Texas State Board of Education Bans "Marxist" Children's Book
This is one for the ages...
The Texas State Board of education, presumably using google as their source, discovered that Bill Martin, the author of famous (and wonderful) Children's books such as "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" was secretly a Marxist!
He even wrote a book on the subject, called Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation.
Of course, the board did the only thing they could: they instantly banned Mr. Martin's books, making sure that his secret Marxism doesn't infect our youth. Phew--that was a close one! Thank goodness the Texas State Board of Education is there to protect our children from dangerous books.
Just one teensy problem--well, two, actually.
The first is that banning books is lame.
The second is that the book on Marxism was written by a different "Bill Martin" altogether. One is a renowned children's author, the other a philosophy professor at DePaul university. Not the same guy at all, it turns out.
A solid majority of the State Board of Education, which will rewrite the science curriculum for public schools next year, is against the idea, even though several members say they are creationists and have serious doubts about Charles Darwin's theory that humans evolved from lower life forms.
Interviews with 11 of the 15 members of the board – including seven Republicans and four Democrats – found little support for requiring that intelligent design be taught in biology and other science classes. Only one board member said she was open to the idea of placing the theory into the curriculum standards.
Haha, I hear an esoteric reading of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" gives some pretty good insight into how exactly the classless society will come about since Marx was so mum on the topic.
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to peter12 For This Useful Post:
Slight correction - the Very Hungry Caterpillar was written by Eric Carle. Bill Martin did write several books that Eric Carle illustrated, but that isn't one of them.
The Following User Says Thank You to Ashartus For This Useful Post:
On the topic of "banning books is lame" (which I tend to agree with - especially in light of many ridiculous such overreactions prevalent in the States), I've found something interesting.
I work at a middle school with a library that holds a "we don't ban books" philosophy. Now, I don't know if this is legally written into the policy of the school, or if it's just a personal preference of the librarian (she's gung-ho with the concept, and she's also a very level-headed person, so it makes for a legitimate discussion, in my mind).
This got me to thinking about the ramifications of such a standard. We all have ideologies and biases which affect our beliefs and opinions, and I suspect most all of us would admit that we would feel uncomfortable if our children (if/when we have any) were allowed to pick up just anything at the school library to read during quiet time, without adult (specifically "our") consent.
Children are impressionable; I doubt Christian parents would want their child reading frank (persuasive?) descriptions of Satanism or Wiccan any more than an athiest would like for their child to read propaganda books about Mormonism, Scientology or Intelligent Design. There are books like this written to appeal to children. Certain other themes are simply too adult for very young minds to understand and "appreciate" (for lack of a better term), even if written at their level (the Holocaust, marital infidelity, rape, etc).
I don't mean to take this beyond it's intended scope, but you have to think that even the most liberal adults (in this sense) would find certain forms of ... "literature" ... wholly inappropriate for 6th graders. A line must be drawn somewhere.
So, the question is: where would you draw that line? If banning books isn't the answer, would you be prepared to implement the opposite extreme? If not, where's your happy medium?
I don't mean to take this beyond it's intended scope, but you have to think that even the most liberal adults (in this sense) would find certain forms of ... "literature" ... wholly inappropriate for 6th graders. A line must be drawn somewhere.
The line is drawn, most of the time, by a trained librarian. If she deems something inappropriate and doesn't put it on the shelves, none of us ever hear about it and tend to trust the decision. It's not banning books, it is common sense.
It becomes book banning when some nimrod like this Texas politician gets involved in the process and starts barking about he Filthy Commie she found.
Anyway, if I was a parent in Texas, I'd be a hell of a lot more worried about my kid's future stupidity than I would be about the Red Menace.
Even if I agreed with the foolish notion that the kid's book has to be banned simply because a Communist wrote it, I'd be really worried about the fact that someone capable of making such a foolish gaffe is deciding how my child will be educated.
__________________
The Following User Says Thank You to RougeUnderoos For This Useful Post:
"The most frightening thing about this article is that Brown Bear was being considered for THIRD GRADERS. It's a 12-page book about recognizing colors and animals. My two year old can read that book. Perhaps a book with sentences might be good by that age?"
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Savvy27 For This Useful Post:
"The most frightening thing about this article is that Brown Bear was being considered for THIRD GRADERS. It's a 12-page book about recognizing colors and animals. My two year old can read that book. Perhaps a book with sentences might be good by that age?"
That's actually a really good point. My two year old DOES read that book.
Good lord, is that what we are talking about here? For 8 year-olds? The whole school board should be disbanded.
Anyway, I just saw an interview with this woman. She's come out and admitted her mistake. Apparently this communism bit was just a ruse. The real reason she didn't want the kids reading this guy's book is because she doesn't like the way he treated Reggie Jackson.
__________________
Last edited by RougeUnderoos; 01-25-2010 at 02:59 PM.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to RougeUnderoos For This Useful Post:
The line is drawn, most of the time, by a trained librarian. If she deems something inappropriate and doesn't put it on the shelves, none of us ever hear about it and tend to trust the decision. It's not banning books, it is common sense.
It becomes book banning when some nimrod like this Texas politician gets involved in the process and starts barking about he Filthy Commie she found.
Anyway, if I was a parent in Texas, I'd be a hell of a lot more worried about my kid's future stupidity than I would be about the Red Menace.
Even if I agreed with the foolish notion that the kid's book has to be banned simply because a Communist wrote it, I'd be really worried about the fact that someone capable of making such a foolish gaffe is deciding how my child will be educated.
I understand your point, and I agree that common sense has to play a role. I think librarians usually get it right.
At the same time - to steal a cheesy cliche - "common sense isn't always common." My point is that subjectivity plays a role, and trained librarians may or may not let their own biases get in the way or doing their job appropriately. I'm not sure it's best to let this whole discretionary business land on the shoulders of school librarians, generally speaking. Others will disagree.
That said, someone has to make the decision at some level, so perfection isn't a possibility.
I honestly don't know where I'd draw the line. It would obviously vary by age level, but it isn't an easy question.
The real reason she didn't want the kids reading this guy's book is because she doesn't like the way he treated Reggie Jackson.
When I was in high school my 10th grade English teacher gave us a list of "books that she wanted to cover, but was not allowed because she was forbidden by the school board to teach them in class". I read every single one on the list. From "Heart of Darkness" to "Hard Times" to "Catcher in the Rye".... you have to wonder who the heck serves on these school boards to deem a book worthy to teach or not and considers books like those "unworthy".
Last edited by Devils'Advocate; 01-25-2010 at 03:34 PM.
Kind of off topic because it's not "banned" per se, except by societal norms. But I've always wanted to read Mein Kampf because of it's importance in world history. Is there any way to pick it up at Chapters without looking like a complete skinheaded racist anti-semite?
I was hoping to see it in the University bookstore so it'd just be like it was for a class but no dice.
Texas State Board of Education Bans "Marxist" Children's Book
