Westlake Library Adult Education Dripping Springs Continuing Education
Discussion over which books are available in school libraries took center stage at the Eanes school board meeting on Tuesday, with people both for and against removing certain titles from the shelves addressing the board.
The board did not take action regarding library books during the meeting, since no such item was on the agenda, though the board did vote unanimously to name Deputy Superintendent Jeff Arnett the next Superintendent. Arnett had been namedthe sole finalist for the position last month.
During the public comment, most people spoke in favor of keeping books in the libraries, including several middle and high school students, citing the need for diverse literature that teaches readers about the world and the human experience. The parents who spoke in favor of removing certain books from the library cited what they felt was inappropriate political and sexual material that the district should not make available to students.
More:Jeff Arnett named lone finalist in Westlake superintendent search
The discussion came about a week after a list of over 300 books was circulated in the Westlake community with details about titles available in Eanes libraries. The majority of the books on the list are labeled as including LBGTQ content or characters, and many are also labeled as containing themes about race or racism. Books are also categorized as containing curse words, violence, rape or other explicit material.
The list was posted on social media by Eanes Kids First, a group of parents that has been active for about a year and a half and has advocated against the district's diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, among other things. According to the group's Instagram post, the list of books was compiled by the Travis County chapter of Mom's for Liberty, a national conservative nonprofit that advocates for parental rights.
Challenges to books in public school classrooms and libraries have been on the rise recently in Texas and around the country, with high-profile cases in the Leander school district and the McKinney school district north of Dallas. Staff at the American Library Association Office For Intellectual Freedom said last fall that they were seeing an "unprecedented" number of challenges across the country, often targeting books by and about LGBTQ people and people of color.
More:Need a book recommendation? This is what Westlake readers checked out in 2021.
Carolyn Foote, a retired Eanes librarian of 29 years, spoke against removing books from the library. She said at the board meeting that the goal of a school library is to offer books that encompass students' varied interests, abilities and maturity levels, and that teach critical thinking skills.
"Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, a researcher, wrote that books serve as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors for our students," Foote said. "Mirrors are books that mirror our own experiences and they help us know we're not alone in the world. Windows are books that help us see in someone else's life and have empathy for their experience, and maybe have an experience we'd never have."
Parents who spoke out in favor of removing books from the library said that making certain subject matters available to students violated parent's rights to introduce concepts to their kids in their own way.
"A group of concerned parents found and revealed a list of 333 books related to the promotion of sexual behavior, identity politics, activism and critical race theory in Eanes libraries," parent Brian Talley said.
Talley made an argument that has also been made in other school districts when parents complain about content they find explicit or offensive — that the presence of books with sexual material in libraries, including books with sexual violence, normalizes sex and sexual violence and makes children more vulnerable to sexual abuse.
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Several of the speakers in favor of keeping books on the shelves were students, including Lesleigh Golson, who attends Hill Country Middle School and who spoke about her love of reading and the importance of books in teaching empathy.
"I know parents want to shelter their kids. But if a kid is old enough to experience racism, sexism, homophobia, then kids are old enough to learn about it, because if kids learn about it properly, they won't do it," she said. "You can't just ban books. This is supposed to be the land of the free so please tell me why we are going back in time and banning books?"
Westlake High School Junior Dylan Franzen also spoke against removing books from the library.
"I think we'd be moving backwards if we took away some of the books," he said. "As a kid, I know how to work the internet. I know how to use my iPhone, I know how to use a computer, iPad, and I can pretty much find any information I want to, regardless of a paper copy of a book."
District administrators have previously outlined the process for challenging library books. As part of a discussion in January about hiring a diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum consultant, Chief Learning Officer Susan Fambrough said the book challenge process includes filling out a form and then a committee will review the challenge and come to a decision.
The Picayune has requested information from the district about how many formal challenges it has received regarding books this year and is waiting to hear back.
Source: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/westlake/2022/02/23/debate-over-book-challenges-books-libraries-arrives-westlake/6911255001/
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