Bernnie Brandt- Polk 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.
Librarians/media specialists are educated, trained, and certified, professionals who support and encourage students and staff by helping them find and understand materials and resources.
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?
In the age of technology that we live in, wouod be reasonable to develop a system that allows a parent to log in, view all of the materials that are available to students, and select materials that they do not want their child have access to. If their child attempts to check out a book or other item that the parent has flagged, the system would alert and the child would be prevented from having access to that item.
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?
Appropriateness for any environment should be determined by a) the complexities of the words and sentence structured to be sure that the language is not too advanced for the grade level, and b) the subject matter should be examined against objective, black-and-white criteria for what makes the subject matter appropriate for and easily-understood by students of a particular grade level. If a book passes both of those tests, then it should be available for teachers to use in classroom instruction and for students to check out in libraries.
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.
I don't like that the language in the law and, subsequently, book review policies across the board seem to be very subjective and do not have any sort of rubric for determining whether or not a book is or is not acceptable. I would like to see a very clearly-written, simple, standardized metric used for determining whether or not a book is age appropriate. I would like to have a public hearing where the book is graded based on that objective criteria, so that no one can accuse anyone of favoritism, partisanism, etc. Beyond that grading system, it is up to individual parents what they choose to restrict their own child from reading. Just because I don't want my child to have access to a book or other reference material does not mean that I have the right to prevent other people's children from having access to it.
Librarians/media specialists are educated, trained, and certified, professionals who support and encourage students and staff by helping them find and understand materials and resources.
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?
In the age of technology that we live in, wouod be reasonable to develop a system that allows a parent to log in, view all of the materials that are available to students, and select materials that they do not want their child have access to. If their child attempts to check out a book or other item that the parent has flagged, the system would alert and the child would be prevented from having access to that item.
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?
Appropriateness for any environment should be determined by a) the complexities of the words and sentence structured to be sure that the language is not too advanced for the grade level, and b) the subject matter should be examined against objective, black-and-white criteria for what makes the subject matter appropriate for and easily-understood by students of a particular grade level. If a book passes both of those tests, then it should be available for teachers to use in classroom instruction and for students to check out in libraries.
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.
I don't like that the language in the law and, subsequently, book review policies across the board seem to be very subjective and do not have any sort of rubric for determining whether or not a book is or is not acceptable. I would like to see a very clearly-written, simple, standardized metric used for determining whether or not a book is age appropriate. I would like to have a public hearing where the book is graded based on that objective criteria, so that no one can accuse anyone of favoritism, partisanism, etc. Beyond that grading system, it is up to individual parents what they choose to restrict their own child from reading. Just because I don't want my child to have access to a book or other reference material does not mean that I have the right to prevent other people's children from having access to it.