On March 9 an article” Hempfield latest to face book ban challenge” hit the top of the front page in your newspaper I read it intently, looking for a concise report of the issue facing the Hempield School District and its Board.
What I found was a story leading the reader to the conclusion that book challenges are wrong. The article states that 330 challenges were made in last 3 months of 2021 compared to 156 in 2020 according to a Library association.
What does that number indicate? Just more citizens are paying attention and more parents are concerned about their children’s education.
The article talks about a National trend with highlight cases of a School district banning a book and state legislatures limiting sexual material in books in schools. Guess what? Those actions taken are within the powers of those bodies of elected representatives! Most likely in response to parent and citizen concerns.
Parents have a right to ask schools to remove books from the shelves. All have a right to direct the school to act as they wish. The administration and the board get to make the decision according to its policies. Schools should act as directed by parents and citizens not the media.
Book banning is appropriate in a school setting as determined by the board. It is not book burning, I don’t agree with censorship of a book on the market. We have to avoid book burning by society like Ray Bradbury wrote about in Fahrenheit 451. We’re not there yet!
When a person reaches legal age then they can make their own decisions on what they read!
All this parent involvement on either side of the issue is fantastic. It can only make for a better education for our students. Our school boards, and state legislatures, need our input and involvement .
Keep reporting the news Tribune Review but keep it in balance.
