7/29/2019 Red Flagging Books Letter KRRP

1/2

March 5, 2013

Board of Education

McPherson USD 418

514 N. Main Street

McPherson, KS 67460

Dear Board of Education Members,

We applaud the recent decision by the districts materials reconsideration committee tokeep The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls in McPherson High School pre-AP English

classrooms. As organizations concerned with the freedom to read, however, we are

concerned about the committees recommendation to red flag challenged books.

We acknowledge the importance of informing parents about the books their children read

and explaining their educational value. However, calling attention to the fact that certain

titles have been challengedby someone, somewherewill not only undermine thosegoals but is also likely to generate more challenges and more controversy.

The fact that a book has been challenged or banned someplace says nothing about the

educational value of the book. It merely signifies that someone objected to something

about it. While complainants are entitled to their opinions and to guide their own

childrens reading, their opinions may have no relevance to other parents or students whomay have very different views and concerns. Moreover, emphasizing that a book has been

challenged elsewhere will likely encourage more challenges and create on-going

controversy in the district.

A red-flag list would necessarily give a biased perspective, casting a negative light onlisted books and stoking alarm over their content, regardless of the validity of the

complaints or the literary worth of the books. It would emphasize the views of the tiny

minority of people who object to a bookoften for random, personal, or ideologicalreasonsrather than the thousands who have read, taught, enjoyed and valued the book.

More importantly, such a list inescapably elevates the concerns of would-be censors over

the professional judgment of your districts own teachers in selecting these books.Literature is more than the sum of its parts, as your Director of Instruction, Angie

McDonald, noted when she said she believes there is a lesson in each and every book,especially in the hands of a gifted teacher.

Instead of giving books a scarlet letter, the school board should encourage teachers to

explain to parents how and why they select certain materials and what educational

purposes these materials serve for their children. Focusing on the educational criteria for

7/29/2019 Red Flagging Books Letter KRRP

2/2

curricular selections would provide a meaningful, sound and defensible way to evaluate

books.

We would be happy to advise you further on other, more constructive ways to inform

parents about the books their children read in school and why they were selected. We arealso attaching the NCAC Guideline to Book Challenges in Schools and the NCTE Guide

to Teaching Challenged Books. You might also refer to the American Library

Associations Policy on Labeling

(http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/qa-labeling). The

recently published Keep Them Reading: An Anti-Censorship Handbook for Educatorswritten by former teachers ReLeah Cosset Lent and Gloria Pipkin is also an outstanding

resource.

Sincerely,

Joan Bertin

Executive Director

National Coalition Against Censorship

Charles Brownstein

Executive Director

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Judith Platt

Director, Free Expression Advocacy

Association of American Publishers

Chris Finan

President

American Booksellers Foundation for Free

Expression

Kent Williamson

Executive Director

National Council of Teachers of English

CC: Angie McDonald, Director of Instruction

Bret McClendon, Principal, McPherson High School

Diane Marshall, Library and Media Specialist, McPherson High School

Gentry Nixon, teacher, McPherson High School

Alice Toews, teacher, McPherson High School

Rhonda Wince, Curriculum Coordinating Counsel

Amy Worm, Curriculum Coordinating Counsel

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/qa-labelinghttp://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/qa-labelinghttp://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/qa-labelinghttp://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/qa-labeling