Happy Banned Books Week, West Brazos Junior High!

Not.

From ABC News:

The parents of a West Brazos Junior High student are outraged over a book he checked out of the school's library. Some call it pornography. The school admits there was a mistake and is now taking steps to prevent this from happening again, but for now it means students can't check out any books.

The book in question is one of Gary Paulsen's memoirs.  While it does look like it's geared toward older readers, and that maybe it should have been in the high school library rather than the middle school*, it seems a tad excessive to:

A)  Bar students from checking out ANY books (not just in the one school, which would be bad enough, but district-wide) and

B)  Bar students from even GOING INTO the library without teacher supervision and

C)  Set the precedent of immediately pulling books from the shelf upon challenge. (Guilty until proven innocent rather then innocent until proven guilty.)

But I'm sure that they'll realize their mistake when there are no books left in the library.

*And that it may have been a case of the buyer saying, "Oh, Gary Paulsen?  Better buy it!" without checking the book out more thoroughly.  (Which is similar to the usual "Oh, a book by Roald Dahl that my seven-year-old hasn't read?  Better buy it!" parent who then is horribly insulted by the poor bookseller who dares to suggest that maybe Switch Bitch isn't something that a seven-year-old would enjoy... but I'm probably just projecting.)

Comments

[Adam]

Right. So when they let this teen watch air planes being flown into buildings... Or hear about Britney Spears being knocked up. Their defense is what?

[Lady S]

And probably watch MTV and Desperate Housewives.

I told my second graders today about Banned Book Week. I told them that it is one thing for their mom or dad to say they can't read a certain book, but those parents shouldn't be allowed to say another student can't read that book. And heaven forbid they say I can't read a book.

[Tom]

"Right. So when they let this teen watch air planes being flown into buildings... Or hear about Britney Spears being knocked up. Their defense is what?"

That those planes flying into those buildings is perhaps the most important thing that will happen in their lifetime and that Britney Spears is a married woman. Yes, these people are idiots but that doesn't mean that nonsensible arguments can be made to make sense.