Florida classroom bookshelves left empty as education reform law goes into effect
- Thread starter Shiftless2
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a) Horrendous story.
b) You're preaching to the choir. You attempt the impossible. YOU cannot shame the shameless.
Don't get mad darlin'.
Get even.
No body knows books any better than
Frank Printer, the school librarian.
He'd loan books to the students
acting on their own prudence,
and enlightenment flourished because of him.
author: s #182, inspired by www.unshelved.com #181
alarming note:
The Trump administration is actively trying to control knowledge, information.
They've already gone on a binge to remove from government documents words they disapprove.
Is Governor DeSantis' [R-FL] objective all that different from the Nazi book-burners?
Shiftless2
Well-known member
The only personal anecdote I can add. For background I'm old enough to remember starting the school day with a prayer and daily bible readings in class - and in Grade 7 we had a minister come to class every week (don't know the denomination but probably Anglican).
In any case, one day (Grade 6 IIRC) the teacher was going around the class asking everyone what they were reading at home. Think that was her way of trying to encourage us to read on our own. In any case, when she got to me and I said that I was reading a book on evolution I was told (in so many words) to "Shut up and sit down because she didn't believe that stuff". If she had asked I'd have told her I picked it up by mistake because I thought it was a book about cavemen - but it did accomplish one thing - it made me want to read more - more about this subject that apparently upset her so much.
In any case, one day (Grade 6 IIRC) the teacher was going around the class asking everyone what they were reading at home. Think that was her way of trying to encourage us to read on our own. In any case, when she got to me and I said that I was reading a book on evolution I was told (in so many words) to "Shut up and sit down because she didn't believe that stuff". If she had asked I'd have told her I picked it up by mistake because I thought it was a book about cavemen - but it did accomplish one thing - it made me want to read more - more about this subject that apparently upset her so much.
#183
In a Southern U.S. State?
My public school ed. began in kindergarten, in NY. iirc if not in kindergarten, then in 1st grade each class day began with the Pledge of Allegiance, a U.S. flag displayed above the blackboard (yup, slate blackboard).
complementary schizmo-genesis: manifesting a more extreme form of the behavior in reaction to objection to the behavior which provoked the objection
One day at beginning of class I noticed the teacher had dirt on her forehead. Don't recall the details, but probably called it to her attention.
If roles were reversed I'd have washed it off. She didn't. It was Ash Wednesday.
Happy Sunday, June 1 everybody.
Every month that begins on a Sunday has a Friday the 13th. TriskadeckItoldYouSo
In a Southern U.S. State?
My public school ed. began in kindergarten, in NY. iirc if not in kindergarten, then in 1st grade each class day began with the Pledge of Allegiance, a U.S. flag displayed above the blackboard (yup, slate blackboard).
The term is not in common usage: (so I can't spell-check it)
complementary schizmo-genesis: manifesting a more extreme form of the behavior in reaction to objection to the behavior which provoked the objection
One day at beginning of class I noticed the teacher had dirt on her forehead. Don't recall the details, but probably called it to her attention.
If roles were reversed I'd have washed it off. She didn't. It was Ash Wednesday.
Happy Sunday, June 1 everybody.
Every month that begins on a Sunday has a Friday the 13th. TriskadeckItoldYouSo
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Have to admit that the first time I saw that I was in my late 30's. In Manhattan on business - flew in the night before and walking to the office kept seeing businessmen in suits with black crosses on their foreheads. No idea what it meant but when I got to the office I had to ask one of my colleagues.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
You're such a smoothie !
I think my 2nd grade reaction was: - Hey Miss Curry! You have dirt on your forehead! -
"If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?" Keanu Reeves
"I'd clear my browser history." Stephen Colbert 24/07/22
- free cookies for everybody -
Research Guides: Banned Books: History of Book Banning
Learn what banned books are, the history of banned and challenged books and what you can do to challenge book banning
guides.library.harvard.edu
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Steve!
What 'cha holding behind your back?
The Holy Bible?
The United States Constitution?
Your most recent best-seller?
A ripe diaper with Trump's name & address on it?
But you're omitting a more fundamental observation.
Those deeply, sincerely committed to the values they advocate demonstrate unmistakable confidence in the superiority of their values by competing them in context of contradictory or opposing values.
IN VIVID CONTRAST:
The book banners flail the banner of self-declared failure
because attempting to silence opposing views is a declaration of inadequacy, a self-admission of failure.
