Thursday, September 2, 2010

My humble Opinion about Humble

Recently the annual book festival held in Humble, Texas, a posh Houston suburb, had to be canceled because the Superintendent of Schools "disinvited" bestselling author Ellen Hopkins after a small number of parents and a librarian warned him of questionable content in her books.  The majority of authors who had also been invited to the festival, "disinvited" themselves and the festival was no more.  I was not a part of any of that.  To be disinvited, you have to first be invited.  But I did spend some time on a blog discussing with other YA authors, our thoughts about the incident.  Many were authors who had gone through what Ellen went through or who had found themselves in a situation where one of their number was censored.  When asked, I simply said that if another author gets bleeped from a conference because of language or content of his or her stories, I pull out.  Policy.  Far better writers than I came into the discussion on both sides.  Some said boycott, others said, go and talk about it; we don't want to cheat the kids out of the experience of meeting and talking with authors they admire.  As my cats often say to me, that gave me paws...er, pause.  I don't like cheating kids out of anything.

But the authors aren't cheating the kids.  The Superintendent is cheating the kids.  Blaming the authors is like blaming the fearful young wife for bashing her face into her abusive husband's fist.  This might well be a time for those kids to have an experience that is a whole lot more fulfilling than meeting their favorite wordsmith.  This could be a time for them to stand up and feel empowered; to write letters to the editor, and picket, and demand answers to why a few ideologues, who are not educators, by the way, get to decide for everyone that they shouldn't see and hear Ellen Hopkins talk about writing books to which many of them connect.  And it's time for the people who put that festival together (I've been there, they are an exemplary group of people; it takes major time and energy to organize a festival that is so well run) to stand up and challenge those few loud parents and that superintendent to a verbal dual.  "How many contemporary books have you read?  How many kids have you stood before, trying every creative trick you know to get them involved?  How many stories have you looked for that will tickle those students' imaginations and get them reading and writing and discussing.  How dare you put your philosophy ahead of our humanity.  And our professionalism.


The conservative (read Christian) right is stealing the careers of our most creative educators.  That's how kids are getting cheated; by having their best mentors crippled.  The best teachers and librarians don't go into their profession to be conduits of propaganda.  They go into education to help students discover.  It is, in my opinion, incumbent on administrators to create a safe haven for that discovery.

I guess I think that the folks who believe in the First Amendment, who understand why it's there and why it's the first one, need to be as aggressive as those who believe that amendment was written only for their free expression.

22 comments:

  1. There are a lot of reasons you're my boss, my hero and my friend. This kind of mental clarity is one of the big ones.

    Wonder why Humble didn't disinvite you a few years ago? Hmmm....

    Kelly

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  2. Great debut post! (And another blog goes into the feeder) Looking forward to following.

    Brenda

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  3. Chris,
    I’ll be forwarding your blog to the superintendent at my previous school district in Idaho. He is trying to protect the middle/high school library collection. A small group of women want inappropriate books removed after a new teacher borrowed Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie for a read aloud.
    See you in Idaho Oct.6th!
    Glynda P.

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  4. As a teen reader, I don't think it is solely Christians who censor things; yes, they may be the majority but it's largely because they are uncomfortable with the subject material (or, you know, ignorant) and also because Christians make up most of the population here. I think to blame all censorship on Christians is kind of offensive. It's the same way with Muslims or Buddhists or Jewish folks. Some people are just too picky. But that's just my opinion.
    And I think there's censorship from both the left and the right; if you don't agree with them, you need to shut up. It's the way most people are about things they get passionate about. We don't like to hear dissenting opinions. But, again, that could just be me.

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  5. Amen. (Or whatever it is we Texians are supposed to say to the guy preachin' to the choir.)

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  6. Thank you for your opinion ecs74! I agree that the statement that Christians are the only censors is a huge generalization. School Library Journal recently had a very interesting article about Common Sense Media (which is backed and supported by the left) as a boost to censorship. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/885494-312/fear_factor_kids_lit_style.html.csp

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  7. Chris, it's a travesty that Ellen Hopkins was disinvited, and you know that not all Texans have the censoring mentality.
    Rosemary Chance at SHSU

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  8. Kelly,
    I was a teacher-librarian in Melba, Idaho but now work in Boise. I will be in Post Falls for the Idaho Library Assn. conference. During our pre-conference with the WA Moms, we will be giving away Chris' books before he speaks at lunch. http://libraries.idaho.gov/landing/school-libraries.
    Will you be in Post Falls on Oct. 6th?
    Glynda

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  9. Looks like I need to spend a little time clarifying. I didn't say Christians ban books. Most of the Christians I know wouldn't THINK of banning books. I said the Christian RIGHT bans books - "conservative (read Christian) RIGHT," was my quote. I'm surprised more real Christians don't jump all over them for making them look narrow-minded and mean. I grew up in a Christian church, lit candles at St. Mark's Episcopal Church until I was out of high school. The pastor who mentored me there is still a friend. The Jesus he taught me about was not afraid of controversy. The Jesus he taught me about was not afraid that a few bad words or the inclusion of gay characters or the discussion of tough issues would poison readers against his message of decency. The Jesus he taught me about understood diversity and he understood the complexities of being human. The Jesus he taught me about did not condemn those who had never heard of him.

    The Jesus he taught me about did not believe in mind control. He believed in freedom.

