A New Jersey middle school recently made headlines when its principal censored a teen poetry book in response to a parental complaint. After one student's mother objected to the poem, "Diary of an Abusive Stepfather," the principal simply removed the pages with this piece from the book, Paint Me Like I Am. The school system's superintendent backed this decision. Written by a teen author, the poem in dispute contains profane language and violent content, as it describes the perspective of a child abuser.
Perhaps this work needs to be evaluated for its appropriateness in a middle school library. However, the school administration's approach to the situation violates the standards of responsible review and the ethics of intellectual freedom. The ALA correctly declares such "expurgation of library materials" to be in opposition to the Library Bill of Rights as it alters the author's original work and perhaps his or her overall message (Intellectual Freedom Manual, p. 146-147). Since authors generally do not approve these changes, this form of censorship may also break United States copyright laws.
Although the principal evidently believed he was doing less harm by retaining the book without its incendiary pages instead of removing the book completely, he clearly acted unwisely. In the future, would the principal remove any item that a parent declared offensive? One person should never make such decisions in a democratic society. The school library should have a process in place for parents and patrons to request reconsideration of materials. This process should involve a formal complaint, a committee review, and standardized guidelines. The administration's handling of this situation was wildly inappropriate and unethical; hopefully, community backlash will encourage the school to amend their procedure.
Link to the story:
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20090518/NEWS01/905180322
References
Marko, D.M. (2009, May 18). Vineland principal censors book. The Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://www.thedailyjournal.com
Office of Intellectual Freedom. (2006). Intellectual Freedom Manual, 7th ed. Chicago: American Library Association.
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4 comments:
Agnes,
That was really a blatant case of censorship in that New Jersey middle school. Even if they did not have a reconsideration process, I would hope that the school library has a collection development policy. If it does I would think someone could complain about this bad decision by the principal by referring to this policy. Roger Barnes
This is a very interesting article. I am shocked at the principals actions, as soon as I read your blog and it mentioned he took those pages out I thought of copyright violations. I can not believe the principal did not think of that himself. This school obviously needs to come up with a process on how to handle book challenges. That poem could make a difference in the life of someone that is going through the same experience. I am always amazed when people feel they know what is best for other people. Great article.
I don't believe the principal was THINKING at all; he was merely REACTING to the possibility of a challenge from an angry parent, which I'm sure is a frightening prospect for any school official. I assume he succeeded only in making matters worse by ripping out the "offending" passage: he probably received more publicity than he would have if the book had undergone a reconsideration process, made what was missing all the more appealing to readers who picked up what remained of the book, and as Jenn said, denied someone the difference that poem could have made in their experience as a victim of abuse--or even as the abuser.
This reminded me of a hoax I saw played on TV--I think it may have been Penn & Teller's Bullshit!, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, they had this fake citizen's group set up at a bookstore counter, where after the book was rung up, they'd cut or black out "offending passages" or images before the customer left. What was shocking was the number of customers who blinding went along with it, & i think even some of them thanked the "volunteers."
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