New classroom book screening process in Tennessee

[Demovictory9]

https://www.dailydot.com/irl/teacher-books-screened/

She explains that teachers have to catalog the title and author of every book in their classroom — even if they have hundreds of books. After a teacher catalogs their books, they must send the list to their school librarian, who has a list of “approved” books. Sydney says she doesn’t know what that list is based on.

Once the school librarian determines which books on a teacher’s catalog are approved, teachers have to remove the “unapproved” books from their classrooms. If a teacher has any books that a librarian is uncertain about, they send those books to a higher-up administrator. That person will then determine whether those books are acceptable for the students.

After the administrator determines the approved and unapproved books, teachers once again have to remove any additionally unapproved books. Then, the teacher has to post the finalized list of approved books from the librarian and administrator online where parents can view it. Parents can chime in about any books they deem inappropriate, Sydney says.

After all that, the kids can finally start reading the books.

[sakabatou]

1. Time to read the "unapproved" books.

[msongs]

2. post a list of approved and unapproved books in your room.

[Layzeebeaver]

3. This amounts to censorship

And is not supported by the first amendment in my opinion.

But I’m not a lawyer or a right winger so my opinion likely is wrong.

[barbtries]

4. This is scaring the crap out of me.

this control of books is ominous in the extreme. I have no doubt that in high school I read many books that are being banned today, and they helped me grow up and learn to think critically and develop my own beliefs about right, wrong, moral and immoral, how I wanted to live. These fascists are trying to strip that enrichment from children in the US.

Same with the abortion ban. I got pregnant in 1975 at 19 years old. It was unplanned and I had to make a choice. I had that baby and he's 46 now and quite successful, but I had the choice!

republicans in power and evangelical fascists are killing this country. they're just killing it.

[JCMach1]

5. Yeah, I read whatever I wanted

[mopinko]

8. having a choice makes all the difference.

Last edited Tue Aug 16, 2022, 03:33 PM - Edit history (1)

i had a couple unplanned babies. i have no regrets, but i would have gone mad if i hadnt had the choice. i would have forever felt i was a slave.

[barbtries]

9. there you go.

at other times in my life I did choose abortion. no longer an option for women in our country, for instance my 15-year-old granddaughter (actually she lives in CA but if she lived in the same state i do!).

[Rhiannon12866]

6. I'm remembering all the "classics" we read in AP English class and wonder if they're on the list

My group read "Catcher In The Rye" and reported on it to the rest of the class - other groups were assigned equally revered books. I was 15-16 at the time and handled it just fine, we all did. Though my somewhat conservative teacher didn't approve of my essay on "The Scarlet Letter."

[barbtries]

10. when I was a freshman our English class went to the library

and got to choose any book. I chose "As I Lay Dying," and my teacher okayed it. I did not even know what it was about lol. Years later I reread it, but as i'm posting this I realize, I need to read it again. I might even be thinking about "The Sound and the Fury" - interesting but what I recall is the internal dialogue of a woman who does not want to be pregnant and has taken a potion to end it and she keeps thinking it won't work. After googling both of these books I'm going to order them just to make sure I have not lost my mind.

At any rate I was 14 and totally uncensored, which is how it should be.

[Rhiannon12866]

11. That's the thing, they want to censor any books which would challenge THEIR beliefs

Even if they're classics. We need to expand young minds, not censor them, else they will be unprepared to think - and we've seen where that's taken us.

[multigraincracker]

7. You know how kids are....

The more forbidden the fruit, the better it taste.

Make a fortune, open a chain of book stores, The Forbidden Books Store.

[Thtwudbeme]

12. as a middle school librarian, I am preparing my ELA teachers

for book challenges. It's coming.

Right now I am reading Black Brother, Black Brother.