Allison B. Campbell- Marion District 1
1. Please share your thoughts related to the importance of the school library/media center and the role of a certified, trained librarian/media specialist in schools.
I believe very strongly in the role for certified media specialists as well as the need for hard and soft bound books in addition to digital ones.
2. Florida school libraries/media centers have always supported parents' rights to direct their students' education. How would you balance parental rights and student access to library materials, especially given that some books trigger different reactions among parents, all of whom deserve rights?
Parental choice is important in student access to materials, so I understand the desire to monitor that access, especially depending on the age of the child. I can also agree that some materials do not belong in schools and should not be accessible. With certified media specialists categorizing materials from the most objective way possible (similar to a rating system for movies and TV) would be the best way to balance how parents are able to say what is okay or not. If websites and other media have created such a rating system and parents can choose what students can access on their own digital devices, a similar mechanism should exist for written media as well.
3. Students have access to reading material through captive classroom instruction, read-alouds and novel studies, as well as through self-selection in libraries where they choose their own book. How would you differentiate between the appropriateness of reading material in a captive classroom vs. self-selection in the school library?
Captive classroom instruction should be standards-based instruction that has a purposeful educational value for the student. Self-selection can be for student choice and interest. For example, I doubt a teacher would use a Captain Underpants book as a read-aloud, but a Who Was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? book would have purposeful educational value.
4. As written in Florida House Bill 1069, “Parents shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection. If the school board denies a parent the right to read passages due to content" deemed unsuitable as defined in the bill, the school district must discontinue use of the material. If a reader is denied, explain why you would interpret the law by supporting or opposing a fair and public review of the book, as outlined in each district's objection policy.
As a school board member, I have never denied an individual from reading content, either personally or in a public meeting. I support the fair and public review of any challenged book.
I believe very strongly in the role for certified media specialists as well as the need for hard and soft bound books in addition to digital ones.
2. Florida school libraries/media centers have always supported parents' rights to direct their students' education. How would you balance parental rights and student access to library materials, especially given that some books trigger different reactions among parents, all of whom deserve rights?
Parental choice is important in student access to materials, so I understand the desire to monitor that access, especially depending on the age of the child. I can also agree that some materials do not belong in schools and should not be accessible. With certified media specialists categorizing materials from the most objective way possible (similar to a rating system for movies and TV) would be the best way to balance how parents are able to say what is okay or not. If websites and other media have created such a rating system and parents can choose what students can access on their own digital devices, a similar mechanism should exist for written media as well.
3. Students have access to reading material through captive classroom instruction, read-alouds and novel studies, as well as through self-selection in libraries where they choose their own book. How would you differentiate between the appropriateness of reading material in a captive classroom vs. self-selection in the school library?
Captive classroom instruction should be standards-based instruction that has a purposeful educational value for the student. Self-selection can be for student choice and interest. For example, I doubt a teacher would use a Captain Underpants book as a read-aloud, but a Who Was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? book would have purposeful educational value.
4. As written in Florida House Bill 1069, “Parents shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection. If the school board denies a parent the right to read passages due to content" deemed unsuitable as defined in the bill, the school district must discontinue use of the material. If a reader is denied, explain why you would interpret the law by supporting or opposing a fair and public review of the book, as outlined in each district's objection policy.
As a school board member, I have never denied an individual from reading content, either personally or in a public meeting. I support the fair and public review of any challenged book.