From the Headdeskery Department comes some asschapping news, thanks to librarian Christine of the Awesome. From Pete Hautman‘s blog comes a write up of the Humble, Texas, Teen Lit Fest, where, due to one librarians complaints, author Ellen Hopkins was disinvited to the 2011 celebration.
From Hopkins’ blog:
Once again, censorship opens its nasty mouth and takes a bite out of me. This time in Humble Texas, a suburb of Houston. Let me say first thing that I did two high school visits there a couple of years ago, and they went very well. The librarians were totally supportive and, in fact, took me to the amazing Houston Rodeo afterward. So when they asked me to take part in the Teen Lit Fest they help organize, I said sure. The event is scheduled for the last weekend in January, 2011. But I won’t be there after all.
Apparently, a middle school librarian saw my name on the roster and decided my presence would somehow negatively affect her students. I’m not sure how that is possible. Maybe she thinks I sweat “edgy and dark.” (Are those things catching?) Anyway, she went to a couple of parents with her concerns. I’m guessing she knew the exact ones who would raise a stink, and they did. They went to the school board, and the superintendent, Guy Sconzo, decided to uninvite me. (He says I was never invited, but I was!)
You know, I’m kind of getting used to this, and I had just about decided not to make a big deal about it. But then another Texas librarian, who is a great supporter, e-mailed Mr. Sconzo. His reply was arrogant and condescending and really made me mad, on two fronts. First, he admitted he “relied on his head librarian’s research” in regard to my books or me or both. Meaning he never bothered to read them himself. (Censors rarely do!) Never bothered to contact me with his concerns. Didn’t listen to the other librarians who lobbied heavily to keep me on the speaker roster, or ask other teen book festival organizers about their experiences with me.
Understandably, this pissed off a lot of people, including the fine folks at the Librarified blog, writer Melissa De La Cruz, and, according to Hautman’s site, authors Matt de la Pena and Tera Lynn Childs (author of the RITA-winning Oh My Gods), who have both withdrawn from the Humble Teen Lit Fest in protest of Hopkins’ disinvitation.
My first thought was, holy smoking jackasses, that’s just ridiculous. What scary horrible things does Hopkins write about?
Her 2004 book Crank was about a young girl who gets hooked on crystal meth. That’s not a hideous problem affecting teens right now or anything, deserving of frank discussion. No, not at all. Her 2009 book, Tricks, is a book told in verse dealing with various teens from different backgrounds experiencing and dealing with… wait for it… oh, gosh you might want to hide under the table here… are you sure you want to know?
Fine, I’ll spoiler it. It’s about
sex.
CAN YOU IMAGINE?! WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN (who won’t get to meet a New York Times best selling author whose books deal directly with scary shit that many children AND parents are completely unprepared to deal with)? CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SCANDAL (if an author whose books are powerfully scary could reach one kid and help them understand why drugs and sex or both might not be the best answer to whatever is hurting them right now)? WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING (that librarian who decided she knew best and better than everyone, let alone the superintendent who listened to her)?
Raising children is tough business. There is some scary ass shit out there that I don’t know when to mention to my own children, much less how to deal with any of it, but I do know that I learned a powerful amount of fear and the antidote to much of my self-loathing from books. Decisions like these are the lowest form of asshattery, and I want to start screaming and handing out free books. Censorship is not the answer – but maybe knocking heads with hardbacks is?
Ellen Hopkins published the email address of the superintendent on her site, so if you’d like to send a strongly worded (please don’t cuss at him, though it’s tempting) explanation as to why this decision makes you see steamy red demons of rage and sadness, have at it. His name is Guy Sconzo and his email is Guy.Sconzo@humble.k12.tx.us. Please feel free to post your reaction or the email you send in the comments, and holy smacking morons, I hope this decision is reversed, and her publisher plasters Humble, Texas, with copies of her latest book for all who ask for it.
Hell, let’s give away some right here. I’ll pick three comments from this entry and send a copy of her latest book, Tricks. You can accept or donate to your local library. Obvious disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway, except to ease the raging vitriol currently circling my brain. Censorship blows.
