OK, all, I'll ask the dumb question. But, is the US the only country in the world where citizens and school boards seek to control the reading available to the children under their jurisdiction?
You mean as opposed to governments?
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The Official Book Censorship Thread
- Thread starter SFG75
- Start date
You mean as opposed to governments?
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
I don't know the answer to your question, but I can take a stab at why you see this so often in the US. We elect our school boards and have the right to speak up if we disapprove of something involving our tax dollars and our kids. While I don't believe in book banning, I can certainly understand how parents can get upset when they hear about a controversial book being 'forced' upon their children. If said parents are unfamiliar with the book and have a general distrust of teachers and school boards, then they might just get upset enough to take matters into their own hands. I know enough parents who DID try to work with teachers, principals, and school board members to settle disputes over books and programs... and who ultimately pulled their kids out of public schools and chose to home educate rather than trust their kids' education to people who seemed indifferent to their concerns. We DO have the right to voice concerns over what students are taught in public schools.OK, all, I'll ask the dumb question. But, is the US the only country in the world where citizens and school boards seek to control the reading available to the children under their jurisdiction?
beer good
Well-Known Member
OK, all, I'll ask the dumb question. But, is the US the only country in the world where citizens and school boards seek to control the reading available to the children under their jurisdiction?
Of course not. If you can find news reports from other parts of the world, feel free to post them. Though what abc says about elected school boards is probably part of it.
Peder
Well-Known Member
Yes, pretty much. In the US, anyway, governmental bodies were told by the courts a long time ago (beginning circa 1933 or so, with the Ulysses case) to keep their hands off the free press -- and they seem to have taken that lesson to heart and to abide by it.
School boards on the other hand seem to feel they have a different responsibility (and I am inclined to feel that they do), which I would paraphrase as protecting the children on behalf of the parents and trying to mediate between different viewpoints in deciding what the children can be exposed to. That can lead to considerable debate.
As a tangential observation, I would comment that shool board exercise of their responsibility, as they see, it is not "censorship" in the usual sense of the word. (Censorship, I thought, was prior restraint on publication.)
Anyway, it is intriguing that such local matters regularly make world news.
Isn't a school board basically a government?
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
Any lawyers around are free to answer.
OK, so IANAL so I asked some lawyers.
All asked said yes because "actions taken by a public school board that operates a budget funded by tax dollars constitutes a state actor".
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
School board meetings are open to the public so we can see how our tax dollars are being spent and it's easy to get on the docket to address a meeting. They DO limit your speaking time and ask to know what points you will be addressing.
Ummm, OK.
What does that have to do with whether or not the school board can be considered a government or not? Town halls have public meetings too.
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
Oh, I don't know.. I suppose because the money they were spending was tax dollars. And town hall meetings have traditionally been meetings of local government..open to citizens to speak their minds on matters of local concern.
But these people coming to air their grievances aren't the school board. They weren't elected or selected. They just showed up.
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
True, they were trying to sway the members of the board to see things their way.. which in the case of the teacher we were supporting, they'd already made up their minds. Still it's a matter of public record that a large group of high school parents and parents spoke for this teacher.
Hihi ABC, you made Sparky give up. *high five*
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
Well, it wasn't because of my dazzling intellect. I'm hearing Jarjar Binks here...'My give up!' High five anyway!
PS-Mr.Abc's birthday is today; I'm in the middle of baking CocaCola Cake and preparing Kung Pao Chicken...Dinner's at five pm ;0)
Oo, happy birthday to Mr. ABC. Coca Cola Cake sounds interesting.
I realized that we weren't talking about the same thing.
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
I saw that too after a minute or two..or five. My last two synapses are fried. But the kung pao sauce is simmering on the stove(ten chicken breasts cut and wokked) and the cake is done. Almost time to go rescue the birthday boy from work. Back to the topic at hand..over to you!
beer good
Well-Known Member
Murakami off reading lists in New Jersey | Books | The Guardian
...Yeah, because that's the sort of tolerant, open-minded guy you want deciding what teenagers should read.