March 10, Jill DeTemple, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas, for a piece advocating that community members gather and discuss shared values in a civil setting rather than create book banning lists. Published in Education Week under the heading Let’s Build Trust Instead of Banning Books: https://bit.ly/3tXIC2P
It is a difficult time to be an educator. Aside from the massive disruptions and stress of a pandemic lasting more than two years, even as it appears to be winding down, teachers, school boards, and librarians are at the dead center of divisive conflicts over how—and if—students should encounter issues of racism, sexuality, and the dark side of American history in their schools. As has happened in the past, efforts to ban or remove books from school are a manifestation of this conflict.
In recent weeks, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed schools to remove all books with “pornography or obscene content.” Texas state Rep. Matt Krause has demanded school libraries account for their holdings related to race, gender, and sexuality—prompting some teachers to take titles from classroom shelves out of fear of reprisal. Last month, in one Tennessee district, Maus was eliminated from a junior high school reading list, driving the book to a top-seller position on Amazon. In a Washington state district, the school board is having to defend making To Kill a Mockingbird optionalrather than required reading because of concerns over racist language and the book’s portrayal of a “white savior complex.”
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