Here’s another open question for educators of any sort, but especially those who specialize in English language arts and/or library science, as well as administrators (if I have any readers who are admins):
I set up my classroom library a few weeks ago – which, unfortunately, looks so meager compared to the shelf I have for books – with a number of my own personal books (and a few that were left in the classroom from previous teachers), except for one book of mine: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. When I got this book used from the university bookstore for a class I took on adolescent lit, it already had a section of about 30 pages – and the first 30 pages or so, to boot – that had come unglued from the binding and fell out. I still have the section with the rest of the bound book, but it obviously needs repair. (Fortunately, I have an old friend who just got her masters in library science, and I know that she can help with rebinding.)
I was also talking with my wife about the possibility of having my seniors read a novel, except that I don’t have any class sets of a “world lit” book (other than a couple of canonical British novels, but I would like a little more diversity than that). I mentioned that I’ve heard great things about Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (as well as A Thousand Splendid Suns) but that there was some controversy about the fact that it depicts a boy being raped. A discussion then ensued about being careful about content, and I remarked that Perks has a rape scene in it as well and covers some mature topics.
So the question I’m asking is this: How far should a teacher, especially a new teacher without tenure, go to limit the availability of books in their own classroom library? (I’m not even raising the question of required material at this point, just what students could have access to in the classroom either for personal reading or for reading assignments where students can choose what they read.) I’m of the mind that all material should be age-appropriate – and for that reason, I decided to leave David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day and Chuck Palahnuik’s Stranger Than Fiction at home for material that is too mature for high schoolers – but I think that students should have some freedom to read about things they’re interested in. I even think that parents should probably have the right to limit their children’s access to certain things if they have some sort of moral/religious conviction against it. (Note that I don’t find that prohibiting students from doing something, especially reading some certain type of literature, is productive at all – in fact, it will probably just make them want to read it more.)
I know of at least a handful of books in my classroom library that would fit this: Perks, John Green’s Looking for Alaska and possibly even his An Abundance of Katherines (there is a very small amount of sexual conduct involved, although it’s never graphic), and Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land (which has several gay characters and a moment of confused transgenderism). The thing is, though, that I don’t want to get rid of any of these books – none of them are inappropriate for high school students (and in fact, all are intended for high school students and feature high school age characters). They are all great books (although I confess I’m not a huge fan of Perks – I find it tedious at points) that I think students would enjoy and be interested by. And even some of the classics like The Catcher in the Rye end up being challenged – where do you draw the line? Sexual references? (As if high schoolers don’t get that.) Drugs? Alcohol? (Yeah, high schoolers never know anyone who does drugs or abuses alcohol.) GLBT issues? (Or do we want to emulate Iran and simply not acknowledge our GLBT students’ existence?)
I’m pretty conflicted. Please, my faithful readers, leave me comments and let me know your thoughts.
Docere Est Discere 
July 5, 2009 at 4:51 pm
As a fellow English teacher, I feel your pain. It is incredibly hard to stock one’s classroom library without having some kind of questionable material in it.
I’ve discovered a way, however, to allow questionable books to reside on my shelves. It takes time, but is well worth it and still gives the students free choice.
For each book I’ve placed out, I typed up a brief plot summary (as to not give anything away – like a “book talk”). After that, I’ve listed exactly what “questionable material” may be in the book – things that parents don’t want to be surprised with. I ask students to find a book they are particularly interested in, and then send them home with the summary and the warnings. It works as a note to each parent, and each sheet encourages parents to read the book or contact me if there are further concerns. Each sheet must be signed before you will check out your copy of the book to them (if they find it in the library, it is no longer your responsibility). This keeps your butt covered, parents happy, and gives students more freedom in your classroom to read what they’re truly interested in.
A few other books I might recommend for your shelves: “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, “The Book Thief” by Marcus Zusak, “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card, “Cat’s Cradle” by Vonnegut, “Firestarter” by Stephen King, “You Don’t Know Me” by David Klass, “Sabriel” “Lirael” and “Abhorsen” – A trilogy by Garth Nix, and “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” by Stephen King. These are some of the most popular books in my classroom.
July 5, 2009 at 9:17 pm
That’s a great strategy – I like how it keeps parents in the loop without limiting student choice too much. Do you require it with all of the books in your classroom library? I would think that it might get a bit tedious to do that for books that have no questionable content rather than just for the books that need the sort of disclaimer – say, like a rating system with a certain threshold (Mature?) that requires a parental notification.
Thanks for the recommendations as well: I’ve read “Ender’s Game” (and I have two of the books in the parallel Shadow series in my classroom library – I need to get the other two) and the two Stephen King books you mentioned (he’s represented in my library, too), so I’ll see if I can get a hold of that.
July 6, 2009 at 11:16 pm
If there are any books I’m concerned about, I go and see if they’re available in the school library. (This would be before purchasing a copy for my class library. *g*) If it’s not listed in the catalog, I talk to the librarian about it. Students can check books out of the school library without parents looking over their shoulder, so I don’t see any problem with having those books in my classroom library as well – though only if I think the book is REALLY REALLY good. (If not, there’s no need to be redundant!)
If I think Imonna get m’self in trouble, I check the book out from the PUBLIC library and booktalk it to the class. I let them know about the issues in it that prevent me from making it more directly available to them. This often serves to get them MORE interested in that book. >;) And in addition, anything I can do to promote the public library is a bonus!