    My father was a WWII B-17 bomber pilot who, by the time he was the same age I was when I graduated from college, had flown 35 missions over Germany. He was a patriot of the first order; a CONSERVATIVE patriot. If you were running for any office from dogcatcher to President of the United States, my dad was your campaign manager in Valley County, Idaho. He wasn't a Christian - he was famously agnostic. But he believed Jesus was likely a real person with a helluva message and had no problem at all sending us to Sunday school and church camp and church, so though I don't tout myself as a Christian now, my hard wiring comes from the acceptance, tolerance and embrace of that church.

    My conservative father would have run a nail through his eye before he'd have let a book get banned on his watch, and he was a member of the school board from the beginning of my older brother's first grade year until the finish of my younger sister's twelfth grade year. He believed in discovery, and in challenging tough issues with common sense. Were there books he thought were crap? Of course there were. There are plenty of books I think are crap. Being against censorship doesn't mean you think everything in print is worthwhile. But I believe what my conservative, patriotic father believed: that any issue is better talked about than not talked about.

    My father also let me know, at a far younger age than I could understand, the importance of the separation of church and state. The argument about whether the forefathers were Christians is a mute point. What they knew was, if we made no laws favoring any given religion, all religions would be treated equally and therefore, IN THAT REGARD, all humans would be treated equally.

    So, we who believe in the First Amendment ain't goin' after Christians. We're going after close-mindedness and inflexibility. We're going after fear. I thought this book banning nonsense was taken care of back in the sixties.

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  10. That's the Jesus I was introduced to when I went to church in Texas, in the 1960s, too. I don't even recognize the Jesus I see reflected in Tea Party or book challenge faces. The Jesus I learned about would jump with two feet into the dirtiest world to ease someone's suffering, and that's what I see "gritty" literature doing so effectively.

    And Glynda, I won't be in Post Falls at ILA on October 6 when Chris speaks, but I'll be there on October 8 for a nonfiction presentation of my own. Hope to see you.

    Kelly

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  11. I appreciate your clarification and completely agree with your argument! I am a Christian, a librarian, a believer in the First Amendment, and against censorship.

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  12. What I keep wondering is this: if they wanted to exclude certain authors or certain types of authors, why the heck didn't they decide that BEFORE they began inviting? Really, if they had decided against Hopkins for whatever reason and just never invited her in the first place, this whole thing would've been a non-issue.

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  13. The organizers of the event didn't have a clue that this librarian and this superintendent would dare step in and make that call. None of them wanted Ellen excluded. That's the vulgarity of it all. It wasn't just kids who were cheated. The organizers ate it. As I said above, I attended this festival at one point, and it is first class. THAT'S the reason I can't understand why there wasn't a community backlash.

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  14. It is really a shame. We have a rather successful Book Festival each year here in Montgomery County, just West and North of Humble. Our area is MUCH more conservative than that of Humble. We spend most of our time, meeting as a committee (largely made up of school and YA librarians from the community) deciding which authors to approach and invite to our festivals. But to DISINVITE!!! OH MY!!! Ridiculous!

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  15. As a student, I would feel completely cheated if a festival at my town was cancelled due to censorship. I completely agree with Chris's saying that any topic is better talked about than not talked about. Also, disinviting someone is ridiculously rude, and completely unfair to the people who organized the event. All because of the opinions of a few people? I would say this is abuse of power, and failure of democracy.

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  16. Because it is so easy for a small minority to influence government officials (read, people who pander for votes), the Constitution specifically guards a certain set of rights, first among them freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Those are the laws of the land, and they are as inflexible and uncompromising as any other part of the Constitution. No matter what beliefs you hold and for whatever reason you hold them, you have no right to silence another person. Even if you think you're 'protecting' someone. ESPECIALLY if you think you're doing it to 'protect' someone.

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  17. We had Ellen Hopkins speak to our students last spring and you just came last week. Our students have benefitted from the frankness of both of your writings. I don't believe books should be censored from students. I do believe some books are more age appropriate than others, but that should not prevent authors from sharing their stories with students. It's reality and if we educate students about them and talk to them, hopefully they will make wise choices and avoid many of the same mistakes. Thank you for coming to South and sharing with us!

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  18. I completely agree with what is being stated in this article. Students shouldn't be held back from discovering or learning new things just because some people feel that it should be censored. I can really hear your voice and your opinion being expressed and it really helps deliver the message. No one should be silenced, so I love how you are not letting yourself be silenced and fighting for those who have been silenced.

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  19. It only makes sense to expose students to the world and all the truths within it, rather than attempt to hide it from their view. Authors strive to teach and cause changes through their books. Willing students yearn to learn and gain a new perspective on the world. The two are meant to coincide. Therefore, it only makes sense that these books are allowed to be read by the younger population.
    Your voice also really made this blog jump out at me. You emphasize key words and bring out a lot of information regarding your connection with the debate. The overall post widened my ideas on the subject matter of censorship, especially regarding students.

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  20. I strongly agree with this article and believe that students should be exposed to all the truths in the world. I can really hear your voice and understand your opinions. This post is very expressive.

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  21. I have never thought about the author's point of view when they would be "disinvited" to festivals because of censorship problems. I have always simply accepted the fact that some books are not appropriate for younger students because we were "told so" by our supervisors. However, this post definitely changed my view on this matter. I totally agree on how authors should never face obstacles when visiting schools to talk to the students, since authors are always willing to share their writings with students. Your voice was very powerful and I was very enthralled by your writing.

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