Posted on Dec 8, 2021
Conservative parents are trying to ban books in Kansas City schools. Students won’t let them.
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Many of the recent objections are to books that deal with race or LGBTQ issues — driven by parents who are appealing directly to school boards.
Conservative parents are trying to ban books in Kansas City schools. Students won’t let them.
Posted from kcur.org
Racism
LGBTQ+
Schools
Education
Kansas City
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."A victory for students in North Kansas City
The North Kansas City School District eventually put “Fun Home” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” back on library shelves on Nov. 22. In a Nov. 19 email to families, the district said it returned the books to respect the First Amendment rights of both students and the books’ authors.
The district also said it would review its processes for selecting and reconsidering school library books, and encouraged parents who object to certain books to fill out a form requesting that their children not have access to them in the library.
“We recognize that what is objectionable to some may be considered appropriate to others,” the email said. “The following process was generated to both respect students’ rights and the rights of parents to help direct the education of their children.”
North Kansas City High School student Holland Duggan speaks at the Nov. 22 North Kansas City Schools Board of Education meeting.
Despite this, at the following North Kansas City School Board meeting on Nov. 22, Duggan and Nicol were joined by eight other students, who took up the entire 30-minute public comment portion of the meeting to express their opposition against the books’ removal.
Students who identified as LGBTQ, straight, Asian, Native American, white and Latinx told school board members that the Northland Parent Association didn’t support their beliefs, and that they believed issues like racism, gender identity, sexual assault and abuse belong in school classrooms and libraries.
North Kansas City High School student Lily O’Brien told the school board that one controversial book, Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” reflected her experiences as a Native American teen.
“With these books, our youth can learn that it is okay to make mistakes,” O’Brien said. “And isn’t that what it’s all about, learning?”...
..."A victory for students in North Kansas City
The North Kansas City School District eventually put “Fun Home” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” back on library shelves on Nov. 22. In a Nov. 19 email to families, the district said it returned the books to respect the First Amendment rights of both students and the books’ authors.
The district also said it would review its processes for selecting and reconsidering school library books, and encouraged parents who object to certain books to fill out a form requesting that their children not have access to them in the library.
“We recognize that what is objectionable to some may be considered appropriate to others,” the email said. “The following process was generated to both respect students’ rights and the rights of parents to help direct the education of their children.”
North Kansas City High School student Holland Duggan speaks at the Nov. 22 North Kansas City Schools Board of Education meeting.
Despite this, at the following North Kansas City School Board meeting on Nov. 22, Duggan and Nicol were joined by eight other students, who took up the entire 30-minute public comment portion of the meeting to express their opposition against the books’ removal.
Students who identified as LGBTQ, straight, Asian, Native American, white and Latinx told school board members that the Northland Parent Association didn’t support their beliefs, and that they believed issues like racism, gender identity, sexual assault and abuse belong in school classrooms and libraries.
North Kansas City High School student Lily O’Brien told the school board that one controversial book, Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” reflected her experiences as a Native American teen.
“With these books, our youth can learn that it is okay to make mistakes,” O’Brien said. “And isn’t that what it’s all about, learning?”...
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