There are so many losers in this situation- the fans of Ms. Hopkins lose out on meeting her, the fans of other authors who would have attended this event lose out on meeting them, potential fans of ANY of these authors lose out, and frankly, the people who no doubt have put or will put a ton of energy into planning this event will lose out. I have not heard a scrap of information about this event that’s not connected to this debacle in some way. What a bummer for those people too. I guess it shows how one act or situation like this can have really dramatic consequences. Plus, situations like this seem to always result in more people wanting to read the books in question to see what all the fuss is about- I’m not sure how Mr. Sconzo figured that uninviting Ms. Hopkins to the festival would somehow keep her books out of peoples’ hands.
Also, can I ask a stupid question? If these books are so controversial, why wasn’t this explored BEFORE invitations went out to authors? It seems like kind of bad form to be doing this sort of stuff after folks have already confirmed they’d attend an event. Why didn’t the person who voiced a complaint do so earlier?
I was not born in Texas, but I did a lot of my growing up there. And I lived the longest in Midland, TX (yes, the same town that the Bush family hails from). Let me tell you, not all librarians and school administrators in Texas are this freakin’ cowardly. You know what books I read out of my junior high library – the Clan of the Cave Bear series. Seriously, a YA book about sex or drugs might be considered “graphic” to some, but I don’t think my 13-year-old brain has quite recovered from the things that Jondelar’s penis did to Ayla!! I’m sure they considered it anthropological, but those books were far more graphic than many of the first romances my mother gave me to read.
My interpretation of the above situation is that the librarian was extremely calculated in her actions. She went to the parents before she went to school administration. This does not excuse Mr. Sconzo’s actions, but nothing makes a superintendent or principal yank or add anything to a school sponsored event faster than angry parents. I mean, at Midland High School, we still prayed publicly on the loud speaker before football games because religious parents were pissed that we said the Pledge of Allegiance during homeroom but didn’t say the Lord’s Prayer! All the arguments about the separation of Church and State fell on deaf ears, and so this was considered the acceptable compromise. Not that that stopped these same parents from bringing it up again at EVERY school board meeting.
When are people going to learn that it is not the books, the TV, the movies, the video games, etc. that will harm your children, but it is the censorship of them and the refusal to talk about an questionable content that leads children to harm? I did not drink, have sex, or try drugs like most of my friends in junior high and high school because my parents always talked to me frankly about what these things are, what they mean for one’s life, what their expectations of me were, and did not censor my access to knowledge about them. If I had question, then I could ask them – no matter how uncomfortable we both might be. If I had concerns, then I could voice them. If I needed help because my friend got too drunk to drive me home or a boy tried to do something I didn’t like, then I could call them anytime and from anywhere. My parents were not my friends; they were my parents, but they also respected me and the good job they did raising me. For this reason, I did not, like many of the people I know from Texas, end up addicted to Meth, or pregnant at 16 and thrown out of the house, or trying to run away because some boy I met on a school trip told me he “loved” me, or married to the first boy who asked just so I could get out of Midland, Texas. Censorship causes far more harm than good, and I’m very glad to see that other authors are now withdrawing in support for this even because the worst thing we can do is let this keep happening. I’m sorry the kids have to suffer for it, but in reality, they already were based upon the asinine behavior of those in whom they should be able to trust.
I started college as a Library Science major. I switched out, but have never lost sight of the motto on our anti-censorship fundraising t-shirts. “In a world of so many views, who has the right to choose?”
The individual, that’s who. Someone should be allowed to make choices for themselves. I was limited by my parents in what I read as a kid, mostly for my own preservation (and really, wanting to read Stephen King at age 10 is a little young, even having waited til I was 12. I will make a different decision for my kids, you better believe it), but it wasn’t out of ignorance, and we always talked about it. I didn’t drink, do drugs, or get into bad situations growing up because my parents educated me well, and listened to me when I needed to know something. It makes me fear for kids today, when I think that process isn’t happening anymore.
