What's happening with censorship in Collier County Public Schools?
In November and December 2014, a Collier County parent associated with the SW Florida Citizens Alliance and the parents group founded by Board Member Erika Donalds submitted review packets to the Board to document concerns with instructional materials (mostly textbooks and assignments). She focused on History and English Language Arts.
She offered to present the results of citizen-led textbook review session at a board meeting. Senate Bill 864 gave school boards the "constitutional duty and responsibility" to select textbooks. Board Members Donalds and Lichter interpret this bill as a green light to invite citizens like Deirdre Clemons to revise the curriculum.
Sparker's Soapbox blog describes why textbook revision is a priority to Board Members Donalds and Lichter.
Challenges by an associate of Parents ROCK and the SW FL Citizens Alliance:
April 13, 2015 - This parent objected to videos shown to her middle school child. She sought to prevent all children from seeing this videos. This raises a major concern: one vocal, dissatisfied parent should not be allowed to dictate what all children learn.
A middle school history class targeted...
John Green is a highly acclaimed young adult author. Three of his books are or will be made into movies, including A Fault in Our Stars, and Paper Towns (rated PG-13). John and his brother produce and post educational videos on YouTube. These videos offer high quality content, and use humor to keep the attention of their easily bored audience.
CCPS libraries were targeted next by this group, including novels by Toni Morrison, the first African American author to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.
May 28, 2015 - A link to Goodreads.com on a middle and high school summer reading list led Parents ROCK to accuse CCPS of "promoting pornography." All parents who led challenges on materials in 2014-15 appear in this news report. This is a small, well organized group.
False accusations against the District, then library books targeted...
June 9, 2015 - After reading an excerpt of Dreaming in Cuban at a board meeting, Doug Lewis, a parent-attorney described the book as "filth."
On August 18, 2015, School District Attorney Jon Fishbane reflected the parent's concerns.
"I understand why [Dreaming in Cuban] was read, and why it was found to be upsetting and uncomfortable, but when you read it, there is a context to it."
Watch Mr. Fishbane's full statement below...
Mr. Fishbane described case law related to school censorship.
"The Court noted that a student’s right to freedom of expression, including reading, cannot be abridged just because someone might be fearful or dislike the materials, or they might be uncomfortable with them."
We appreciate Mr. Fishbane's wisdom, his fairness, his expertise, and his willingness to serve the community so well.
Another library book challenged...
June 9, 2015 - The same parent-attorney asked for the "immediate removal" of this film district-wide, claiming "it doesn't really do anything but indoctrinate our children." His son viewed the film in an AP Environmental Science class at Barron Collier High School.
Film overview:
Disruption is a 2014 climate change advocacy film whose primary purpose is to raise awareness about the issue. This film weaves the science information through another narrative, the preparation and planning of New York 2014 People's Climate March. The march was intended to make people aware of the issue, especially the potential risks of inaction.
The parent-attorney claimed incorrectly that there is no science in the film. It contains a historical review of major scientific discoveries from Joseph Fourier's work on the warming effect of Earth's atmosphere, to John Tyndall's experimental work on greenhouse gases, and Svante Arrhenius' analysis of the magnitude of warming should greenhouse gas concentrations rise. The impact of greenhouse gases on Earth's energy balance is described. The Keeling curve shows the rising carbon dioxide concentrations, with 40% attributed to human activity.
Opportunities for critical thinking:
1) One point that's omitted from the film is the long lifespan of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. What is the mean residence time of the major greenhouse gases, and how might that influence policymaking in the near future?
2) The Keystone XL pipeline is one of many projects. Stopping that project will not slow climate change because we continue to depend on fossil fuels. What are other possible solutions for slowing greenhouse gas emissions?
3) One year has passed since the Climate March. What impact did the march have on climate change policies? Did it achieve its goal? What factors affect society's willingness to act on an environmental issue? Consider the answer in relation to other environmental problems, like ozone depletion.
The College Board unifying constructs or themes related to this film include: The Living World, Energy Resources & Consumption, Pollution, and Global Change.
Climate change challenged...
Censorship removes the opportunity for a young person to gain awareness and knowledge by experiencing the world through someone else's eyes, mind, and heart.
Do we want our children to be aware of societal problems, to give them an opportunity to think and talk about them in the safety of classrooms and their homes? Can we find a way to convey to our children's teachers that we support their freedom to teach?