I am a member of this committee. It has been a labor of love. I have personally read 16 of the challenged books since mid-October. I wish one community member didn’t have the power to keep all of these books off the shelves for thousands of students, but I have also read some stunningly beautiful books as a result of these challenges. Thanks for taking the time to listen to our recording and write about it. I hope everyone knows how much every member cares about kids, educators, and good books. We discuss the remaining books this afternoon.
Your care for your kids and your schools came through loud and clear! Thank you for giving this hard job the weight it deserves.
And, yeah, I've a similar experience with books over the past few years. I hadn't read much YA in my life before these books became so controversial, but I try to read a book before I defend it, and that has been such an enriching experience. I've read so many powerful, beautiful stories I never would have encountered otherwise.
This shows that even within a flawed system, thoughtful, informed community members can protect meaningful literature and model real civic responsibility. Abilene’s SLAC didn’t just follow the law, they honored the spirit of education.
I am a member of this committee. It has been a labor of love. I have personally read 16 of the challenged books since mid-October. I wish one community member didn’t have the power to keep all of these books off the shelves for thousands of students, but I have also read some stunningly beautiful books as a result of these challenges. Thanks for taking the time to listen to our recording and write about it. I hope everyone knows how much every member cares about kids, educators, and good books. We discuss the remaining books this afternoon.
Your care for your kids and your schools came through loud and clear! Thank you for giving this hard job the weight it deserves.
And, yeah, I've a similar experience with books over the past few years. I hadn't read much YA in my life before these books became so controversial, but I try to read a book before I defend it, and that has been such an enriching experience. I've read so many powerful, beautiful stories I never would have encountered otherwise.
First of all, quoting you: "All 19 challenges were filed by the same person, who is not a district parent." ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!
But second, thank you so much for reporting this with thoughtfulness and nuance. May cooler heads prevail...
This is great! Thank you for sharing some good news about Texans doing their best with a bad law.
This shows that even within a flawed system, thoughtful, informed community members can protect meaningful literature and model real civic responsibility. Abilene’s SLAC didn’t just follow the law, they honored the spirit of education.
Thank you for sharing this, Frank! Spot on observations! So very proud of Abilene ISD’s SLAC committee’s work!