As a book reviewer, avid reader, and a library employee, the idea of censorship literally makes me sick. I know reading helped shape who I am today, and without tooting my own horn a little too much.. I’m a pretty damn good person. When I was a teenager, my Mom would let me read books she knew were too old for me, but they started some amazing discussions. I learned a lot from the books I read, and from being able to speak to my mother about the issues that came up in the novels. Not only did this help me mature, but it also made me closer to my mother. If only this practice was possible for other teens.
If I were to win, I’d love to read and review the book on my blog, and get the word out about censorship. Censorship helps no one. If a parent is so upset over the issues in a book, read it with your child and talk to them afterwards. Ignoring the issues just makes it worse.
As a librarian in a small-town Texas library, who just put Crank and Glass out on the shelves today after receiving them in a bag of YA donations recently, I have to say… Awesome!
Censorship controversy = more people wanting to read a book.
I almost feel sorry for the censors who haven’t figured this out. Almost.
-GASP!- SEX?! IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL!?
An Outrage, I tell you! We must keep this filth away from our children, lest they become crack-addled baby makers!
(Please note, while I know the ladies in the Bitchery can smell sarcasm a mile away, here’s my boilerplate ‘that was sarcasm’ statement for those who cannot comprehend.)
The irony is not lost on me, denying them a resource that could be what they need and change their lives for the better, and ending up what guardians feared they might turn into if they -actually- read it.
Coming from (what I think is) the first of the ‘Pregnant-at-16-is-now-the-cool-thing-to-do-sex-is-everywhere’ generation, (I’m 20. Graduated in ‘08, wrapping up my second year in college, and can count on at least one hand how many girls from the classes of ‘08, ‘09 and ‘10 from my school are Pregnant) I feel the need that the topic should be covered. Books like ‘Tricks’ help get the point across, because a book is not a preachy teacher or a confused and over-protective parent. It’s like your friend—frank and honest, and if worded correctly, hits you to the core. And I am a strong believe that the right sentence can inspire a change, a new outlook, or save a life.
Now I’ve never read the book, but I feel the need to check it out at least, to see how ‘bad’ it really is. Most likely nothing most 13-14 don’t know already and the old biddy is just blowing steam out her ass.
Derp, that’s “13-14 year olds”.
The only thing I can think of that would encourage that librarian to pick her “snitchers” is that she is uncomfortable with the book. Many adults DO get uncomfortable with sex in a YA book. I’ve had parents FREAK OUT on me because we read “October Sky” (or Rocket Boys) by Homer Hickam. It chronicles his life growing up in WVA and learning about rockets and the science behind them. In one chapter (as a teen boy) he has sex. It’s in the back of the car and it ruins his friendship with the girl because it was all out of pity for him. He spent the rest of the book (the emotional side) struggling with his actions. He was UPSET that he had sex with someone he didn’t love or at least like. It was a great example of what NOT to do and how people CAN AND DO hurt after random sex. And that even boys have emotional issues with sex.
Did the parents get that? No. Did the KIDS? YES! But I was in hot water for a bit until I had the parents actually read the damn book. They didn’t WANT to deal with it. They WANTED to bury their heads in the sand and pretend their children aren’t exposed to sex.
Having just had a baby girl… I get not wanting her to grow up. But the reality is, she’s going to grow up. And *I* am her protector. *I* am the one who needs to inform her of all these things that go on and TALK ABOUT THEM WITH HER. If it takes books, pamphlets, sock puppets… whatever to do it so SHE feels better about life, then that’s what I have to do. It’s not about me anymore. I’ve had the sexy times (and I will again hoho!) now it’s my job as a parent to bring my baby girl up with confidence and dignity in herself. And being a book-o-phile I’ll probably use books to get her there! 🙂
I lived for 25 years in a small town in the Interior of British Columbia, surrounded by First Nations communities. The crystal meth problem in small communities has become such a problem that it is fast outstripping any other social evil, destroying a generation of bright, determined, and gifted young people.
Meth is a terrible drug, quickly addictive and destructive. The pot dealers spike their joints with meth, which is reasonably cheap and easy to manufacture, so that kids who are experimenting with a ‘soft drug’ become hooked on something that will kill them.