What 'cha holding behind your back?
The Holy Bible?
The United States Constitution?
Your most recent best-seller?
A ripe diaper with Trump's name & address on it?
Obviously Steve.
But you're omitting a more fundamental observation.
Those deeply, sincerely committed to the values they advocate demonstrate unmistakable confidence in the superiority of their values by competing them in context of contradictory or opposing values.
IN VIVID CONTRAST:
The book banners flail the banner of self-declared failure
because attempting to silence opposing views is a declaration of inadequacy, a self-admission of failure.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Shiftless2
Well-known member
They can be read - they just can't be in the library.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
This Louisiana Librarian Stood Up Against Book Censorship
Inspiring librarian Amanda Jones turned adversity into advocacy. Read how her stand against book bans sparked nationwide support for the right to read.
For centuries, books have been banned, blocked, and even burned. Whether due to accusations of obscenity, heresy, political subversion, or for some other reason, countless volumes have found themselves censored by various structures of .....
CONTINUED
Shiftless2
Well-known member
It's not just in the US
On May 26, Alberta announced that it was entering the book-banning business. “Multiple books found in some school libraries show extremely graphic and age-inappropriate content,” warned a government press release. To save Alberta’s children from this material, the government promised to act: first, by inviting Albertans to provide feedback on what is “acceptable for school library collections,” and second, by setting province-wide standards that every school board will be required to implement before classes resume in the fall.
We put ‘u’ in neighbour and you in Canada’s conversation. Enjoy a roundup of Canada’s best writing. Sign up for The Walrus newsletter and get trusted Canadian journalism straight in your inbox.
When The Tyee pointed out that three of the four targeted books featured LGBTQ+ narratives, Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides shot back: “The fact that our actions of protecting young students from seeing porn, child molestation, self-harm and other sexual material in school libraries are being labelled as anti-LGBTQ is frankly irresponsible.”
Book banners can always be counted upon to deny that label while simultaneously invoking children’s innocence to justify the very censorship they disavow. “This isn’t about banning books,” Premier Danielle Smith posted on X. “It’s about protecting kids from graphic, sexually explicit content that has no place in a classroom.” (None of the books appear to have been part of any classroom curriculum, nor were students compelled to read them.)
Let’s be clear on our definitions. A book “ban” is “the removal of a title from a library because someone considers it harmful or dangerous,” Emily Drabinski, former president of the American Library Association, told NPR. A book “challenge” is when someone raises an objection to a book. All four titles initially challenged by the government—Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Craig Thompson’s Blankets, and Mike Curato’s Flamer—were quickly removed from school shelves in Calgary and Edmonton. Trustees claim the books have been pulled for review. In the meantime, they are subject to a de facto ban from Alberta’s schools.
The government’s actions raise several questions, such as what constitutes “age-appropriate” and how is “explicit sexual content” being defined .....
CONTINUED
Alberta’s Book Ban Is a Blatant Act of Cultural Vandalism
The push to sanitize school collections erases what literature is for: knowledge, discovery, the freedom to think
by Ira Wells
On May 26, Alberta announced that it was entering the book-banning business. “Multiple books found in some school libraries show extremely graphic and age-inappropriate content,” warned a government press release. To save Alberta’s children from this material, the government promised to act: first, by inviting Albertans to provide feedback on what is “acceptable for school library collections,” and second, by setting province-wide standards that every school board will be required to implement before classes resume in the fall.
We put ‘u’ in neighbour and you in Canada’s conversation. Enjoy a roundup of Canada’s best writing. Sign up for The Walrus newsletter and get trusted Canadian journalism straight in your inbox.
When The Tyee pointed out that three of the four targeted books featured LGBTQ+ narratives, Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides shot back: “The fact that our actions of protecting young students from seeing porn, child molestation, self-harm and other sexual material in school libraries are being labelled as anti-LGBTQ is frankly irresponsible.”
Book banners can always be counted upon to deny that label while simultaneously invoking children’s innocence to justify the very censorship they disavow. “This isn’t about banning books,” Premier Danielle Smith posted on X. “It’s about protecting kids from graphic, sexually explicit content that has no place in a classroom.” (None of the books appear to have been part of any classroom curriculum, nor were students compelled to read them.)
