Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Bill, St. Louis on May 12, 2009:

I experienced this when I was about 11 (1973 or so). Our public library would let you into the grown-up library when you hit 6th grade. So I got a bunch of books about death and dying because I hadn't learned enough at home or in school about it. A concerned librarian called my Mom, and she said, "As long as he's reading, let him read what he wants." I had a smart Mom.

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Smart mom, dumb librarian. -rc

Posted by Stephen, Birmingham (England) on May 13, 2009:

If the librarian had concerns then surely she should have looked into it. She should have had a chat with him to assuage her fears. Maybe, once she knew what he was doing, she would have been able to help him locating references. That is a big part of a librarian's job, helping people to find the information they need.

For a change, it may be that the school acted reasonably in this case, depending on the message they received from the librarian. Without knowing what they were told it's impossible to judge.

With some of the things I've researched in libraries over the years I dread to think what that librarian might have thought. What actually happened was they helped me find references and suggested other texts that were not in their stock but I could get through inter library loans. After a while they even involved me in discussions about purchasing decisions to expand their stock. So far as I am aware they only reported back to my school about my reading choices when the school was doing a reading promotion project with the library service, and that was to say I was reading well above the level expected of someone my age.

Posted by Bill in Denver on May 13, 2009:

"They talked with him, got the straight story, and sent him on his way without any disciplinary action."

Yeah, but did they apologize to the kid???? Did the librarian offer an apology? He certainly was due an apology.

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I agree, but do not know the answer. -rc

Posted by David in Burlington, MA on May 13, 2009:

It is very discouraging to hear when people are judged by what they read. Since when is reading about guns an abhorrence? Does knowledge alone determine a person's personality or intention?

When I was in 7th grade, I got out of my school Library Mein Kampf and read a portion of it. Does this make me anti-Semite? Does it make me a Nazi? Does it make me a War monger? Or, does it just demonstrate that I was curious?

As a teacher, I am very concerned about the rights we have stripped from our youth. How are we as a society to model to our children what freedoms we hold dear to ourselves, if don't also respect those same rights for our youth?

The Librarian should keep her zealous nose out of her patron's affairs, and if she can't she should be told to find a new job.

Posted by Steve, Boulder, CO on May 14, 2009:

I haven't seen "The War on Kids" but I may not have to; I taught middle and high school so I got to see it up close and personal. I finally got out because I was killing myself (way too much work) but not getting much of a chance to actually help kids. Towards the end, I was even telling my seniors that high school was invented to make the rest of life seem like a breeze. BTW, our librarian was a true professional and if she is reading about this incident, I'm sure she is banging her head on her desk. Kids and their parents should hang out in that library and watch the librarian to see what she is up to (if she still has a job).

Posted by Kathryn, Illinois on May 14, 2009:

Yes, you definitely went too easy on the librarian! For generations, those little old ladies have guarded our rights. (Yes, I know I'm using a stereotype!)

Probably with computers it's no longer true, but it used to be that my local library did not even retain records of what you had checked out once it was returned. Apparently on the theory that nobody could demand information which they didn't have.

My favorite librarian protecting us story was from just a few years ago. Since the Patriot Act required that libraries not report when the government got information from them, the librarian somewhere in New England (if I'm remembering correctly!) as part of her weekly reports to the town council always said they had NOT received any requests from the government for information. If she ever left out that part of her report, the council would know that they had received such a request.

Posted by Lauren CA on May 15, 2009:

Rebuttal for Sarah: "is it better to have situations like this one where sometimes people do speak up and get it wrong, if the alternative is that nobody ever speaks up about things that they think are potentially dangerous etc?"

Situations like these can easily get out of control:

As a sophomore, my brother was thought to have a gun at school. A girl near him and his friends heard the word "gun" and panicked. The administration called the police, who sent in 10+ COPS WITH GUNS DRAWN!!!! In the middle of lunch with more than 500 people watching. There never was a gun on my brother or his friends!