Now I live in a big city, and work in the poorest neighbourhood in a rich country. I see the meth addicts walking the street – their legs and arms flopping as they try to keep their balance. Their bodies are actually asleep, exhausted because their brains, constantly needing another hit, will not shut off and let them stop moving.
Yeah. Let’s NOT tell our kids about this. Let’s allow them to find out about it all through someone who REALLY cares about them: their friendly local drug dealer.
Hopefully more will read the books as a result of the censorship. Well done to the authors who withdrew from the festival.
@Flo – You had them read the book, and they didn’t refuse to do so? That’s pretty impressive.
My stand on this is the same as when the Harry Potter books were being banned at certain schools. If you don’t want your children to read them, then it is YOUR responsibility to make sure they don’t read them. There are parents who find these books to be a way to reach out their children and discuss topics that may otherwise be uncomfortable. It is NOT, nor has it ever been, up to the school to decide what is right and wrong for a child. That is the parents’ responsibility.
My senior year of high school. My economics teacher thought we should see “Wall Street”. My parents had to sign a permission slip to I could watch a movie with cuss words in it. Trust me, what was coming out of my friends’ (and my) mouth was worse than anything that movie had to offer. Most of us were doing worse things.
My point is…where do we draw the line? What’s next? Book burning? Let’s hope not or we are going to lose some of the finest literary pieces in our history.
Stepping off of my soapbox now… thank you!
Wow! I hope she didn’t attend the same library program as me, because our professors will be humiliated if she came from our program. I applaud the other authors for backing out of the Teen Lit fest. What I don’t applaud is that a few people’s rash, uninformed decisions about what they think is ‘best’ just cost the students of their schools a great opportunity to hear from and interact with some great authors. Hopefully, those kids will learn more about censorship and informed decision making from this debacle.
So sad—so stupid—so typical. Everyone else has said it better than I possibly could. If I win, please donate the books to the Humble Public Library (assuming they have one).
Censorship is absolutely awful and needs to stop! As a young adult about to go off to college in hopes of becoming an editor things like this severely scare me. I feel so bad for Ms Hopkins! That has to feel horrible to be uninvited to speak somewhere!
There was an article in our local paper today about a parent trying to get our school board to censor a book. The school board fearing being sued, said no to the censorship. I am glad they said no, but I was furious that they agreed that the book in question was morally (according to the personal values) of the board members wrong. I absolutely feel for this author and think that it’s great that so many others have pulled out in support of her. Censorship is wrong. Kids reading (no matter what they choose) is good. At the very least books about sex and drugs (and with cursing)can open a dialogue to issues kids deal with daily.
Well, if Mr. Sconzo was looking for an effective way to get ALL the middle schoolers in Humble to read Hopkins’ books, he couldn’t have picked a better way.
It never fails to amuse me how self-defeating censorship is and how nobody who advocates censorship EVER understands that point.
I would love to have a copy of her book for our library system here in Omaha. They seem to be the most popular place for budget cuts. I swear I have more books than they do & that’s not even counting my Kindle books.
I wonder if we could sick the ACLU on that principal? That would really rile things up. LOL
Off to write letters.
Diane
People like this make me embarassed to live in Texas. What a bunch of idiots—I hope all the kids in the district get wind of this and Hopkins’ sales go through the roof. If I win I will happily donate my copy to my daughter’s middle school or the public library here in San Antonio.
This sort of story is always so baffling and worrying for those of us living in other countries and other societies. The United States was founded on truly enlightened and liberal social values; you actually have a constitution that guarantees free speech and religious freedom; you make it very clear that you want to fight oppression and injustice wherever it occurs even in other societies. Yet paradoxically, you also have these utterly weird citizens that are evidently just panting to get back to the repressive Medieval social and religious values that your founding fathers and mothers so nobly and triumphantly rejected. All societies have their bigots and extremists, of course, but in Europe, they are more likely to do their foaming and ranting somewhere on the sidelines, where they can be ignored, rather than being allowed to run local library services or, heaven help us, schools.
