1-19-22

If there is one thing that has never been in short supply in G3’s life, it is books. The kid has more books than some libraries. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but seriously, look in our basement, there are books exploding out of countless bins. And those are the ones he’s outgrown or has already read. There are more stacked neatly in his room, and other on the bookshelf in our study. Before he was even born, he was exposed to books. I read to him every night — he may not have understood Shakespeare in the womb, but I still read aloud to him. And when he was born, I never missed an opportunity to read. I took him to libraries — the one in Mattituck will probably always be our favorite — and there was always a book, or two, or eight under the Christmas tree. 

I put very few limits on what I let him read. If I am unsure of whether or not something is appropriate, I’ll read it first, more so that I’m prepared to discuss it with him than to say, “No, you can’t read that.” A couple of months ago, he got it in his head that he absolutely had to read HP Lovecraft. He saw online that he was one of the greatest horror writers of all time and insisted that he had to purchase some of his books to read. Not only had I never read Lovecraft, I had never heard of him. So I got to work. I read his stories and researched him. My cousin sent me an article about his life and work and his racist tendencies. Yes, he hated anyone who was “other,” a fear that probably fueled his writing and fired his imagination. After all, his stories are about monsters who invade from space. (Did you know some of the land features on Pluto are name after Lovecraft’s monsters? I didn’t. Not until I read up on him.) I know some people refuse to read work by authors whose morals or ethics they don’t agree with. I can’t get behind that. Mostly, because if you tell a child no, they can’t do something, they will want to do nothing else. However, I don’t want my son blindly reading material that might be encouraging beliefs I don’t agree with. Therefore, I printed the article from my cousin and had him read it. We then discussed it and I released him into the world of Lovecraft.

The truth is, I can’t shelter G3 from things forever. He needs to not only know how to read, but to assess and analyze what he reads. He needs to know that is is okay to disagree with an author’s beliefs, but he also needs to be free to learn from writers whose life experiences are vastly different than his. As I said, he and I have read together incessantly since he was born. And I have alway put a strong emphasis on introducing him to books that teach him about different cultures and different countries. He even mocks me for refusing to read only white male authors in our homeschool class. Diversity in reading is almost as important as reading itself.

Lately, one political issue that seems to be igniting fires around the country is whether or not schools should ban certain books. To me, there is a disconnect. Why would anyone want a school to ban thee most important tool in all of eduction? But I was curious as to what G3’s opinion might be. And so, I asked him to write an essay — in class — as to whether or not schools should ban books. He looked at me as if I’d gone crazy, “You know I hate persuasive essays. Persuasive essays and personal narratives are the worst. They are boring and a waste of time.” Waste of time or not, the ability to develop a persuasive argument is a vital life skill, especially for someone who can be as argumentative as he is. And argue and complain he did a great deal of in regards to how much he detested this assignment. It was painful keeping him on task, and his snarky attitude is evident in the essay. However, I have warned him that when he returns to real school he may have to be a bit more orthodox in what he says and how he phrase it.

Anyway, since he is my child and he has grown up with a plethora of reading material, I’m sure you can already guess which side of the debate he argued. 

Schools Should Not Ban Books

Look this is not my first choice for a writing assignment, but this is what my bratty teacher wants. And you know how the saying goes, “If it is worth doing, then it is worth doing well.” I might as well tell you what I am writing about: Should schools ban books? They should not. My reasons are: Children want to see themselves in books. They need perspective — to see different sides of things — they need to be kind and sensitive to others, and they need to know their true history. So let’s hop t—“This just in, a homeschool teacher wants her student to put the I in the paper. This is breaking news with Wolf Blitzer. Back to you Gary.” If people take away these books, then I won’t be able to see my family or any minority families in a book. I’ll only see white and straight families.  That is unfair.

My first point is children like to see themselves in books. The reason for this is that they will know there are people out there like them. When I was younger, my mom read me And Tango Makes Three written byPeter Parnel and Justin Richardson. It is about two male penguins who fall in love, but they can’t have a baby. So the zookeeper gives them an egg and all is well. I enjoyed this book because I saw myself in it. I know that there are other kids that want to see themselves in books. Another reason it is good to see yourself in books is because you could learn more about yourself. That might make you have more confidence. It is rare to see yourself in a book if you are a minority. Plus, if young kids read this book, they will become aware of gay families. That is also good.

Children need perspective. When I say this, I mean that children need to be aware of all types of families and people. Books that the conservatives want to ban are going to stop a lot of kids from learning about other people. One book people don’t want in schools is The New Kid, written by Jerry Craft, which is about a black boy trying to fit in at a predominately white school. If conservatives ban this book, children may not know how hard it may be to fit in somewhere due to your race. When you learn about other people, you can have compassion. And compassion is always good.

The third point is children need to be kind and sensitive because it shows a level of respect. To be sensitive and kind you need to learn about other people and what they deal with in a white dominated country. Two books that can teach you this that some politicians and parents are trying to ban are The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexis. The Hate U Give is about a black girl who tries to fit in at a fancy white prep school. Then she witnesses the police shooting her best friend, who is also black. The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian is about a boy who struggles to grow up on a reservation where alcohol is a plague. He then goes to an all white school and finds it difficult to fit in. When you read these books you can become kind to people who deal with similar things. Reading these types of books makes you look beyond stereotypes and makes you understand why people do things. When you learn why people do things, you don’t judge them.

History continues to grow every day and every second you are alive. History can be used to help or destroy anything. You can only use it as an ally if you know the stone cold truth. The main way to learn history is through books. But again, some parents and politicians are trying to take these books away because they may hurt or offend an entitled white person. When you think about it, the politicians that are doing this, their ancestors were probably the ones who caused all this division and oppression due to supporting slavery and segregation. Some books they want to ban are Ruby Goes to School by Ruby Bridgesand The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Ruby Goes to School is about how Ruby Bridges became the first black child to go to an all white school in Little Rock. The Bluest Eye is a novel about how Americans think that blonde hair and blue eyes are attractive and how hurtful that is to African Americans. Even though The Bluest Eye is fiction, that doesn’t stop it from relaying true facts and problems. These books show how black people were (and still are) treated. They show history from the black perspective and not the warped and biased white conservative standpoint. 

So schools should not ban books because they teach children perspective, history, kindness, and sensitivity. I hope I have persuaded a few people to see why all books are important. Up next, Ana Cabrera with the seven o’clock news.