Letters
Two readers say our coverage of the intelligent design war was one-sided
By Staff -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2006
The Evolving Story
Connie and Michael Sullivan, the authors of “Monkey Business: The Intelligent Design War Has Come to the School Library” (November 2005, pp. 42–45), say that they are not biased and that they are not censoring. Oh, please. Take a good look at that article. Do the Sullivans apply their standards to every book now resting on the shelves in their libraries, or do they only use those criteria when they hold a bias toward or against certain information? The Internet is riddled with false and misleading information, yet I am sure that students in these libraries are not denied access. They are allowed to think and judge for themselves, which is what a free society is all about. Just because the National Academy of Science or the National Center for Science Education disagrees (and each has its own bias) with the theory of intelligent design, librarians have no right to impose others’ ideas or their own ideas on their patrons. Excluding material based on bias is censorship.
I believe that there is more harm to Americans’ constitutional rights when we begin to use our own bias as an excuse to exclude written material with which we disagree. Many students wish to explore the intelligent design theory as a possible explanation of creation. Those students have a right to access these materials.
The entire tone of the Sullivans’ article is skewed. “As religious conservatives continue to gain a stronger voice in our political climate, librarians must be on guard: supporters of this 21st-century version of creationism are making advances.” Then the Sullivans have a battle plan on what we librarians should do. Be on guard. The Sullivans seem concerned about the dangers of religious conservatives. I believe that we librarians should be more concerned about censorship disguised as one group’s version of the truth.—Barbara E. Fulara, Library Media Specialist, Hall High School, Spring Valley, IL
An Unbalanced Perspective
I’m writing in response to your November 2005 cover story, “Monkey Business.” As a school library media specialist, I believe I have the responsibility to select materials from both sides of controversial issues, and allow my students the chance to examine the ideas and make decisions for themselves. While the information specialist at Eastview High School has every right to decide for herself which gifts to select and which gifts to reject, I have that right, too. I do not agree with SLJ publishing such a one-sided article without including another article presenting the opposite viewpoint.
The language used in the article was demeaning to our profession, giving tips on how to “know the opposition” and “successfully fight your battle.” I do not consider learned scholars with different ideas than my own “the opposition,” and I do not feel this is a “war that has come to the school library,” as stated on the cover.
The school media center must be a place where those with a desire to eagerly explore ideas are allowed the opportunity for deep examination of all issues. Even if the motive of the gift giver is to “include intelligent design in the science curriculum,” that does not have to be the outcome. Students should have the freedom to read!
If I only purchased materials on evolution and intelligent design recommended in SLJ’s feature, I would have information from only one side of a very current controversy. This would certainly deny my students the opportunity to become informed and make up their own minds. I am not suggesting that intelligent design be taught in the science curriculum, only that our students have the opportunity to read opinions from both sides of this important debate.—Susan C. McNulty, Media Specialist, J.W. Mitchell High School, New Port Richey, FL
Beyond Potter
I am an eighth-grade girl at Little Flower School in Bethesda, MD. I am 14 years old. I wore a costume and got to Barnes & Noble at 6 p.m. to wait for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Scholastic, 2005). My family was number 31 in the line to get the book. My name is Meghan Quinn and I am the girl that you mentioned in the second paragraph of your article about Harry Potter (“Is There Life After Harry?” August 2005, p.16).
I was done with the sixth Harry Potter book before 6:30 in the morning, the day it came out. However, I’m not going to stop reading until the seventh Harry Potter comes out. I love reading. Harry Potter is one of my favorite series, but I also love Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries series (HarperCollins). I read all sorts of mysteries (my favorite genre). Currently, I’m trying to read all of the books that won the Newbery Medal before I graduate eighth grade this year. I’m doing a pretty good job; I have 30 books left to go.
In your article you said that librarians are hurrying to find books that mimic the Harry Potter series. I don’t usually enjoy these books. I’m not fond of much fantasy. I love Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series and I just finished the first book in Anthony Horowitz’s The Gatekeepers series, Raven’s Gate (Scholastic, 2005). I read as much as I can, but with schoolwork I don’t always have the amount of time I’d like.
What’s next for me in reading? I don’t know. However, I have never had problems finding books to read. I read what my friends like and what my amazing school librarian, Mrs. Mehlbaum, recommends.—Meghan Quinn, Eighth Grade Student, Little Flower School, Bethesda, MD
Principal Garcia Fan
I gave my principal, John Manning, a copy of the SLJ Administrator of the Year issue, (“Wild About Harry,” October 2005, pp. 41–42), which I had picked up at the SLJ booth at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). He really liked the article about Harry Bull, principal of Grandview High in Aurora, CO, and stopped by the library to talk about it. I joked with him about how he needed to start wearing Jerry Garcia ties; he is already a strong advocate for my school library as a first year principal. The next day, he actually wore a Jerry Garcia tie and wanted me to take his picture in the library like Harry (I promised him I’d send it to you)! “After all,” he said, “I dig libraries, too!”
Thanks for a great issue and a vehicle for communication between school librarians and their administrators.—Michelle Kowalsky, Library Media Specialist, Whippany Park High School, Whippany, NJ
Corrections:
Lisa Falk’s name was omitted from the list of reviewers for the feature article, December Holiday Books 2005 (October 2005, p. 50).
Our review of John A. Torres’s Disaster in the Indian Ocean: Tsunami 2004 (Mitchell Lane, 2005; December, p. 175) listed Susan Wilkins as the illustrator. The book contains numerous full-color photos from the storm, but has no illustrator.
Michelle Visser wrote the “What Works” column, The Real McCoy, (December 2005, p. 33), not Eileen McNally.