I would say to Mr.Sconzo and his supporters, do you really want people from outside the USA to look askance at Humble, TX, and say, ‘Oh, they’re pretty ignorant, primitive types down there, you know: into censorship and probably book-burning too, if they had the chance’. I know enough Americans personally to be sure that such people are not typical Americans, but when they get themselves into the news, real damage is done to the international reputation of the USA.
We had a censorship controversy at my town’s high school here in NJ not long ago. The drama club decided to stage “The Laramie Project” but got shut down by both the principal and superintendent of schools. Luckily due to the strong stand of the drama club advisor, the students and community, this decision caused them lots of bad publicity, and the play was reinstated. It was a great success and played to full houses. I hate censorship.
@AgTigress:
In our defense: where do our religious crazies come from? Europe. Every time somebody got too weird for Europe, they came over to the US. So basically we were Europe’s safety valve.
Low population density makes it worse.When these immigrants got here, they didn’t stay in cities, because they’d had bad experiences there. They went out into the country and formed their own small towns and villages, where today, they remain enough of a majority to consistently return people to the school board, city council, and state legislature. It’s no shock that these things always come from states with large rural areas.
Well, I’ll bite, though everyone will hate me here. This is one of the reasons quite a few parents feel under attack by the public schools. I haven’t read these books (something I feel I have in common with the majority of posters) but I can tell you middle schoolers having sex (and it sounds like explicit sex too) in a book makes a lot of parents very very uncomfortable. You see, THEY want to have this conversation with their own kids on their own time, (or not have the conversation AT ALL as the case may be) and not be forced by someone else’s agenda into having the discussion before they feel its appropriate. I’m sorry but when you have books and movies and tv and music pushing and pushing and pushing sex at a younger and younger age it does have an effect and the effect is negative. Depicting younger age kids having sex amounts to porn. I am confused why anyone else would think otherwise.
Librarians love these issues because they get to do a lot of pontificating and feel morally superior to all the dumb hicks who are trying, no matter how ineptly to protect their kids. Everyone gets on their high horse about censorship. Really. So none of these kids will be able to read these books ever? Because, you know Amazon and the Internets don’t exist? And of course now they will want to read it, as everyone has pointed out.
I am heartened a librarian had the courage to speak out against the radical left in her profession and stand up for the moral majority of her student’s parents and community. Believe me, she is in the minority and will face much hate (witness the comments here!) for what she said and did. I wish other YA librarians would speak out against the porinification of children’s literature.
Ok…start the hating on me. Because I am obviously a small minded bigot with no education who needs tutoring on the First Ammendment. There I’ve said it. But feel free to repeat ad infinitum if it makes you happy.
idiots. I will email and would love to donate a book to my child’s school. Thanks for posting this.
For Sconzo, ignorance is bliss. Like Pilate, he washed his hands of the issue and passed the buck to the head librarian, without even bothering to read! Disgraceful. In the meantime, teens are struggling with gender identity, sexual intimacies, stuff that most adults are uncomfortable talking about with their kids.
The anti-Hopkins camp probably thinks that reading about sex on YA would promote promiscuity or sexual experimentation. Wake up, people! Would they also ban Judy Blume?
@Marie i understand the fear. true, kids are having sex at younger ages, a sad trend which you can argue is influenced by racy mtv’s, cable shows, peer pressure, and lack of parental guidance. but don’t you think that a writer with hopkins’ sensitivity could help some of these kids from falling thru the cracks? what she writes isn’t porn. porn is just a piece of work that has no literary merit and its goal is to simply stimulate sexual desires. her works aren’t about that. YA with sexual content isn’t porn. they’re about profound issues, such as self-image and self-esteem, and rooted in reality (yes, kids do have sex). pls do not confuse it as porn. (do you consider adults having sex in a book porn as well?)
What makes me sad is that Jersey Shore, Real World, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and so many more, these are the shows my teens and their friends are watching (to my chagrin) that glorify drinking, sex, fighting, trash talking, etc…. Our children (it starts so young these days) are exposed to this lifestyle and want to emulate it & there is always the hope they too may one day be on a reality tv show/star.