Let’s be clear on our definitions. A book “ban” is “the removal of a title from a library because someone considers it harmful or dangerous,” Emily Drabinski, former president of the American Library Association, told NPR. A book “challenge” is when someone raises an objection to a book. All four titles initially challenged by the government—Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Craig Thompson’s Blankets, and Mike Curato’s Flamer—were quickly removed from school shelves in Calgary and Edmonton. Trustees claim the books have been pulled for review. In the meantime, they are subject to a de facto ban from Alberta’s schools.
The government’s actions raise several questions, such as what constitutes “age-appropriate” and how is “explicit sexual content” being defined .....
CONTINUED
Shiftless2
Well-known member
And this from Texas .....
Amazing (amusing) how he goes out of his way to not answer the question. I'm disappointed that he wasn't asked about the bible. Ezekiel 23:20 in particular.
Amazing (amusing) how he goes out of his way to not answer the question. I'm disappointed that he wasn't asked about the bible. Ezekiel 23:20 in particular.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
And back to Florida
A school district in Florida has banned a book about book banning.
Yes, you read that right. They BANNED A BOOK ABOUT BOOK BANNING.
The school district of Indian River County, Florida, voted in May to remove Alan Gratz’s 2017 novel, presciently titled, “Ban This Book,” from its shelves, overruling its own review committee which had recommended that the district retain the book. “Ban This Book” follows a fictional fourth grader who tries to check out her favorite book from her school library only to find it’s been removed due to a ban. She rebels by starting a secret banned-book library.
Indian River County School Board members said they disliked how Gratz’s book referenced other books that had been removed from schools and accused it of “teaching rebellion of school board authority,” as described in the formal motion to oust it.
“The thing they took objection to was calling out [school officials] in banning books. Now irony is dead.” Gratz told CBS MoneyWatch. He added: “I guess if you call a book ‘Ban This Book,’ you are kind of asking for it.”
The book, which had been in two Indian River County elementary schools and a middle school, was challenged by the head of the area’s local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative group that has become one of the loudest advocates for removing books they deem inappropriate.
Florida Freedom to Read, one of the state’s most prominent book-access advocates, called the removal “truly absurd” in a social media post, adding, “This is what happens when you lose a nonpartisan majority.”
ilovelibraries.org
School District Bans Book About Book Banning
By Phil Morehart
A school district in Florida has banned a book about book banning.
Yes, you read that right. They BANNED A BOOK ABOUT BOOK BANNING.
The school district of Indian River County, Florida, voted in May to remove Alan Gratz’s 2017 novel, presciently titled, “Ban This Book,” from its shelves, overruling its own review committee which had recommended that the district retain the book. “Ban This Book” follows a fictional fourth grader who tries to check out her favorite book from her school library only to find it’s been removed due to a ban. She rebels by starting a secret banned-book library.
Indian River County School Board members said they disliked how Gratz’s book referenced other books that had been removed from schools and accused it of “teaching rebellion of school board authority,” as described in the formal motion to oust it.
“The thing they took objection to was calling out [school officials] in banning books. Now irony is dead.” Gratz told CBS MoneyWatch. He added: “I guess if you call a book ‘Ban This Book,’ you are kind of asking for it.”
The book, which had been in two Indian River County elementary schools and a middle school, was challenged by the head of the area’s local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative group that has become one of the loudest advocates for removing books they deem inappropriate.
Florida Freedom to Read, one of the state’s most prominent book-access advocates, called the removal “truly absurd” in a social media post, adding, “This is what happens when you lose a nonpartisan majority.”
Take action
Alarmed by the escalating attempts to censor books? Here are five steps you can take now to protect the freedom to read.- Follow news and social media in your community and state to keep apprised of organizations working to censor library or school materials.
2. Show up for library workers at school or library board meetings and speak as a library advocate and community stakeholder who supports a parent’s right to restrict reading materials for their own child but not for all
3. Help provide a safety net for library professionals as they defend intellectual freedom in their communities by giving to the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund.
4. Educate friends, neighbors, and family members about censorship and how it harms communities. Share information from Banned Books Week.
5. Join the Unite Against Book Bans movement and visit our Fight Censorship page to learn what you can do to defend the freedom to read in your community.
