68. The controversy over books: what do parents and schools think?
Sep 21, 2022
In 2021, the American Library Association tracked over fifteen-hundred individual book challenges or removals. In addition, our public school system is seeing increasing attempts to ban books from either curriculum or libraries.
Many parents are becoming more concerned about the content their children are exposed to at school, whether classroom curriculum or books in the library. Some have been calling to have certain books removed from library shelves for a variety of reasons.
What are parents concerned about when it comes to books? What types of books are targeted for banning and why? What is the review process for library books in schools – and does it work? How should administrators respond to calls for pulling books from school libraries? And what role does politics play in the book banning issue?
Jennifer Pippin of the Indian River County Moms for Liberty, Martha Hickson of North Hunterdon High School, and Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the American Library Association join Kevin to discuss the books that are being banned, the politics of book banning, and the controversy over books in schools.