And if the other flaws in the school system aren’t bad enough, now some school board members apparently want to prevent regular citizens from protesting obscene or other inappropriate books in ABSS school libraries.
The school board heard a litany of a half-dozen school employees defend their preference to keep in school libraries (apparently for all age groups) books that countenance an LGBTQ lifestyle.
We really hadn’t intended to wade into this social issue, but it seems that all of these national controversies somehow make their way into ABSS classrooms, libraries, or school board meetings.
A few months ago, the board heard from two former ABSS parents who objected to some of the books found in school libraries – and some others who objected to similar books in the county’s public libraries – which they considered to be obscene. Because of the sexualization of children.
These parents so strongly objected to the literature that their children had been exposed to that they withdrew their daughter and sent her to a private boarding school with a more traditional outlook.
They, like so many other citizens (including many, if not most, parents) object to the concept that their children should be educated about sex – and especially gay sex – in public school classrooms. And all the strongest objections are at the elementary school level where the “age-appropriateness” of some of the books is especially questionable.
One has to wonder why there is such a obsession to keep books that sanction, tolerate, or even glorify a gay lifestyle in school libraries.
So this week’s idea is that “citizens” should no longer be eligible to object to such books or set in motion a “review” process. Current ABSS policy allows anyone to be eligible to file a protest and begin a review of an inappropriate book. (It should also be noted that the school system reports that not a single challenge has actually been filed during the past eight years. Of course, we’re not quite sure how long these LGBTQ-focused books have been prevalent in school libraries.)
Instead, only “parents, students, and staff members” will be able to object in the future, removing the ability of ordinary citizens to express an opinion, or obtain a review.
Here’s a thought that those “ordinary citizens” might want to consider: how about letting only parents, students, and staff members pay for the school system.
That would seem like a fair trade.
