Rutherford County School Board moves to pull more titles from library shelves
Images of pulled books (Photos by Amazon)
The debate over banning books continued at Thursday’s Rutherford County Schools (RCS) Board of Education meeting Thursday, where board members voted to pull more titles from school library shelves.
School board members voted to remove “Assassination Classroom” volumes 1 through 8 and 11by Yusei Matsui, “Catch 22” by Joseph Heller, “Perfect Chemistry” by Simone Elkeles, “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen, and “Yolk” by Mary H.K. Choi from school libraries.
“Catch 22” is included in standards for Advanced Placement (AP) classes. That means a teacher could still use it in a classroom assignment. This prompted Board Vice Chair Frances Rosales to make a motion that it remains available for high school juniors and seniors with parental permission.
“I don’t understand why we’re removing a book that is still going to be used in a classroom, even though we removed it,” said Rosales. “The teachers are still going to assign this book. It’s better to have parental consent with eleventh and twelfth-grade, at least there’s some guidance there.”
The motion failed and the board ultimately voted to remove the book from library shelves.
Thursday’s vote was just the latest in a series of moves by the school board to pull books from school libraries. This comes as districts across the state continue to attempt to comply with state laws such as the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 which instructs school districts to remove books with inappropriate or sexual content.
Several local residents spoke at Thursday night’s meeting to voice their opposition to banning books in schools.
Bill Levine, an English Professor at Middle Tennessee State University, said allowing students to explore their interests through literature is crucial to helping them prepare for a post-secondary environment.
“I’m rather disturbed by what I think are hair trigger or knee jerk responses to limiting access to a large number of school library books,” said Levine. “If you think about what teaching of English is supposed to entail, it would be not just reading and writing skills but basic empathy, understanding of other cultures. I think keeping these books in school libraries among a caring and highly professional staff is the best way of ensuring that kind of navigation toward mature approaches to these subjects that seem to be so sensitive for our board and allowing students to be better prepared for college.”
Joshua Walker is a parent with two students who graduated from Rutherford County Schools, and two more currently in middle and high school. He urged board members to allow students to explore the materials, saying stories can teach them in lessons empathy.
“Let’s have faith in our children. They’re not stupid,” Walker said. “Our middle and high schoolers especially have the right to learn about the experiences of others, even when those experiences make us uncomfortable.”
Parent and school librarian Elizabeth Shepherd spoke strongly about the board’s recent actions, including book banning and a now rescinded resolution about English as a second language (ESL) learners. That resolution was used this week in a presentation to the Senate Education Committee for a bill requiring school districts to verify student citizenship during enrollment.
“This week is Read Across America Week and I’ve been sharing books with my students that represent what this country is supposed to be all about. How does it feel to know that your rescinded ESL resolution from just a few weeks ago was quoted not once but twice during a presentation in favor of a bill to deny education to undocumented students?” asked Shepherd. “The Senate Education Committee used your words to defend denying children the right to an education, and they worked. Do better. Our students deserve it.”