Paula Bronson- Osceola District 5
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 practically grew up in a library. I would spend all my time at the Osceola County library or my school's library, browsing the books and finding all kinds of topics that interested me. I love all books and am an avid collector. I share this passion for literacy with my students. I have 500 books in my classroom library. I read at least 2 to 3 random books daily to the kindergarteners in my class. They don't have to be on any particular topic; they could be about deep sea fish, how to be great friends, and the shapes around us. Children need to have real books available to them. Learning about the front cover, how to read a book, text features, and fiction and nonfiction are teachable moments. Having the fine motor skills to turn the pages and correctly hold a book is a lost art. As I read aloud, I think out loud and use context clues to determine the meaning. The success of our students is central to the library and media center. It is important to have trained library staff available to encourage a love of literacy and to know the students and topics that might interest them. Students need this encouragement to know that someone knows them and subjects that fascinate them.
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?
Osceola County School District is in line with balancing parental rights to direct their student's education. Currently, parents can choose to limit their child's classroom and school library access. Access levels are unlimited, limited, or no library access. This is an opt-out process; all students have full library access unless parents indicate otherwise. My classroom library has been scanned into Beanstack. This program allows the school district and parents to see what is in my classroom library. I had to scan each book, and my school librarian had to approve the list. While time-consuming, having books in the classroom is necessary. I also invite parents and guardians to look through my books.
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?
Osceola County School District is in line with balancing parental rights to direct their student's education. Currently, parents can choose to limit their child's classroom and school library access. Access levels are unlimited, limited, or no library access. This is an opt-out process; all students have full library access unless parents indicate otherwise. On our Focus, which is student information, we can see visually what the parent has chosen for the library access of each student in your classroom. Before I do anything, I look at the code for each student, and I meet with each parent and discuss how they feel about their decision for library access. I then select books according to the information I have collected. I am very careful to be accommodating and ensure that parents know that they have rights and that I or the School district have no hidden agendas. I have had only positive praise for being open and honest about our policies. I want only success and to foster and love of literacy.
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.
First, I feel that every school board member should read the material from cover to cover. Decisions are being made by people who have not even read the material in question. So much can be taken out of context, and it is not always clear how the writer of the book meant for it to be interpreted. The board needs to discuss how the book fell into the deemed unsuitable list. I also feel that the appropriateness of the material for different ages and grade levels needs to be variable. This is not a one-size-fits-all issue. I feel that the public has a right to have their opinions on the material heard, whether supporting or opposing. I lean toward the decision that if books are deemed questionable and are put on the list, they can only be checked out with parental consent. I am comforted that the material is still available in the public realm, but it becomes a slippery slope when people think they have the power to start to take away other people's rights. I want to see that everyone is afforded the same decision-making about text appropriate for their child.
I practically grew up in a library. I would spend all my time at the Osceola County library or my school's library, browsing the books and finding all kinds of topics that interested me. I love all books and am an avid collector. I share this passion for literacy with my students. I have 500 books in my classroom library. I read at least 2 to 3 random books daily to the kindergarteners in my class. They don't have to be on any particular topic; they could be about deep sea fish, how to be great friends, and the shapes around us. Children need to have real books available to them. Learning about the front cover, how to read a book, text features, and fiction and nonfiction are teachable moments. Having the fine motor skills to turn the pages and correctly hold a book is a lost art. As I read aloud, I think out loud and use context clues to determine the meaning. The success of our students is central to the library and media center. It is important to have trained library staff available to encourage a love of literacy and to know the students and topics that might interest them. Students need this encouragement to know that someone knows them and subjects that fascinate them.
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?
Osceola County School District is in line with balancing parental rights to direct their student's education. Currently, parents can choose to limit their child's classroom and school library access. Access levels are unlimited, limited, or no library access. This is an opt-out process; all students have full library access unless parents indicate otherwise. My classroom library has been scanned into Beanstack. This program allows the school district and parents to see what is in my classroom library. I had to scan each book, and my school librarian had to approve the list. While time-consuming, having books in the classroom is necessary. I also invite parents and guardians to look through my books.
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?
Osceola County School District is in line with balancing parental rights to direct their student's education. Currently, parents can choose to limit their child's classroom and school library access. Access levels are unlimited, limited, or no library access. This is an opt-out process; all students have full library access unless parents indicate otherwise. On our Focus, which is student information, we can see visually what the parent has chosen for the library access of each student in your classroom. Before I do anything, I look at the code for each student, and I meet with each parent and discuss how they feel about their decision for library access. I then select books according to the information I have collected. I am very careful to be accommodating and ensure that parents know that they have rights and that I or the School district have no hidden agendas. I have had only positive praise for being open and honest about our policies. I want only success and to foster and love of literacy.
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.
First, I feel that every school board member should read the material from cover to cover. Decisions are being made by people who have not even read the material in question. So much can be taken out of context, and it is not always clear how the writer of the book meant for it to be interpreted. The board needs to discuss how the book fell into the deemed unsuitable list. I also feel that the appropriateness of the material for different ages and grade levels needs to be variable. This is not a one-size-fits-all issue. I feel that the public has a right to have their opinions on the material heard, whether supporting or opposing. I lean toward the decision that if books are deemed questionable and are put on the list, they can only be checked out with parental consent. I am comforted that the material is still available in the public realm, but it becomes a slippery slope when people think they have the power to start to take away other people's rights. I want to see that everyone is afforded the same decision-making about text appropriate for their child.