Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week

I am sure that many of you have read such classics as “The Catcher in the Rye”, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”,” The Giver” or any of the Harry Potter books. What you may not be aware of is that these books and long list of others have been banned or are being challenged in school and public libraries across the country.  Each the year the American Library Association (ALA) in conjunction with several other organizations, promotes Banned Book Week in an effort to create awareness about an ongoing threat to our free speech and free press rights afforded by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Banned Books Week is always the last week in September. Many school and public libraries have displays and programs for Banned Books Week. A the university where I  used to teach, professors who volunteer to read excerpts from  books that  have , at one time or another, appeared on the  list of banned or challenged books. There is a difference between the two.

A book is considered challenged when a group of parents, or an interest or lobby group, has made a formal request that a book be removed from the shelves of the library. It is then up to the library board to make a decision. A few years ago the book, “Heather has Two Mommies,” drew a great deal of controversy as it dealt with the topic of a lesbian couple raising children.

A banned book is one that has actually been removed from the shelves of a public or school library.

I  should  point out that a number of my university students used to tell me that when they were in high school  as soon as a book was removed from the school library, they would  run  out  an obtain a copy  just to see  what all of the fuss was about.

For classroom teachers and librarians look for suggestions and ideas for a Banned Books Week program, I would suggest taking a look ate to web sites below. The American Library Association is the lead organization in the Banned Books Week initiative. At their site you will find posters, activities as well as the actual lists of recent banned and challenged books.

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

It's Time to Meet the Parents

Back to School Night (Already?)

 You more than likely have heard the trite phrase “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Nowhere is this truism more important that at your school’s Back to School, Parent Open House or Curriculum Night. It doesn’t seem fair that the school year may have only started a week or two ago. You hardly know the names of your students or their capabilities, and now you are being asked to put yourself on display for parents. Having cooperative parents on your side will go a long way for both you and your students to have a successful and productive school year.

Here are a few tips that will hopeful help to you have a great Back to School Night experience.

·          Be sure to dress appropriately

·         Be enthusiastic

·         Have your students  make name tags for their parents

·         Have parents introduce themselves

·         Prepare a PowerPoint with an outline of your goals for the year

·         Have copies  of the texts you are using available for parents to  see

·          Provide parents with your school email so that you can communicate  with them throughout the year

·         Review classroom procedures, homework and discipline policies

·         Recruit parents for room mothers and field trip chaperones

·         Inform parents of your conference schedule and make yourself available

·         Share the names and locations of other school staff members – like the nurse, guidance counselor, reading specialist, etc.

·         Provide parents with a calendar of important upcoming school events ( fund raisers, holiday celebrations, term paper due dates, etc)

·         Don’t forget to smile J

I would like to recommend a book that you might find useful.  “Parents on Your Side: A Teacher’s Guide to Creating Positive Relationships with Parents” by Lee Canter is a helpful resources with strategies and suggestions for successfully obtaining the parental support that you will need to have a great school year. The book as well an accompanying workbook is available at Amazon.com and other booksellers.

As always your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom

Teaching with Primary Sources.

Do you want to make your classroom more exciting? More relevant? Would you like to improve your students’ higher order thinking skills?  If you answered yes to any or all of the questions then you may wish to turn to primary sources of documents and artifacts in your classroom. It is not as difficult as you may think. The Library of Congress has many primary sources on its website that are readily available for classroom use. For example, if you will go to hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mtj.mtbib000156 you will find a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson (June 1776). You can also access important US Supreme Court Cases, The Bill of Rights, and the US Constitution. (Check out www.loc.gov)

Another excellent resource for obtaining primary documents for class use is the National History Education Clearinghouse. You can access this site at http://www.teachinghistory.org/.

Here are several questions to ask your students when working with original documents.

·         Who created the document?

·         Why was the document created?

·         What was going on at the time the document’s creation?

·         What makes this document worthy of your investigation?

This summer and extending into the fall, the Library of Congress is sponsoring a traveling exhibit entitled “Gateway to Knowledge”. This huge mobile museum has an outstanding array of copies of artifacts and important photos taken from the Library’s vast archives. Below is a list of current and upcoming stops on the traveling exhibit tour. The tour will end on September 24- 25 in our nation’s capital at the National Book Festival.

Current Schedule

Sept. 2-3	Monument Square, Portland, Maine
Sept. 6-7	Newport Public Library, Newport, R.I.
Sept. 9-10	East Hartford Public Library, East Hartford, Conn.
Sept. 13-14	Montgomery Township Lower Middle School., Montgomery, N.J.
Sept. 16-17	Urbana Regional Library, Urbana, Md.
Sept. 20-21	Culpeper County Library, Culpeper, Va.
Sept. 24-25	National Book Festival, Washington, D.C As always  your comments and suggestions are welcome

Teaching About September 11,2001

How do we make  this day important?

It is hard to believe that a decade has past since what may be considered the darkest day in the history of our country. This year the commemoration for the September 11^th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon will include memorial services, television programs, and many speeches.

A recent article in USA Today noted that September 11^th “was a memory for teachers but for students, its history.” Many elementarily students had not yet been born in 2001 and even high school seniors were only eight years old on the day of the attacks. Students need to know what happened and why. The question is – how to teach it. For most teachers and students, September 11 is at the beginning of the school and a quite a heavy and somber topic to address right at the beginning of school.  Since history is often best told in stories, students should be given the opportunity to read, see and hear about survivors, first responders, and families of victims.

There has been a considerable number of books recently published that deal with all of the above aspects of 9/11. CBS News has released a book and DVD entitled “What we Saw; The Events of September 11, 2001 In Words, Pictures, and Video.”  (Simon and Schuster ISBN 9781454626667)Another noteworthy book is “Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor.” (Howard Pub. ISBN 9481451635201).  Also take a look at “After the Fall: New Yorkers Remember September 2001 and the Years that Followed (New Press. ISBN 9781595586476) Check with your school and well as your local public library to see what is available and what might age appropriate for your students.

Finally there are dozens of web sites with teacher’s materials, photo and lesson plans suggestions for classroom teachers.  As educators we have an obligation to keep September 11 in the public conscience. Students should learn more about the events as they mature and can understand more.

You can find 9/11 material at the web addresses below.

www.tributewtc.org/program/toolkit.html

www.library.columbia.edu/indiv/ccoh/new_propjects/9-11.html

www.onlinelearningexchange.com/content/products/remembering911.html

http://www.learnabout9-11.org/

http://www.youngheroesofhistory.com/sept11links.htm

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/teaching-911-ideas-and-projects-from-teachers/

Photo Credit US DOD  010914-N-1350W-002