School District Bans Book About Book Banning
The school district of Indian River County, Florida, voted in May to remove Alan Gratz’s 2017 novel, presciently titled "Ban This Book," from its shelves. "Ban This Book" follows a fictional fourth grader who tries to check out her favorite book from her school library only to find it's been...
ilovelibraries.org
Shiftless2
Well-known member
"The Florida Board of Governors, which had already determined that no existing Introduction to Sociology syllabus complied with the board’s ideological preferences, also determined that no existing intro to sociology textbook was legal to teach in the state of Florida. Instead, the working group somehow decided that it would be a good idea to take an existing open-source textbook, published under a Creative Commons license, and bowdlerize it, reducing it from nearly 700 pages to just over 250…"
The Florida Board of Governors recently developed and distributed a revised Introduction to Sociology syllabus and textbook that eliminate entire units on race, gender, and social inequality and modifies the remaining material to align with state statutes.
Florida’s public university system has approved a significantly shortened Introduction to Sociology textbook that eliminates several core subject areas, a move faculty members say reshapes how the discipline is introduced to thousands of students statewide.
The Florida Board of Governors approved and distributed the revised syllabus and textbook framework for the course, which is now available for adoption at all state public universities. So far, Florida State University and Florida International University are using the new version. UF has declined to adopt it officially, treating it instead as a resource or recommendation, according to professor William Marsiglio.
The state-approved textbook is 267 pages — compared to about 665 pages in the original Openstax Introduction to Sociology 3e edition used by UF. Introduction to Sociology at UF enrolled about 1,450 students during the 2025-26 academic year, according to public records acquired by The Alligator.
https://e-11190.adzerk.net/r?e=eyJ2...vbS9lbi1VUy8ifQ&s=hA_G-u0Hhzyli5y1P5Y1gQ1uVKY
Faculty say the new version removes entire units on media and technology, global inequality, race and ethnicity, social stratification, gender, sex and sexuality. According to Inside Higher Ed, it also eliminates a section addressing the government-led genocide of Native Americans.
Marsiglio, a UF sociology professor who has taught the introductory course for four decades, said the revised textbook is an “affront on academic freedom.”
MORE>
Florida’s new state-approved sociology textbook omits units on race, gender, sexuality
FSU and FIU adopted the shortened version, while UF declined to implement it
By Sara DhorasooThe Florida Board of Governors recently developed and distributed a revised Introduction to Sociology syllabus and textbook that eliminate entire units on race, gender, and social inequality and modifies the remaining material to align with state statutes.
Florida’s public university system has approved a significantly shortened Introduction to Sociology textbook that eliminates several core subject areas, a move faculty members say reshapes how the discipline is introduced to thousands of students statewide.
The Florida Board of Governors approved and distributed the revised syllabus and textbook framework for the course, which is now available for adoption at all state public universities. So far, Florida State University and Florida International University are using the new version. UF has declined to adopt it officially, treating it instead as a resource or recommendation, according to professor William Marsiglio.
The state-approved textbook is 267 pages — compared to about 665 pages in the original Openstax Introduction to Sociology 3e edition used by UF. Introduction to Sociology at UF enrolled about 1,450 students during the 2025-26 academic year, according to public records acquired by The Alligator.
https://e-11190.adzerk.net/r?e=eyJ2...vbS9lbi1VUy8ifQ&s=hA_G-u0Hhzyli5y1P5Y1gQ1uVKY
Faculty say the new version removes entire units on media and technology, global inequality, race and ethnicity, social stratification, gender, sex and sexuality. According to Inside Higher Ed, it also eliminates a section addressing the government-led genocide of Native Americans.
Marsiglio, a UF sociology professor who has taught the introductory course for four decades, said the revised textbook is an “affront on academic freedom.”
MORE>
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Meanwhile, in Texas
"Martin Peterson, a philosophy professor at Texas A&M University, was thunderstruck when he was told that he needed to excise some teachings of Plato from his syllabus. It was one way, his department head wrote in an email, that Dr. Peterson’s philosophy class could comply with new policies limiting discussion of race and gender"
www.insidehighered.com
"Martin Peterson, a philosophy professor at Texas A&M University, was thunderstruck when he was told that he needed to excise some teachings of Plato from his syllabus. It was one way, his department head wrote in an email, that Dr. Peterson’s philosophy class could comply with new policies limiting discussion of race and gender"
Plato Censored as Texas A&M Carries Out Course Review
A&M officials have also instructed English faculty not to teach books in core classes that have major plotlines concerning gay, lesbian or transgender identities.