Dale Marie Merrill- Citrus District 2
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.
Certified, trained librarian/media specialists are critical creating providing the intellectual resources to engage youth and provide them with books and other media that stimulate their intellectual growth. It takes special training in order to fill a library with both books and that are classics, as well as, books that can engage youth because they speak to issues that are relevant to the youth today. The library/media should be a kind of intellectual playground. A certified librarian with the right training is going to have the knowledge to recommend books that will be in line with a youth's interests, and that is important in engaging the young person with a passion for learning. It is also important to be able to have a variety of materials available from different points of view, so that youth can evaluate and compare different ideas, in order to foster an environment in which they can become critical thinkers. Only a trained and certified librarian is going to have the skillset to create such a learning environment.
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?
While parents have a right to direct their own child's education, they do not have the right to impose their beliefs and values on the education of other peoples' children. As someone who defends the US Constitution in court every day, I place a high value on our right of freedom of speech. While books must be age-appropriate, it is important that libraries contain a wide spectrum of ideas and information. Parents should certainly be encouraged to read all of the books that their children read, and if the parents have an issue with a specific book, then they should be allowed to raise that issue and have a review of whether that book is appropriate or not. The parent should also have an opportunity to appeal that decision. While it is important to listen to the concerns of parents about the materials in the library, there has to be a valid basis for the materials to be removed.
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?
Classroom instruction is highly regulated under Florida law. The board of education selects a variety of books that they approve. Citrus then has a committee of citizens who comb the books to determine which ones are most appropriate for our community. This method ensures that our schools are not running afoul of Florida laws and regulations. The selection of books at a library is much more diverse, and provides a broader range of materials.
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.
Parents should be encouraged to read all of the books their children read in school. Personally, I read ever book my child had in school, simply because I wanted to stay abreast of what she was learning and be able to discuss it with her or do projects at home that might add to what she was learning in school. While one parent should not be allowed to dictate what other peoples' children can read, it is important to listen to all parents, and if a book is objectionable to a parent, then a librarian should conduct a review of the book to determine whether there is validity to the parents' concern. If the parent does not agree with the decision of the librarian, then the parent should have a right to raise the issue with the principal, and later the school board for review, and ultimately a court of appeals. If the word of one parent is always sufficient to remove a book from a library, we will begin a to go down the slippery slope that leads to a library that does not contain many books.
Certified, trained librarian/media specialists are critical creating providing the intellectual resources to engage youth and provide them with books and other media that stimulate their intellectual growth. It takes special training in order to fill a library with both books and that are classics, as well as, books that can engage youth because they speak to issues that are relevant to the youth today. The library/media should be a kind of intellectual playground. A certified librarian with the right training is going to have the knowledge to recommend books that will be in line with a youth's interests, and that is important in engaging the young person with a passion for learning. It is also important to be able to have a variety of materials available from different points of view, so that youth can evaluate and compare different ideas, in order to foster an environment in which they can become critical thinkers. Only a trained and certified librarian is going to have the skillset to create such a learning environment.
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?
While parents have a right to direct their own child's education, they do not have the right to impose their beliefs and values on the education of other peoples' children. As someone who defends the US Constitution in court every day, I place a high value on our right of freedom of speech. While books must be age-appropriate, it is important that libraries contain a wide spectrum of ideas and information. Parents should certainly be encouraged to read all of the books that their children read, and if the parents have an issue with a specific book, then they should be allowed to raise that issue and have a review of whether that book is appropriate or not. The parent should also have an opportunity to appeal that decision. While it is important to listen to the concerns of parents about the materials in the library, there has to be a valid basis for the materials to be removed.
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?
Classroom instruction is highly regulated under Florida law. The board of education selects a variety of books that they approve. Citrus then has a committee of citizens who comb the books to determine which ones are most appropriate for our community. This method ensures that our schools are not running afoul of Florida laws and regulations. The selection of books at a library is much more diverse, and provides a broader range of materials.
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.
Parents should be encouraged to read all of the books their children read in school. Personally, I read ever book my child had in school, simply because I wanted to stay abreast of what she was learning and be able to discuss it with her or do projects at home that might add to what she was learning in school. While one parent should not be allowed to dictate what other peoples' children can read, it is important to listen to all parents, and if a book is objectionable to a parent, then a librarian should conduct a review of the book to determine whether there is validity to the parents' concern. If the parent does not agree with the decision of the librarian, then the parent should have a right to raise the issue with the principal, and later the school board for review, and ultimately a court of appeals. If the word of one parent is always sufficient to remove a book from a library, we will begin a to go down the slippery slope that leads to a library that does not contain many books.