Books are something that we are taught to love from the time we start school. It is always exciting to pick up a new book and find out what new things you can learn.
However, there has always been a lingering sense of fear, especially in the mind of parents and guardians. What if the book has some words or concepts that children shouldn’t be reading?
A new rule has been put into place by Governor Ron Desantis that requires all schools to inventory the books in libraries and get rid of those that do not meet the state requirements.
Not only does this law go for what books the library can house, but also what books teachers can keep in their classrooms. This is going to be a problem for students, teachers, and faculty because it is causing many inconveniences and trouble going into the school year.
Instead of worrying about what they are going to teach their students this year, teachers have had to turn all their focus towards inventory on their libraries.
Taking inventory means that teachers and librarians have to go through each and every book they have available to students and keep a list of what they are. It’s possible that the librarian doesn’t know the contents of every single book in his or her library.
This takes time away from their days, and away from their students because of how much energy has gone into trying to fit their classrooms to meet the new requirements.
This can have a positive effect on students, and possibly the teachers as well, but it will prove to be mostly negative. Having a set curriculum is important for all teachers when starting the year, and for English Language Arts teachers, books are a big part of that.
This law could cause a break in a teacher’s plans if the book they choose to read with students no longer meets specific requirements.
It is very common for books to be put on the “banned books” list when they don’t meet or exceed certain criteria, a ban that is still in place regardless of the new law.
Also, it could be possible for teachers to become hesitant of the books that they choose to buy for their classrooms out of fear that it could cause problems for them and their students.
However, having these new guidelines can also keep students from reading and learning content that is not age appropriate.
Some books can also have a sense of violence to them that children shouldn’t have access to at such a young age, but this can mainly apply to the elementary and middle school students.
Most high schoolers have a certain maturity level that allows them to be able to handle the contents of an adult level reading book. But, there’s a possibility that students don’t know the extent to how mature a book really is.
If a teacher or librarian is not familiar with a book a student chooses to read, they have no way of knowing if it’s something the child should be learning about.
With this new rule, things like this can be preventative. But it is not going to stop students from reading these books outside of school boundaries.
Putting this ban and inventory on books could stop kids from reading inappropriate content, but in the long run they still have ways to get to the books they want to read regardless of what the law says.