As a mom of an 14, 18, & 21 year old I LOVE when my kids read books of Ellen Hopkins caliber! In not only tackles subjects that they are exposed and/or have experimented with and makes them THINK but it also gives US (my child & me) an opportunity to discuss the issues in a neutral setting.
Thank you Ellen Hopkins for your gift of writing and reaching out to teens and their parents thru your work!
Censorship sucks. And I say this as a librarian who has dealt with her share of challenges, and actual removal of materials from the library by superiors. Ellen Hopkins is a great writer and kids devour her books. They’re not for everyone, but no book is really for everyone, now is it? But for the kids her books speak to, well, it can be life-changing. It’s unfortunate that censorship still happens, and quietly, so no one knows what has transpired. Thanks for bringing more awareness to this issue.
But, Marie, that’s the point of Hopkins’ books—they _don’t_ glorify pubescent sex. They show the consequences. And not in a clinical way that someone would if one were sitting in a counselor’s office discussing something scientifically—which, as we all know, is NOT the way kids discuss tihngs.
In CRANK, she tells the story from the perspective of the addict, using the disjointed language of someone who can’t quite think straight. The book is not about the drug, but about the consequences—like, waking up in one’s own chunks. Her target audience is not six year olds, but teenagers, who are at the age where, if they have not had first hand experience with drugs, they likely know someone who has. It’s one thing to look at your stoned friend who is so mellow or entertaining, and another to get a view of what they will work so hard to hide, which is the dark side of addiction.
This is not glorification or pornification.
Is it ugly? Yes. Is it angsty? Yes. Do teens love it? They gobble it up.
The best thing about them, as I have told countless parents who asked whether or not to buy one, is, the prosody style Hopkins uses means it doesn’t take long to read. A parent has a great opportunity to read what their child is interested in without making much effort (I’m a fast reader, and CRANK took about 45 minutes for me), and then they can talk about it together. What other book give a parent (who usually feels a great deal of time constraint) that opportunity?
My thanks to Mr. Sconzo for bringing this author to my attention. My own library has 14 copies of her work in various media formats. I ordered a copy of Crank for myself today. Without his action, I probably never would have heard of her. I hope she has a long and successful career writing thought-provoking and challenging books for YA to read.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Will she be reinvited? Will Mr. Sconzo melt under the heat lamp of public scrutiny?
I’m staying tuned.
My thanks to Mr. Sconzo for bringing this author to my attention. My own library has 14 copies of her work in various media formats. I ordered a copy of Crank for myself today. Without his action, I probably never would have heard of her. I hope she has a long and successful career writing thought-provoking and challenging books for YA to read.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Will she be reinvited? Will Mr. Sconzo melt under the heat lamp of public scrutiny?
I’m staying tuned.
My thanks to Mr. Sconzo for bringing this author to my attention. My own library has 14 copies of her work in various media formats. I ordered a copy of Crank for myself today. Without his action, I probably never would have heard of her. I hope she has a long and successful career writing thought-provoking and challenging books for YA to read.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Will she be reinvited? Will Mr. Sconzo melt under the heat lamp of public scrutiny?
I’m staying tuned.
@Marie—
Not hating, just disagreeing with you.
As a conservative (in the life-style sense, not the political sense) Christian myself, I understand the need to shelter/filter information for our children. Which is why I have my children in a private Christian school. I’m glad I have the choice.
HOWEVER—it is not the job of public schools and public libraries to censor in order to dictate morality. (Yes, there’s a need to make sure that there are some decency guidelines in place—but that’s a different issue IMHO) The Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment clause give very clear guidance about what government-sponsored organizations can and cannot do.
Separation of Church and State. Very very important. And seemingly ignored by the “moral majority.”
Which is why I’m a Libertarian. Yeah—I tick off both sides… ;o)
If you pick me for a book, that is cool. I had to comment someplace anyhow. I found out about the story via the Bookshelves of Doom blog, which has links to other accounts including this post. I also follow Smart Bitches on my feed reader (gotta keep up with genre fiction, and you do very well for romance, but I digress). When I found out about the story, it just made my morning, and not in a good way.
