On Being a Good Reader – and Not Screwing it up for the Rest of Us
I’m forgoing my usual review blog to use this tiny virtual plot of space to give you an Oklahoman’s perspective on the news I received yesterday. I was actually picking out my son’s bedtime books when I hopped online and heard that the awesome Ellen Hopkins had been speaking at a Norman Middle School when a parent complained – do I even need to go on? Sigh. Complaint, Compliance, Censured. Ellen even offered to move to the highschool. A fair compromise but she was denied. Her books (all of them) were removed and this morning you get to hear the rant of one irritated blogger.
I have said before that if you accept books can change a person or leave someone with the inspiration to do good things or be something different, something stronger than they were yesterday – then you have to accept that it works the other way too. After all, Timothy McVeigh was a reader.
I would hope that when a writer sits down he or she recognizes the proverbial power of the pen. Young adult writers have an even bigger responsibility because they are writing for teenagers. By no fault of their own, teenagers are some of the best and worst readers. The young adult writer has to be aware that teenagers literally have half a brain. They can absorb, imagine, and articulate but they aren’t so good with the whole action/consequence concept. So a book written for a young adult must be fine balance. The good ones challenge these young readers.
These writers take that responsibility very seriously but they also know that the teenage experience isn’t an easy one. That dark things happen. Sex happens. Relationships, healthy and dysfunctional, make up the entire life of a teenager. These writers help them manage those relationships. Because, ultimately, any decent young adult writer leaves with the message that you, the hurting teenager, will be ok. You will survive this, you will come out a better person. They don’t necessarily leave this message with their characters (come on! that would be too easy and boring.) When Alaska (Finding Alaska by John Green, check it out) accidentally-on-purpose kills herself the message to teens is not “hey this is a good idea” but rather, “it hurts to lose someone. it will hurt to lose yourself. go ahead and feel that pain here, where it’s safe and hopefully you’ll avoid it in real life.” In Ellen Hopkins brilliant Crank and the sequel Glass, the poet experiences addiction and all the things that go along with it. Readers can experience it too with the added benefit of not actually being addicted and also getting to read some beautiful poetry. Bonus!
Of course, that brings me to the second part and biggest of the equation. The reader. It isn’t just the writer, a writer without a reader is nothing. She’s like a misshelved library book – there but, not really. Timothy McVeigh was a bad reader. If you want to read about what he read visit the memorial. Visit the memorial anyway. I would join you but I have two small children, one who’s sleeping next to me on his blanket, and I can’t take it right now. Because McVeigh was a reader who didn’t understand what he was reading or why it was fiction and why he could never make his world the way he wanted it. The world he envisioned could only ever exist in one very messed up book but he wasn’t a good enough reader to get that the reason the book was written was to fulfill a sick fantasy that the author could never make real.
As a parent of a child or teenager, it falls on your head to be the good reader. Which, incidentally, means actually reading the book you’re about to ban. Just saying.
Anyway, a parent absolutely has the right to step in and decide what their child will read. Because, as I stated before, teenagers aren’t really at the point where they can make the best decisions. So it is up to the parent to help guide them, or if it feels right, not allow the child to read the book. My own mother, an avid reader herself who always encouraged me and let me read Stephen King when I was 11, once took all my V.C. Andrews books away. Ha, I know, no big loss but at the time I was furious. She later explained that the books were changing me, making me depressed and angry and distrustful. I wasn’t a good reader, I couldn’t read those books and see them as guilty pleasures - to me, they were a representation of the world and my life.
So they were banned from my house but not the library. I don’t think it ever even occurred to my mom to try and have them taken out. She did talk to my librarian who made a suggestion. Instead of V.C. Andrews, I was allowed to read Christopher Pike and I was really good at reading Christopher Pike.
The point is, by all means, guide your child’s reading. However, your reading habits do not extend to the children of other people. Other people’s children are their own readers with their own minds and those minds do not belong to you. Reading is a deeply personal experience. That’s what makes it so wonderful and frightening. Leave it that way.
Also, parents are not the only readers looking out for the kids. Any decent school has an actual living breathing reading machine called, the librarian. I’m one. I’m good at my job. When I was a children’s librarian I was great at it. I read reviews, I read the books and I made well informed decisions of what went into my library. I was careful, on my limited budget, to include the most enriching books, with a few Christopher Pike’s thrown in for fun. The librarian is like a teacher. Trust her or him. Because they want the best for their readers (plural, remember, plural).
Censorship is a bomb. It’s a misguided attempt to make the world a singular place and it won’t work. It just messes things up. It’s the desperate action of a bad reader or even worse, a non-reader.
I hope my boys are lucky enough to hear an author of Hopkins quality speak at their school someday. I hope that they aren’t embarrassed when I push past the line of kids to get an autograph. I hope I’m a good enough parent and reader to keep up with them, to read what they read, to watch for the signs that they’ve got a bad book (for them) and act accordingly. In my own home, leaving that book on the library’s shelf to find a reader who’s ready for it.
