The list they published was the “most challenged books” of 2022; it’s my text that used banned. The piece you linked to is quite unkind, no? It is bizarre and problematic that one parent can lead to a poetry book by a national poet laureate being pulled from the shelves at a school. (And yeah, headlines these days are a little over the top everywhere!)
That is a pretty uncharitable take. There's no reason to be 'challenging' these books; the aggregate data shows sexual content is why 60% of the challenges happen but as I noted in the round up sexed is critical to protecting children. It seems like an excuse to feel powerful via censorship, often from people who accuse the left of doing the same? Growing up in Canada, where sexed was a part of normal high school education, including via age-appropriate reading, it's truly confounding to see how a party claiming to protect kids continually enacts bills, laws, and pulls access to resources - all in ways that actually harm them.
I mistakenly deleted my comment via the app, sorry! I don’t think we’ll see eye to eye here, re ‘don’t say gay’-- from queer friends in Fl, it’s scary place for them to be right now and some of that hate is bleeding into Canada as well. The rage and the bigotry is really depressing to see. I can understand your comment about access to too much, but challenging a book because it teaches basic sex-ed or sharing important learning points about trafficking or abuse isn’t the same as accessing too much. I think it’s detrimental for kids to remove them.
The list they published was the “most challenged books” of 2022; it’s my text that used banned. The piece you linked to is quite unkind, no? It is bizarre and problematic that one parent can lead to a poetry book by a national poet laureate being pulled from the shelves at a school. (And yeah, headlines these days are a little over the top everywhere!)
That is a pretty uncharitable take. There's no reason to be 'challenging' these books; the aggregate data shows sexual content is why 60% of the challenges happen but as I noted in the round up sexed is critical to protecting children. It seems like an excuse to feel powerful via censorship, often from people who accuse the left of doing the same? Growing up in Canada, where sexed was a part of normal high school education, including via age-appropriate reading, it's truly confounding to see how a party claiming to protect kids continually enacts bills, laws, and pulls access to resources - all in ways that actually harm them.
I mistakenly deleted my comment via the app, sorry! I don’t think we’ll see eye to eye here, re ‘don’t say gay’-- from queer friends in Fl, it’s scary place for them to be right now and some of that hate is bleeding into Canada as well. The rage and the bigotry is really depressing to see. I can understand your comment about access to too much, but challenging a book because it teaches basic sex-ed or sharing important learning points about trafficking or abuse isn’t the same as accessing too much. I think it’s detrimental for kids to remove them.
Have a good weekend!
I’m glad you enjoy it! Thanks for reading.
Thanks so much Jodi! The NYT articles brought tears to my eyes!
The Connie one? Me too, and the pics of them all together—ahh so great.
Yes that one, and how Connie teared up after hearing the photographer’s story!