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In Pittsburgh, PA, we were forced to pay for stadiums against our will. We voted it down twice.
The residents of Pittsburgh voted for a library tax.
They voted for books.
Is that cool, or what.
One tax I enjoy paying (and I give a little more on the side although I haven't lived there in over a decade).
In the very first election that I voted in - I voted NO on a measure that would have funded the construction of the Seattle Mariners new stadium. Myself and the other voters of King County were victorious in our keeping public funds out of a private enterprises hands.
I don't recall any "forcing" that the taxpayers had to vote against. Maybe things work differently in Pennsylvania.
I will always support funding for public libraries.
My support does not mean that I would oppose common sense rejections of certain books being included in those libraries. The book in question can go into a public municipal or county library - it does not belong in a public school library and certainly should not be part of an anti-bullying curriculum.
Tell the kids to not bully others - leave the political indoctrination out of the message.
Doesn't the school board have the ability to oversee what books are in the library?
They have the right, but not always the ability due to workloads... usually the librarian will come up with annual (or monthly) selection lists, and they're just approved by the board and/or Principal. Outright bans are pretty rare, and school librarians usually know what's appropriate for their school & grade levels.
They have the right, but not always the ability due to workloads... usually the librarian will come up with annual (or monthly) selection lists, and they're just approved by the board and/or Principal. Outright bans are pretty rare, and school librarians usually know what's appropriate for their school & grade levels.
OK - I understand how the bureaucracy works - but if a school board actually takes the time to ban a book - they must have some pretty strong support from their constituency for doing so. The actions of the Erie,IL School Board are a perfect example of a democratic republic in action. The people who call it censorship - have got their panties in a wad over nothing.
Harrier (and everyone else here), have you read this book yet? If not, you really should - it's actually quite sweet. I think it has a place in public school libraries, at least, where the children and their parents can determine if it's worth reading. We also carry it at the public library, but I see no reason why it's not appropriate for the shelves of a school library.
When it really comes down to it, the people generally ALWAYS vote for libraries... along with schools, roads, police & fire. We're actually trying to become a mandated service in the county, so hopefully they won't be able to pull this give & take & take crap they've been pulling lately.
As an aside, my small conservative town of 1600 just spent the last two years doing fund raising and built our new library without having to raise taxes. It's amazing that when you're working within a budget and not spending tax payer money you can get a lot done for a lot less.
It was an amazing thing to watch. In one day, volunteers relocated all the books from the old library to the new one. Fine community effort.
I didn't realize that when a child see another childs parents they automatically think of their sexual orientation. Most children just see parents.
When it's two mommies or two daddies, children do not just see parents.
Pointing out all these differences in people to "stop bullying" is not stopping bullying. All it's doing is pointing out differences in people. When I was a kid in the 90's people didn't point out all the differences of people to get us to not bully. They said, "Don't bully anyone." That's all. Not, "Don't bully gays, blacks, (insert name of group here)."
As an aside, my small conservative town of 1600 just spent the last two years doing fund raising and built our new library without having to raise taxes. It's amazing that when you're working within a budget and not spending tax payer money you can get a lot done for a lot less.
It was an amazing thing to watch. In one day, volunteers relocated all the books from the old library to the new one. Fine community effort.
OK - I understand how the bureaucracy works - but if a school board actually takes the time to ban a book - they must have some pretty strong support from their constituency for doing so. The actions of the Erie,IL School Board are a perfect example of a democratic republic in action. The people who call it censorship - have got their panties in a wad over nothing.
I have no idea, since I'm not personally familiar with this school or community. All I know is what's in the article, and it sounds like the board is only caving to some vocal public complainers - I mean, citizens. From the article:
"If you look at 'The Family Book,' you can tell it's done for elementary age children. It's a lot of colored pages, and one line sentences," said Materials Selection Committee member Joe Weaver. "We found them to be appropriate for the setting they were being used," he added.
But that conclusion failed to hold back a vocal majority opposed to the book. So the school district is now looking for new learning tools to replace it."
As chielgirl said earlier, they were simply bullied into banning it to keep the peace. There is no evidence this book is inappropriate, and I doubt half (or more) of those opponents have even read the darned thing.
When it's two mommies or two daddies, children do not just see parents.
Pointing out all these differences in people to "stop bullying" is not stopping bullying. All it's doing is pointing out differences in people. When I was a kid in the 90's people didn't point out all the differences of people to get us to not bully. They said, "Don't bully anyone." That's all. Not, "Don't bully gays, blacks, (insert name of group here)."
This is exactly right - the writers of the book want to teach tolerance - yet they are pointing out differences. Teach kids to treat everybody with respect - period. That will end bullying among children - that and teaching kids to put 5 knuckles across a bully's nose.
Concentrating on differences only confuses children and makes them bully more - the book in question is counterproductive to its goals.
But - what else can you expect from liberals? Not common sense - that is for sure.
This is exactly right - the writers of the book want to teach tolerance - yet they are pointing out differences. Teach kids to treat everybody with respect - period. That will end bullying among children - that and teaching kids to put 5 knuckles across a bully's nose.
Concentrating on differences only confuses children and makes them bully more - the book in question is counterproductive to its goals.
I'm not sure I agree with this... simply telling children what to do (or not do) doesn't work, in my experiences. You have to SHOW them examples, SHOW them what is right or wrong, and visual aids work tremendously well for the little ones. And when society pushes one vision of a family over the others, how will a child know "this is a family, and that's what we're told to respect?" Think about it.
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But - what else can you expect from liberals? Not common sense - that is for sure.
Cheap shot.
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From the article:
