"TRAINING" FOR TEACHERS: PUSHING BOOKS WITH BLACK OR GAY CHARACTERS MAKES YOU BETTER AT YOUR JOB
Professional development for language arts teachers: character race, gender, and sexual orientation are what matter when you recommend books to your students.
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A Eureka High School principal recently shared suggestions with teachers that include pushing books with diverse perspectives for reading assignments.
The suggestions were in an email sent after professional development training presentations, and included the strategies they talked about.
A school employee was uncomfortable with the suggestions and leaked the email.
Note:
Encouraging kids to read books with diverse perspectives may sound like a good idea, but, Rockwood has already ruled that books showing people using dildos and having oral sex are ok for minors to read, as long as those people are black or gay.
Librarians bought the books because the author/characters provide a diverse perspective.
Rockwood's head librarian said she did not know the graphic content was in the books. (Librarians don't read the books before ordering them or putting them on the shelves.)
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"All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson, who is black and gay.
This is his autobiography/manifesto.
page 266: “He reached his hand down and pulled out my dick. He quickly went to giving me head…"
That's one of many excerpts like it in the book.
One chapter is devoted to descriptions of his sexual encounters.
"Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary queer author and illustrator.
Also an autobiography, of sorts.
The book references strap-on dildos, vagina slime, vibrators, and more.
These books are available to Rockwood students as young as 14 years old, in the high school libraries.
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In the leaked email, there were also suggestions for math teachers, science teachers, and, social studies teachers.
The PDF attachment in the email gives ways teachers can make their classrooms more “culturally responsive.”
Here's the part for English Language Arts teachers:
Four Ways to Integrate Culturally Responsive Teaching
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Note: Parents don’t have issues with who writes the books in their school libraries. Or, the characters. The issue is with the content, when it is inappropriate for minors.
Parents submitted formal challenges of all three books so they would no longer be accessible to minors in our school libraries. A committee has not yet met to review the book, "Fun Home..."
Committees did review the other two and voted to keep them in the libraries. Parents and at least one teacher appealed those decisions, using a process that revealed some questionable actions on the part of the district. The appeals were not successful.The books are still in Rockwood libraries.
DETAILS
Emailed to teachers at Eureka High School
Status: Suggested to teachers in November 2021