Then the principal tried to make HIM write a letter of apology! We refused, and a week later changed schools. My brother very nearly was shot because of one person's stupidity. We have never received an apology.

My brother's reputation was ruined and his life was completely disrupted because of an accusation like the one in the story. He STILL was recognized (3 years later) as "the kid who brought a gun to school" when he went to his friend's graduation.

I fully agree with Randy's statement: "However, the way to fight possible 'evil' is decidedly not to commit actual 'evil'!" We need some real intelligence in the running of our schools.

Posted by Kim, Japan on May 16, 2009:

My husband and I live in Asia and have worked as ESL teachers. Education becoming a "secondary concern" is, sadly enough, not just a U.S. problem. In China we were often under undue pressure to do things for administrative expediency, saddled with extra work that had nothing to do with with teaching, etc. We have friends in the U.S. and in Asia teaching, and all have complained about either massive workload that keeps them from actually teaching well or massively stupid requirements that keep them from teaching well. (ESL teachers in Asia are luckier to have lighter work loads than stateside teachers, though.) When you are too busy doing inane paperwork, being told to "police" students, sitting through pointless meetings, etc., it's awfully hard to actually teach.

I also keep in mind my own childhood experiences. I was thin-skinned as a child, and would blow a gasket when really pushed. Kids enjoyed taunting me to see me fall on my face. I was frequently punished because someone else would start a fight -- consequently, I hate the idea that two kids get equally punished because they aren't sure who started the fight. (I understand why this happens, but I don't like it, and I don't think it's right.) This philosophy is then extended to everything: "We aren't sure, so we'll just mete out the strongest (and most ridiculous) punishment across the board. We won't try to sort the problems out." This is where zero tolerance begins.

Finally, I don't think just kids are stripped of their rights -- their parents are, too. Parents are losing control of their kids. Even mediocre parents are far more aware of who their child is than a teacher typically can be. When you're a teacher, you walk into a classroom with a sea of kids. You may learn who is good and who is bad, who is smart and who is dumb, but you will never know as much about them as their parents do.

I have a son (one year old next month) and I am concerned about what nonsense they will cram into his head when I send him off to school. I'm not worried about subjects as much as I'm concerned about what kind of nonsense about authority, ethics, etc., will creep in. I certainly was terrified of authority when I was a kid, as I was frequently treated as guilty whether I was or not, and some of that discomfort has irrationally continued to this day.

So the question is, what can we do about all of this? What are we going to do all of this?

Posted by Doug, Courtland, VA on May 16, 2009:

"My favorite librarian protecting us story was from just a few years ago. Since the Patriot Act required that libraries not report when the government got information from them, the librarian somewhere in New England (if I'm remembering correctly!) as part of her weekly reports to the town council always said they had NOT received any requests from the government for information. If she ever left out that part of her report, the council would know that they had received such a request."

The Patriot Act requires libraries to lie. This is another reason that the Patriot Act is unconstitutional! Why do we citizens continue to put up with this?!!

Posted by Ray, Hinesburg, VT on May 16, 2009:

If zero tolerance is not OK, then how many times is someone allowed to bring a handgun to school or sell drugs in school?

The first thing that happens when a kid is caught with drugs in school in his or her parents hire a lawyer and threaten to sue the school. The school backs down and the drug dealer is back in school selling drugs.

Until you have actually worked in a school and dealt with all the problems you do not have the understanding to criticize.

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Read the stories I've posted, Ray. Should a 6-year-old boy who shares candy be persecuted as a "drug dealer"? It has happened. Should kids be expelled for having "weapons on campus" because they were playing cops and robbers, holding their fingers in the shape of a gun? It has happened. I've said repeatedly that kids with real weapons and real drugs should be expelled, and that kids who don't shouldn't. Yet you ignore that in favor of straw man arguments that completely and totally miss the point. You can stick your head in the sand and pretend there's not a problem here, but that 1) just makes you part of the problem, and 2) doesn't fool the people who see what's really going on here. Open your eyes! You are personally destroying innocent lives. Is that what attracted you to teaching? -rc