I couldn’t agree more with your guest commentator, Bret Conway, especially during September, National Library Card Sign-up Month.
We should be encouraging the use of libraries and ensure students (and everyone) have access to books of their choosing. I taught for over 30 years; during those years I am proud to say that I have introduced students to many of the books that show up on Banned Books Lists: “The Merchant of Venice,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Animal Farm,” and on and on. During September (during which Banned Books Week falls), I also had a poster in my room listing banned books. My students loved looking at it (and heading to the library to check them out).
In Florida, Escambia County has pulled Webster’s Dictionary because it contains (and defines) words some parents found objectionable. They went on to remove over 1,600 books from the shelves. As far as I know, not one student in Florida has died because they read a book or looked up a word. But, the students at Parkland High School witnessed 17 of their classmates die; so far this year there have been 22 school shootings. None of those shootings can be traced back to a book.
As the school year starts, instead of banning books, perhaps we should be more concerned about other deadly threats to our students. Reading isn’t one of them. — Arlene R. Jarzab, Hinsdale
