Peter, how would you explain the discrepancy between the list of books that are “most banned” around the rest of the country and the fact that many of those books (the majority in fact) are actually given explicit sanction in the Florida ELA standards?
It seems like whatever movement there is to “ban” books in Florida (tbh, i kinda hate the use of that word in this context -- what word do we use now if there is actually a true restriction on the ability of individuals to read/purchase books? “Super-banning”?) it’s a completely different movement than what is going on in the rest of the country. What is the relationship between the two movements? Is one an outgrowth of the other? A reaction against the other?
My theory is that the books under protest that are referenced in the post you shared are mainly held to be objectionable because they promote ideas that some find objectionable. There’s a real desire to restrict those books and students’ access to the ideas they communicate. The new push for restricting books in school libraries is about undermining public education as an institution; the intended and hoped-for result of many of the objectors is that the school/district retains the book in their collection so that the objectors can wave it around and read excerpts in board meetings and publicize how public schools are “grooming” kids by exposing them to this material.
Peter, how would you explain the discrepancy between the list of books that are “most banned” around the rest of the country and the fact that many of those books (the majority in fact) are actually given explicit sanction in the Florida ELA standards?
It seems like whatever movement there is to “ban” books in Florida (tbh, i kinda hate the use of that word in this context -- what word do we use now if there is actually a true restriction on the ability of individuals to read/purchase books? “Super-banning”?) it’s a completely different movement than what is going on in the rest of the country. What is the relationship between the two movements? Is one an outgrowth of the other? A reaction against the other?
My theory is that the books under protest that are referenced in the post you shared are mainly held to be objectionable because they promote ideas that some find objectionable. There’s a real desire to restrict those books and students’ access to the ideas they communicate. The new push for restricting books in school libraries is about undermining public education as an institution; the intended and hoped-for result of many of the objectors is that the school/district retains the book in their collection so that the objectors can wave it around and read excerpts in board meetings and publicize how public schools are “grooming” kids by exposing them to this material.
What do you think?