Comments on: Parental crankiness

By: Dennis Hansen

Dennis Hansen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:18:53 +0000

There have been plenty of situations to where scheduled speaking engagements had been either put into question or canceled because of these irrational theories of indoctrination. People sometimes fear things that they don’t understand entirely themselves, or in this case anything that they may think have an negative connotation. Are parents and/ school facility justified in their actions to cancel prior speaking opportunities? Technically yes, but its also my belief that when it comes to teaching children about levels of protective provisions there should be some leniency. Identifying serious levels of risk in a school system does not always translate into peoples readiness to take action. This proliferation of fear I think stems from the unwillingness to cope with how ever-growing the dangers of drug abuse really are. Ignorance of this fact can and will eventually carry its own ramifications, if not taken seriously. Education isn’t necessarily found in the pages of books alone but also through other peoples experiences.

By: Andrea Harris

Andrea Harris — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:00:51 +0000

Actually I think it’s rather interesting the way stories like these always come out during Banned Books Week too. I mean, it’s not as if they don’t happen all year — officious parents and fearful school administrators don’t have special seasons where they are unusually frisky, though I imagine activity tapers off a tad during summer vacation.

By: Andrea Harris

Andrea Harris — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:57:37 +0000

When I was in 8th grade (in the Seventies) we had all sorts of people come to talk to us about the horrors of drug abuse, hitch-hiking, going to juvenile hall, going to rehab, going to reform school, driving drunk and getting burned to death in your car, getting chopped up to pieces by a serial killer… I can tell you that the kids who were going to go down those roads were already halfway down them by that time. None of these talks did me any special good because I had already decided to stay in my bedroom for the rest of my life. But I could have used some writing and publishing tips.

By: kent

kent — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:26:26 +0000

more if we don’t do anything about it (talk, acknowlegement, education) it doesn’t happen to our kids….. OUR KIDS DON’T HAVE SEX>>>OUR KIDS DON’T DO DRUGS……..oh please…. She is an Oklahoman whom had a daughter that had a drug problem….and she is trying to share her experinces with others it help them.

By: Sadie Mattox

Sadie Mattox — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:22:47 +0000

I’m confused about what, exactly, would be inappropriate about Ellen speaking if she had been invited. If you invite someone to speak and you don’t bother to know enough about them to know what they’re discussing then that’s on you but it’s just rude to turn someone away. Doesn’t she have the right to stand up and say, hey my book’s being reviewed and here’s how I feel about that?

I’m fine with the reviewing policy though I was told (maybe mistakenly) that the books did not remain on the shelf.

By: Middle Raged Punk » Blog Archive » From the Vault: Be a rebel…read a book

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:20:45 +0000

[...] Banned Books Week is coming up by reading of an unfortunate event that happened in my own state. Dustbury writes Author Ellen Hopkins was scheduled to speak to eighth-graders at Whittier Middle School today about [...]

By: fillyjonk

fillyjonk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:58:53 +0000

I remember when I first moved here, a group of Tibetan (Buddhist) monks were coming to campus to do music, dance, and sand art. The original plan was that the local schoolkids would go to a daytime performance. Then a few parents objected, I presume, because they were afraid that their kids would be proselytized.

The fact that none of the monks even spoke English (let alone that Buddhism is not big on evangelism) didn’t cut ice with them. However, a great many parents DID bring their kids to the evening performance, even if the daytime one had to be canceled (IIRC).

By: CGHill

CGHill — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:54:07 +0000

Norman school policy is that any books on the shelf are open to parental review: the superintendent decided that while a book was being reviewed, it would be inappropriate for the author to set foot on the premises. And it’s not like it’s costing them anything. Hopkins explains:

A few months ago I donated a school visit (complete with travel) to an auction benefiting a Phoenix bookseller who needed some help to pay for her cancer-related medical bills. The winning bidder was Karin Perry, a middle school librarian from Norman, OK. Karin is a fabulous librarian and real champion for her kids. I was thrilled to be going. The visit was scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Airline tickets/hotel were paid for. I was on my way.

The talk will be at Hillsdale Baptist College in Moore, the next town north of Norman. Seven-thirty.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:42:48 +0000

It seems odd to me that a speaker who isn't espousing conservative political views would be subject to censorship in a college town. In Athens, GA they would try to cancel Clarence Thomas on campus, but not an author's talk off-campus.

By: Ed Flinn

Ed Flinn — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:33:12 +0000

I predict much fun next week when they realize that there’s a significant alcohol content in the hand sanitizer and demands that it be kept locked up.

By: Jessika

Jessika — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:29:32 +0000

How sad that this news comes less than a week before Banned Books Week.