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"appropriate for ages 12 and up" NOT 10 year olds.
Its NOT appropriate for 10 year olds. Get it?
Elementary schools cover a HUGE range of ages & reading levels, so we have to include books for everyone that attends... we separate them by age group, usually into children's and young adult (or "tween") books within the library. A school librarian typically does the circulation him/herself as well, so we can assess the appropriateness of a book on the spot. Parents are also welcomed to apply restrictions to THEIR child's account, even at a public library - so if their record says "no YA materials" we oblige.
P.S. Keep in mind that I worked at a HIGH school, so I'm not personally experienced with Elementary libraries... but I have worked in public libraries as a children's librarian, so I do know how to select books for a younger age group.
AUM, I never said this book included "lessons on homosexual sex" so quit putting words in my mouth. It is an inappropriate book for 10 year olds. It is about high school kids, including homosexuals who live happily in a town that celebrates the gayness of the kids, except for the mean old Christian Family. It is pushing an agenda that is not appropriate for 10 year olds.
How about if you just make decisions for your own family and stop trying to make decisions for everyone elses? You've pulled your own kids out of the public schools yet you still seem to think you have a right to decide what other kids should read and learn.
I believe in freedom and choice, and I don't appreciate it when people try to censor and restrict what others can read or watch.
Luckily my parents never really considered any books "innapropriate" for me to read if I could read it. I remember picking up a book about teenage pregnancy when I was about 12 and my mom wondering aloud if I should, and my dad just said "let her read whatever she wants". And thus it was. I read some stuff that wasn't appropriate for my age but still totally appropriate for me to read because what the hell was going to happen from reading something anyway?
I know, huh? My mother is actually a librarian too, so of course she never restricted my reading materials... I was also a very advanced reader, so those "Ramona and Beezus" type of books didn't challenge me for very long.
I would agree that those books are not appropriate for 10 year olds. They are marketed for middle school / high school, not elementary school. If elementary school librarians are making them available to kids (except perhaps mature sixth graders) then it is questionable judgment on their part, in my opinion.
Yes, you are correct that most of those titles wouldn't be in an elementary school library... but they're being challenged even in the upper levels, so some people just won't ever be happy! There are also many K-8 schools around here, so it's inevitable that some books will be too mature for a 10 year-old in those libraries. But again, the librarian can always assess that at checkout - I've done that even with high schoolers, saying "are you sure your mom/dad would be okay with you reading this? Do you know what it's about?"
I personally would like to hear the WHOLE story before jumping to conclusions... why?? Because I've worked in the SF public HIGH schools, and never witnessed anything like this being tolerated - in fact, I personally reported a couple to security for making out in the stairwell. So if this really is the way it's being "blurbed," I'd like to know who these crazy teachers are.
LOL
You "reported a couple to security..." but yet it doesn't occur to you that there's something terribly wrong with society when "security" is even needed in a school to begin with??!!!!
Security?????:? When I was in 2nd grade, the only people I needed to worry about was the teacher, the Principal, and my parents when I acted out!
You worked in a school that has "security" and you're not ready to jump to conclusions?
You "reported a couple to security..." but yet it doesn't occur to you that there's something terribly wrong with society when "security" is even needed in a school to begin with??!!!!
Security?????:? When I was in 2nd grade, the only people I needed to worry about was the teacher, the Principal, and my parents when I acted out!
You worked in a school that has "security" and you're not ready to jump to conclusions?
LOL
That happened at an urban high school in the worst part of San Francisco... and some of these kids are bigger than the teachers, particularly since it has a sizable (no pun intended) population of Samoan students. This isn't some suburban second-grade we're talking about - and neither is the school in this story, considering it's located in East Oakland. You know, the worst neighborhood in a town with one of the highest crime rates in the country??
And yes, it does mean there's something wrong with society... but it's not something we can change overnight, so in the meantime I like having a little extra protection around. Particularly when the students are carrying weapons to class, which is too often the case in these urban public schools (any school really). Maybe if they had better security at Columbine High School, those kids & teachers wouldn't be dead today.
P.S. We even had security at the suburban schools when I was a kid, so I guess it differs depending on where you live.
Btw, that particular incident (in the stairwell) happened during our after-school program... in my role with that program, I was actually required to report those types of incidents to security. It doesn't mean I didn't stop them myself, but regardless you always had to report it for the record.
No, I'm sure you're thinking of the right one... and you are correct, it has nothing one could consider graphic as I recall. But like I said, some people get themselves in a tizzy the second they see "GAY" anywhere in a book. Oh no, a kiss?? I guess we should ban Romeo and Juliet, since they not only describe a kiss, but also an intimate night in bed. And they were only like 15!!
And double suicide. Kids do commit suicide for "romantic" reasons.
Has ANYONE expressed concern that the teacher not only watched the kids but did nothing to stop it . I think the teacher is likely a closet PEDO..
And don't kid yourselves. Those kids did oral because they KNOW oral because they have had it performed on them or were in a room where they have witnessed it.
Sure, there is porn that they could have witnessed but let's be honest here. A second grader is playing with Barbies and GI Joes NOT receiving oral sex.
I will bet 10 bucks that teacher is a dirty teacher.
You're probably right. It sounds like it wasn't the first time - according to the report. Far too many pedophiles are allowed to work as teachers.
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It is pushing an agenda that is not appropriate for 10 year olds.
My mother is actually a librarian too, so of course she never restricted my reading materials... I was also a very advanced reader, so those "Ramona and Beezus" type of books didn't challenge me for very long.
