Learning the hard way that censorship can create hatred between children and an over protective parent. That’ll end in a fight that’ll never slow or stop. Developing minds need reality to mature.
Growing up in a suburb of Los Angeles one would expect that the banning of the books was common by the public middle schools and, or the local cities, but at Park View Middle School in 2000 a PTA member was very PISSED about a book her child had checked out at the school library. This PTA member decided to challenge the school and wanted the school to fire the librarian whom recommended the book, to an “impressionable young mind.”
It all started with four young girls in the same English class having to the go to the school library and read one book and write a book review. The four girls were twins Jessie and Josie, Crystal and me. We all headed to the library to get the book after school on Friday to do the book review over the weekend. Jessie had gotten a book from the Baby Sitter Club, Josie got Harry Potter that was recommend by the librarian in a pile of new books, Crystal got Tuck Everlasting, and I got where the Red Fern Grows. Knowing that we still had two weeks to do our book reviews we took our time.
Within a few days Jessie and Josie had traded books. Josie got bored with the Harry Potter, after only reading a few pages, so the twins traded. The night before the report was due the girl’s mother was helping them with their homework and was stunned to see that Jessie’s book review was on magic. She took both of the books from the girls and sent them to bed.
The next morning when the book reviews where due, the twin girls gave the teacher a note written by their mother. It read:
Miss. White
I am very sorry for my girls not turning the book report they had worked so hard on for the last two weeks. But I regret to inform you that the library at the school you work for has told my impressionable young minded children to read a book on magic. The matter will be taken to the next PTA meeting.
From, Mrs. Johnson
Within a week the news of the book being challenged was all around school. Mrs. Johnson had every PTA parent reading all the children’s homework, school books, and lesson plans. The meeting was to be held at the end of the month, but the buzz was scaring teachers and the librarian was to take a leave.
I don’t truly know what happened at the meeting for the PTA meeting, due to the fact that my parents were not part of the PTA. But I remember the day after all was calm with the teachers, school office administration and the librarian. Everyone acted like nothing happened, that is everyone but the twins.
The twins didn’t show up to school until the end of the week on Friday and that was at the end of the school day. The twins stopped to talk to me about what happened. The school ruled that the book was not appropriate for middle school children but today it’s allowed. The twin’s mother was happy that the book had been banned but the mother hated the school and made the twins change schools. In the end the book wasn’t permanently banned and the twins grew to be resentful towards their mother. They said that their mother embarrassed them and made them leave their friends behind. Both the twins loved the book and didn’t see it as bad. The censorship from a mother wanting nothing but the best for her twins, ended badly.
I like your blog because it addresses a problem that seems to resonating throughout censorship, the involvement of the outside force. Mrs. Johnson probably did not read the book or care what the story was about. She just saw it had magic in it, like at least 70% of any form of media for kids, and was upset. Parents that over react like this are always the shame of their children. They create a reason for their children to feel even more self-conscious at a part of their life where ever one feels a little awkward. The problem of these parent is their “better than” attitude, the sentiment of, “that may be ok for your kids, but not for mine.” There is a fine line between a leader and a sociopath. They both have qualities that separate them from the masses, but the leader is able to be involved in there surroundings. When you create issues like Mrs. Jackson because you want your kids to be different from everyone else that’s exactly what you get even though it may not manifest in the way you expect. It must really make her angry that Harry Potter is every where you go now.
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