Although it wasn’t on the Harford County School Board’s agenda Monday night, concerns about what some consider inappropriate books made available to students in the school system dominated the meeting.
The book debate continues to be an issue since the Sept. 18 school meeting where Harford County School Board Vice President Melissa Hahn. called six pounds in county schools – “Gender Queer,” “Flamer,” “Lawn Boy,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” “A for Activist,” and “Let’s Talk: The Teen’s Guide to Sex,” relationships and being”. a human,” inappropriate and expressed concerns about the school curriculum.
Hahn’s remarks were a response to parents and community leaders who shared concerns about the formation of a new book review committee at the September 11 board meeting. School officials pushed the book on the new group’s description, saying it evaluates how the school system selects which books are made available to students and does not designate which books to ban.
During board member comments Monday evening, board member Diane Alvarez said the book ban was a nationwide concern and not just a county issue.
“This is not unique to HCPS, and I think we need to put into perspective that our schools are on a limited budget and we can’t put every published book in the school, so the quality of the books that we put in our schools should be taken into account,” Alvarez said. “I think schools are responsible for education. So the books we put in our schools should have literacy levels associated with the levels of education. he literacy we want for our students. Book banning is not a new problem. It has been going on for a long time.
Alvarez mentioned a few of the books Hahn listed and noted their reading levels and target audience.
“’Lawn Boy’ is written for a third grade level, but it contains sexual content that is not really appropriate for an 8 year old. “‘Gender Queer’ is identified by the online bookseller as comic entertainment with graphic illustrations,” Alvarez said. “None of these books lend themselves to literacy. The questions are: are they intended for schools, or are they more appropriate for parents, guardians and qualified counselors? The other book, “A is for Activist,” (is) another book written for primary school children. Activism should accompany proper civic education. Students must have a vision allowing them to understand social problems and understand the procedural responsibilities of civil action. I’m not against activism, but I believe we should let our kids be kids.”
In her comments, board member Terri Kocher said it is very important legally to have clear policies and follow them. She also stressed the importance of balance and that she shared Hahn and Alvarez’s concerns.
“As Ms. Alvarez said, look for opportunities to contribute, to dialogue and to email us,” Kocher said. “That said, the most effective advocacy is one that does not rely on personal attacks or hatred. Once the personal attacks begin, the real underlying concerns may disappear. Advocacy based on ideology is also not constructive. There was a speaker here in July (Henry Gibbons, chairman of the Harford County Democratic Central Committee) and he…said there was no place for ideology in the education of our students, and I think that’s what Ms. Alvarez was getting at. Additionally, many speakers echoed this, both in terms of age appropriateness and not distracting from our core mission as scholars – note our governmental foundation of separation of Church and ‘State. An extension of this foundation is that ideology should not be promulgated in our public schools.
Kocher continued: “This is consistent with our current policy approved on our website titled “controversial issues,” which requires updating and is in progress, but this policy has been in place since 2002. Ms. Hahn noted during our September 18 meeting. several specific examples of activism. Ms. Alvarez just mentioned that ideologies are part of our programs and content in schools. …Academic performance materials and topics related to ideologies, overtly or subtly, such as activism, critical theory, gender identity, are sensitive topics and controversial issues playing out on the national stage . Our community is divided, but many believe these topics should be discussed among students and families, and our policy is that we should not teach or promulgate any ideology. We must be neutral and balanced.
Currently, among the books Hahn mentioned, “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” “Flamer,” “Lawn Boy” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” can be found on the shelves of several high school libraries across the county. If a parent or guardian has concerns about library reading materials, the school system encourages them to alert the school librarian of books and/or topics they wish to prohibit their children from accessing, according to a school official. public information about the school system.
During public comments, Amber Milnis, a science teacher at Aberdeen High School, emphasized that teachers are simply doing their jobs and not indoctrinating students.
“I feel compelled to speak out and dispel the misinformation that is spreading like wildfire across the county and leading to serious consequences that directly impact the children of this county,” Milnis said. “I have been a teacher for 25 years. I still enjoy every day in class. However, in recent years, hearing and reading the comments from these meetings has started to wear me out. I am frustrated with the members of this board and the hypocrisy that you talk about at every board meeting (when) you say (you) represent all students.
“I have to speak loud and clear for most HCPS teachers in the county. We are not indoctrinating your children. We teach your children the subjects we are supposed to teach. We teach kindness, respect for all and critical thinking, so that they are an asset to the world of the 21st century. I think there are too many assumptions being made and it makes me angry. Have we lost all critical sense? 99.9% of us are just trying to follow the program and make your children feel welcomed, respected, included, safe and loved.
Dawn Sinclair, a 26-year Harford County public school teacher, media specialist and member of the English Language Arts Teachers group, made it clear that teachers do not teach pornography in classrooms and that This accusation constitutes defamation of educators.
“Media scholars do not host pornography in our libraries, and no sexually explicit content is hosted in our classrooms,” Sinclair said. “We are not trying to indoctrinate our students. We also don’t teach them to steal or lie, or support theft or burn flags, during the curriculum, as was charged in our 10th grade classroom curriculum only a week ago. It’s so easy these days to take something out of context, completely exaggerate it, and mislead someone, without knowing the whole picture or reading an entire book. These lies and accusations must stop being published and discussed against our educators.
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“There is a group that says it is for freedom, but proclaims exactly the opposite. A big part of freedom is the power to choose from the freedom of despotism. This group and its supporters are attempting to take away reading rights from young adults, particularly LGBTQ+ students, students of color, and students with special needs. Some books contain adult content, but those are found in high school libraries, and an entire book cannot be defined by a few passages.
Delaine Lewis, of Together We Will, a Harford County-based nonprofit that advocates for racial, social and economic equality, said she thinks at this point there may be no be no equality.
“I have read Dr. Poynton’s letter to the editor (“Harford school board president responds to concerns about ‘extremist’ group“, Oct. 6), and we understand that as a school board it’s important to be willing to listen to everyone,” Lewis said. “The problem with your comments is that you put everyone on a level playing field and maybe that’s where we should all start. There are groups and individuals seeking to have this school board take actions that directly harm the people for whom the board is responsible. Don’t say mental health is your priority and then give credence to people and organizations who claim teachers are grooming kids to be gay or who say being gay is a mental illness; that children are indoctrinated to be homosexual and to be victims of human trafficking; that knowing the entire history of our country, including our racial history, is harmful to children.
“Those who say this are harmful and dangerous to the well-being of the students, faculty and staff here… Please protect those in your care, act professionally and do their job.”