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Comments
Ha, I didn’t even know how to approach not letting you speak or acting like you talking to a group of children would what – make them all run out and do speed? It’s just insane to me, especially when meth is such a problem in this state. You would think hearing from an author who has written about a character suffering from addiction would be something parents would want. In fact, I bet it’s what the majority of parents do want.
I forgot to add that the kids are screwed out of hearing you read your poetry! Or talking about being a writer. I would have killed to hear an author talk about that when I was a teenager. Heck, I want to hear it now!
I have always wondered about parents who believe an alternate point of view will damage their child. If kids were that malleable we’d all have perfectly behaved children who always pick up their room. I agree with Ellen Hopkins. If you think a book is inappropriate then YOU decide. People need to take responsibility for their own choices.
LOL. I wondered where that …nts who feel a differb went. I must have hit my touch pad and sent those letters to the name space.
How does ONE unhappy parent get to decide what everyone in a school will attend or read. Sadie, you are so right on this one. If as a parent you don’t want your kid to attend something or read something, go ahead and take charge. But one parent shouldn’t have the right to determine what books are in the library and what speakers are invited to an event. The school superintendent was gutless and should have stood up for the teacher and librarian.
In Oklahoma we should be more concerned about this statistic from the Literacy Council:
“Today, in Oklahoma, more than 400,000 adults can’t read. That number represents more than 20 percent of our state’s adult population.” or this one, since her books speak about addiction.
“Statistics over the past few years show Oklahoma among the nations leader in Meth labs, arrests, addiction and cases.”
And less concerned that a bestselling, articulate author, writing about social problems, speaking to a teen audience would somehow corrupt us. Or that individual teens and parents aren’t smart enough to decide on their own whether to attend or read the author’s works.
Oklahoma is losing its way in the “good sense” department.
Yes, Sadie, yes! As i read this, I distinctly remember you reading the scary parts from The Shining to us.
I often have parents call me and ask if their child should be reading a certain book. My only response is to read it with them.
Censorship is the worse kind of slippery slope. Once you open up the door, there’s always going to be another book that fits the definition of “obscene” or “inappropriate” to the censor. The only way to deal with it, and the way it is usually handled, is to let individual parents decide what their children can read. Anything else, and you’ve got the government (school boards and public library boards) making that decision.
“Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Thank you for the wonderful post! Investigating the phenomenon of moving a decision made in the private sphere (I control what my kids read) to the public sphere (I should control what other kids read) forms the basis of my doctoral research Rutgers. Fingers crossed that I can get some grant money to do more in-depth study.
[...] The Oklahoman’s Sadie Mattox tells parents something that should be obvious, but isn’t: [B]y all means, guide your child’s reading. However, your reading habits do not extend to the children of other people. Other people’s children are their own readers with their own minds and those minds do not belong to you. Reading is a deeply personal experience. That’s what makes it so wonderful and frightening. Leave it that way. [...]
It was the headliner on the article that caught my eye and then the disbelief that it was actually happening in NORMAN, OK. My materials selection class (yes, I am studying to become an LMS) has a discussion question on Censorship due this week. What timing! Then my Lib. Admin.instructor posted this and two other articles for us to read. I couldn’t attend the actual gathering at Hillsdale College, (I live 2 1/2 hours away, and teach K here in Altus) I am looking forward to reading these books now and will make my own LMS informed decision.
Teresa – welcome to the world of librarianship! I loved materials selection class, it was my favorite after my young adult lit. class.
Her books are on the top end of middle school but still appropriate for 8th grade I think.
I was pleased that Hillsdale Baptist College opened its doors to welcome Ellen Hopkins after she was denied the opportunity to speak to Norman students. I attended her speech last night and thought she was outstanding. Her anti-drug message is one every teen needs to hear, too bad Norman students missed out. I also found it interesting that no one from the administrative team that banned Mrs. Hopkins from Norman schools bothered to attend last night. Evidently they cared more about placating one censorious parent than they did about discovering the truth of Mrs. Hopkins’ message and work. What a shame!
Parents are responsible for their own children. They should not be responsible for the general population. Children that are knowledgeable and well-read about the temptations and outcomes of drug and alocohol use can make better decisions when faced with making choices. Be responsible for your children; do not try to mind everyone else’s business for them. I’m with you, Sadie. I had a mother that regulated MY reading material, not my friends and classmates.
Thanks, Sadie. Beyond the books, the idea that a visit from me might somehow corrupt the children of OK offends me greatly. I’ve done hundreds of school visits, and I’m almost positive I’ve never sent anyone home corrupted, but rather inspired and armed with important information. Was it punishment for having written books the parent and school superintendent didn’t like the content of? I just don’t get it!