Do you really know what your kids are reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is for middle schoolers?

Totally reasonable. You cannot bubble wrap your kids from everything out in the world, and you certainly can't at ages 11-13. If you're concerned, read the books they read and talk about it with them. Literature is a great (and safe!) way to be exposed to different experiences, even really awful negative ones or explicit ones or ones that don't tie neatly into "good" or "bad." Don't you want them to learn about the holocaust? And slavery? You can't paint the whole world with rainbows and sunshine. They aren't little kids anymore.

The question is, if a girl said she was looking forward to getting home so she could suck off her boyfriend, would that be okay? What about kids using the word dick in the classroom? And what about a guy saying if his girlfriend annoys him then he might slap her a bit? If we wouldn’t tolerate those things from our kids then I don’t see why they should be reading it.

I would want my kid to read it to understand that some kids really are like this, and how to understand why they are like that. What makes people make the choices they do? What role can my kid play in society overall to make it better for everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The main challenged book here is also for high schoolers, not middle schoolers.

And the people complaining about the language are completely missing the point of the book. Monday's Not Coming is an award winner for a reason. It's a powerful, heartbreaking story, appropriate for a high school class.

Parents in LCPS already have the option to request an alternate title for their student. If you don't have the time to read the whole book, five minutes reading Amazon reviews (sort by the lowest stars if you want to see what people object to in most books) or Common Sense Media will give you an idea as to content.

[Anonymous]

Are books with the n word allowed?

[Anonymous]

My middle schooler is socially quite young. I am certain that this would be a fairly traumatic awakening. It needs to happen eventually but DC is NOT there yet. I would be emphatically opposed to books like this in MS. I would welcome it for kids who are ready, with alternatives for those who are not.

[Anonymous]

Damn, I wish my pre-teen/teen was reading - whatever he wanted - I can hardly get him to glance away from a screen. I could generally not care less what it is. He has excellent reading scores but hates to read, and I've tried everything.

[Anonymous]

HO HO HO idiot alert!

Conservatives book banning again.


This is why their daughters get pregnant and their boys are dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is for middle schoolers?

Totally reasonable. You cannot bubble wrap your kids from everything out in the world, and you certainly can't at ages 11-13. If you're concerned, read the books they read and talk about it with them. Literature is a great (and safe!) way to be exposed to different experiences, even really awful negative ones or explicit ones or ones that don't tie neatly into "good" or "bad." Don't you want them to learn about the holocaust? And slavery? You can't paint the whole world with rainbows and sunshine. They aren't little kids anymore.

The question is, if a girl said she was looking forward to getting home so she could suck off her boyfriend, would that be okay? What about kids using the word dick in the classroom? And what about a guy saying if his girlfriend annoys him then he might slap her a bit? If we wouldn’t tolerate those things from our kids then I don’t see why they should be reading it.

I would want my kid to read it to understand that some kids really are like this, and how to understand why they are like that. What makes people make the choices they do? What role can my kid play in society overall to make it better for everyone?[/quote

Same. I view books like these as conversation starters. Important ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HO HO HO idiot alert!

Conservatives book banning again.


This is why their daughters get pregnant and their boys are dumb.

It used to be conservatives who were behind book banning efforts, but now people have to fend off progressive book banning groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Damn, I wish my pre-teen/teen was reading - whatever he wanted - I can hardly get him to glance away from a screen. I could generally not care less what it is. He has excellent reading scores but hates to read, and I've tried everything.

You’re not alone. I can’t get my daughter to read either. They’re not forced to in school and so she’s out of practice. Her brain is wired for a computer screen.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where to access the full reading list? I'm thinking of spending the summer reading these controversial books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Damn, I wish my pre-teen/teen was reading - whatever he wanted - I can hardly get him to glance away from a screen. I could generally not care less what it is. He has excellent reading scores but hates to read, and I've tried everything.

Yes. I was allowed to read anything anything I wanted. We had a huge library. My parents thought if it didn't interest me, I would put it down. I remember just skipping over stuff I didn't understand and then processing / dawning came later. It's kind of normal for how we learn. Also, things that happen TO kids was not traumatic to me back then, or based in any kind of reality. It was "other people" in a "story". Now I have a much harder time reading about bad things happening to kids. My young mind was much better at compartmentalizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know where to access the full reading list? I'm thinking of spending the summer reading these controversial books.

Let's have a book club!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damn, I wish my pre-teen/teen was reading - whatever he wanted - I can hardly get him to glance away from a screen. I could generally not care less what it is. He has excellent reading scores but hates to read, and I've tried everything.

Yes. I was allowed to read anything anything I wanted. We had a huge library. My parents thought if it didn't interest me, I would put it down. I remember just skipping over stuff I didn't understand and then processing / dawning came later. It's kind of normal for how we learn. Also, things that happen TO kids was not traumatic to me back then, or based in any kind of reality. It was "other people" in a "story". Now I have a much harder time reading about bad things happening to kids. My young mind was much better at compartmentalizing.

Same here. I was 13 when i read Tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn since it was on my parents shelves. Also read Heavy Sands and more about horrirs of war and Holocaust etc. Didn't tell them. Would have been better if i read certain things in class with open discussion.

[Anonymous]

In FCPS, all books used in English class must be approved by a committee that includes both parents and teachers. All books that may be used are listed on the syllabus at the beginning of the year. Parents may opt their children out of reading a book. Most middle schools now use literature circles with a few students per class reading a book, so it doesnt single a kid out if they arent allowed to read a book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know where to access the full reading list? I'm thinking of spending the summer reading these controversial books.

Let's have a book club!

There's an entire group of parents in LCPS who are protesting dozens of books, particularly many of those included in the diversity libraries that were purchased a few years back. These two titles just happen to be their latest source of outrage. When the pandemic hit, they switched to being angry that the schools were closed. Now they're back to books and CRT and masks on kids. The groups don't overlap entirely, of course, but you see the same people at every meeting.