For one, it did not surprise me. I live in TX (due to my job), and censorship like this rears its ugly head every so often. This is the land where they want to rewrite school textbooks to remove key historical figures from the history curricula and insert pseudoscience into biology textbooks (the creationist thing was defeated, the social studies not so much). So, what’s another little bit of censorship by some vocal and loud minority who think they can dictate what the rest of us can read? What gives them the right to tell me what I let my child see, read, or listen to? It’s sanctimonious hypocrisy at its worse, and they have more in common with the Taliban than they do with American values.
To be honest, it’s situations like the one in Humble that make me ashamed to live in this state, a state that has so many other positive things, but let’s its reputation be ruined by stuff like this. So please, do keep protesting. Do keep sending that superintendent and his ilk the e-mails. Get more authors to withdraw until they have no one for their precious festival. Because at the end of the day, the reasonable majority have to stand up and say enough is enough.
Best, and keep on blogging.
I live in a country where discussion of sex is still a pretty big taboo. Mothers don’t talk to daughters, teachers don’t talk to students, no one talks to anyone, period. And everyone thinks this is all perfectly fine.
But then we hear about the 15-years-old girl who died trying to secretly get rid of her baby so she wouldn’t be stigmatized, or the naive friend of a friend who didn’t know that you could get pregnant “doing it” and I wonder if everything is really all that fine.
Usually I look to books for comfort. Sometimes, though, I look to books for the truth. I haven’t read any of Ellen Hopkins’ books yet, but if it has so many people up at arms then I believe there must be quite a bit of the real picture in it. From where I’m standing, an author being frank about the real world sounds no less than commendable.
My library has several of her books. I bet the people who complained have never even opened one of her books.
Oh and one more thing.
*climbing up on soapbox*
Let’s not forget that no matter how much (or little) we teach, admonish, discuss, converse about, enlighten our kids about how it’s best to wait to have sex until ________ (whatever your teach your kids); that unless you handcuff them to your waist 24 hours a day,
they DO have a choice about what they’re going to do with their bodies and who they’re going to do it with.
Kids are smart and resourceful. 10 minutes (or less) is all it takes and some can, and do, do it in the most uncomfortable and inventive places!
Let’s talk about options, consequences, and strategies to keep them out of harm’s way.
Talk talk talk talk talk. They may roll their eyes. But they’re listening. And listen listen listen listen listen. Be the safe person they WANT to talk to about the awkward stuff.
*climbing down off soap box now*
As I librarian, I must say that I suspect that the “middle school librarian” is not really a librarian at all – no doubt a teacher with some sort of school board designation to “qualify” her to run the school library. Censorship is just one of those things that librarians take very seriously and we fight it everywhere we see it. Unfortunately too many libraries are being run by people who call themselves librarians without proper accreditation.
@Brooks*belle hear, hear! it’s sheer madness to have one person be the moral adjudicator of an entire school. and i wouldn’t be surpised if those parents who got caught up in the librarian’s fear-mongering didn’t even bother to read one line from hopkins’ book.
I haven’t read any of Ms. Hopkins books, but I intend to now. Here’s the email I sent to Mr. Sconzo:
Dear Superintendent Sconzo,
I come from a long line of Texans, and it was with dismay but not surprise that I read yesterday of the “disinviting” of author Ellen Hopkins to the Humble Teen Lit Fest. I taught in an Oregon public school for several years, and when parents objected to a book, there was a form for them to fill out. They had to list the specific lines or passages to which they objected, and explain why. I can’t think of a time when the parents actually filled out the form and returned it to our librarian.
Perhaps your school district needs such a form. It could save you from the embarrassment of appearing intolerant and uninterested in your students. I hope that you, as an educator, share my belief that one of education’s most important goals is to teach students to think for themselves. The current situation concerning Ms. Hopkins is anti-education, anti-student and anti-American. I urge you to read one of her books before condemning her, and to ask the parents and librarian who instigated the situation to give you specific examples to support their objections.
Sincerely, etc.
piece28: if needed, I have 28 more pieces of my mind to give Mr. Sconzo.