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Point 3: this seems like “punching down”; when you marginalize plots and characters, you are marginalizing the kids who identify with them.

And that’s where some of us get real, real mad.

(Incidentally, some of these students bring the big standardized test scores-- how districts are rated. This should matter to real estate pros who need good schools to maintain property values)

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lol. even as a liberal, I am all for this. Have you seen books like Icebreaker? These are a shame that we allow kids to read. There are still plenty of great books they can read. Or even better, just go get them from the public library.

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tell us what is wrong with it

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It looks like the main characters are gay. But this is a book about college students written for 10-12th graders, even tho the Lexile score is <900. It won award for excellence in writing. It’s about hockey players. I wonder how often it was actually checked out... https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56978042

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Point 2: if kids are reading, the ver least we can do is provide Easter eggs in the stacks for them.

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Y’all. I asked my middle schooler about banned books, he said they aren’t talking about it (but one teacher DID have to rework a unit because of it).

Which raises a question ... What If we did a scholarship essay contest using the following prompts:

- when books are banned, is it better that the objection is ‘organic’- coming from the students or top down-- from parents?

- compare/contrast times in history where books have been banned. What did society learn from those experiences?

- read/pick two books from from the list. Why should others read these books?

Essays due July 3, 2024.

Use the number of entrants as a mark of engagement.

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