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Defending the right to read Librarians, teachers navigate the chilly waters of censorship  January 14, 2004 Students Angela Maffia, Erica Colodner and Harika Chatapalli with Wappingers English teacher Barbara Searle. When a parent decided one of Searle's book choices was inappropriate for the entire Wappingers school district in the lower Hudson area, Searle became embroiled in a yearlong battle to defend her right to teach - and her students' right to learn. Librarians and teachers find themselves on common ground in dealing with the pressures and politics of censorship. Teachers have the responsibility of selecting reading materials and other resources. For school librarians, the task is even greater. They must choose - and often defend - titles for an entire school or district's library. With America's schools and classrooms more diverse than ever, many educators strive to represent their students' backgrounds in the literature they choose. When two parents objected to the inclusion of the Junie B. Jones series in the Corinth Elementary School library, librarian Fran Aveta, a member of the Corinth Central Teachers Association (Saratoga County) went to bat to keep the series. "There's no way that a person should dictate what can be on a library shelf," said Aveta. The series was challenged on the basis that it didn't teach values of common decency and respect. Aveta's multi-layered efforts to keep the books, including bringing them to the school board, won her the New York Library Association's Social Issues Resources Series Intellectual Freedom Award. "What Fran did was a classic example of what to do when the censor comes knocking at your door. She basically said:'We have 503 students. I am the advocate to defend the rights of the other 502 students to have the books available to them,'" said Ellen Rubin, chairwoman of NYLA's Intellectual Freedom Roundtable, and a member of the Wallkill TA. "This was a school librarian who did exactly what she had to do and didn't back down." "Our members face pressure from many sides over the choice of books, videos and other instructional materials," noted Antonia Cortese, first vice president of New York State United Teachers. "The union serves as a resource and support when members have questions about how to proceed." Bless Me, Ultima Barbara Searle's situation showed how teachers cope with similar pressures. She had been excited to share a new book with her ninth-graders at John Jay High School. A department head had encouraged Wappingers teachers to choose modern novels that dealt with cultures students might not be familiar with, and Searle was eager to introduce more multicultural texts into her classroom. In the fall of 1999, Searle, a 28-year classroom veteran, and social studies teacher Henrietta Mountz, agreed to teach Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima to their ninth-graders. "It's a coming-of-age story of a young boy who grows up in a Chicano neighborhood in New Mexico. He's trying to figure out what path to take and he's influenced by his older brothers, his mother and a grandmotherly-type curandera," said Searle, a member of the Wappingers Congress of Teachers. Searle had used the book in her honors class the year before. "It was recommended by several teachers as something rich in content and language that challenged students' thinking and that met New York state standards,"she said. "It also presents issues that are thought-provoking." The Wappingers district and many others have policies that allow parents to request that a book not be taught to their own child. So when a parent complained about some profanity and negativity, Searle offered the student an alternative title. "Parents who object are fighting for their cause, something they strongly believe in," Searle said. "But this parent wanted to remove the title from the entire district and that's when we went to battle." Following district guidelines, a book review committee was established and included teachers, administrators, a central media librarian and a parent. Committee members read the book, and the parent and Searle were allowed to defend their positions. "I gathered evidence from everywhere to defend this book," Searle said, adding, "Charles Suhor of the National Council of Teachers of English wrote a wonderful two-page letter to my superintendent" explaining its value. Student action Throughout the yearlong struggle, Searle found staunch supporters in her union - and her students. At the first board meeting more than 200 WCT members came in solidarity. "Barbara is one of the most highly respected teachers in this district," said Leslie Leventhal, president of the Wappingers local, calling it a "monumental situation" where not only the union, but also students, defended the teacher. After passages were read out of context at a school board meeting, one enterprising student interviewed the author. Several students then responded to the board, using "logic and explanation for all of the arguments the parent was using to object to the book," Searle said. Members of a Youth Against Racism Group strategized their presentation to the board. "You're only allowed three minutes to speak. Three students placed themselves in line one after the other to read the letter and when the buzzer rang they just passed it to the next person," Searle said. "They had practiced to make sure they could get the letter read in nine minutes." The school board voted 6-2 to keep the book and the parent appealed to State Education Commissioner Richard Mills. Six months later, on graduation day, Mills handed down his decision finding that the school had followed policy in retaining the title. Two years after the book was first challenged, Searle was recognized as the New York State English Teacher of the Year by the National Council of Teachers of English. Her students won NCTE's Support for the Learning and Teaching of English Intellectual Freedom Award. "This whole experience for the kids was a peak moment in authentic learning," Searle said. Advice for teachers Searle, who now teaches 11th-grade Advanced Placement English and Holocaust studies, was successful in her defense of the book because she had help from the NCTE and her union, but also because she had followed district protocol. When introducing a new book, Searle suggests having it read by a committee and reviewed by several people, including the department chairperson. "There needs to be a protocol for approving the book," she said. Searle suggests educators dealing with censorship contact the NCTE online at www.ncte.org. The organization offers anti-censorship information, including rationale for hundreds of challenged books. Also, visit the New York Library Association Web site at www.nyla.org or call (800) 252-6952. More resources are available through People for the American Way, an anti-censorship group. Visit www.pfaw.org on the Web. - Clarisse Butler |
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