human rights. But with a record like yours, you will not be very convincing.

GuesSAngel

amen.

__________________
Proud mommy...best thing I've ever been called

White2000GT

But Tim, come on. What are the chances that the Kama Sutra or Penthouse will actually be on the shelves of an elementary school library? They may be in some of the kids' lockers, but not of the book shelves in the library.
I think that all books that are commensurate with the age group of the children involved should be made available and that it should be up to the individual parents whether their OWN kids are allowed to read the books or not.
I mean, what's next... banning Human Physiology books because they depict the sexual organs of human beings?

elluko

Yes.

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Peter Parka

Yes there should be some kind of censorship but I hardly think that Harry Potter falls into the same catogory as Mein Kampf.

RecklessTim

Exactly my point, you won't find them because someone down the line screened them and labeled them unappropriate. ie censored.

It seems that everyone here is talking about not censoring books in school libraries. But we already are doing just that. So I guess the discussion is more about the line and where it should be drawn.

__________________
Mr President;
It has been reported that you are here to "lecture" us on democracy and human rights. But with a record like yours, you will not be very convincing.

lemon

here's the thing - just fucking get over it. kids will read what kids want to read, whether or not you or the school board approves of such material. so get off the soap boxes and just shut up. your barking up a tree with no leaves on it.

Darkstar

*swoons*