Expert Insights: An estimated 1 in 4 teens has experienced cyberbullying. Parents can help.; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 23, 2024

JONATHAN PERLE, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Expert Insights: An estimated 1 in 4 teens has experienced cyberbullying. Parents can help.

"What are the outcomes of cyberbullying?

The residual effects of cyberbullying are often considered like those of traditional bullying. Related to the victim, cyberbullying can lead to:

• General life stress.

• Avoidance of school or social situations for fear of what others may have learned about them.

• Avoidance of online pleasurable activities (e.g., gaming, social media).

• Anxiety, whether general (e.g., “what if” thoughts) or specific (e.g., about particular events or people).

• Depression that could include changes in eating, sleeping or interests, as well as increases in withdrawal, irritability, and potentially suicidal thoughts or activities.

• Substance use to cope.

• Trauma that could develop over time from recurrent exposure to bullying and make the individual fearful of their safety at home, online, in social settings and/or at school.

Combined issues can not only result in a decline in self-esteem, but also reduced academic and social performance. Finally, some have suggested that being cyberbullied has the potential to increase the chances of traditional in-person bullying.

Despite the victim being the focus, cyberbullying can also lead to issues for the bully.

Depending on what they share and the outcomes, many schools have implemented bullying policies to hold children (and families) accountable. Similarly, many states have integrated cyberbullying laws that could result in formal charges being brought against a bully. To learn more about specific laws, visit StopBullying.gov/resources/laws."

‘Social media is like driving with no speed limits’: the US surgeon general fighting for youngsters’ happiness; The Guardian, March 19, 2024

Robert Booth, The Guardian; ‘Social media is like driving with no speed limits’: the US surgeon general fighting for youngsters’ happiness

"Last year, Murthy, who was first appointed to his role by Barack Obama and again by Joe Biden, issued a formal US-wide warning that social media presented “a profound risk of harm” to the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. “We do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe” for them to use, it said.

“I’m still waiting for companies to show us data that tells us that their platforms are actually safe,” he added.

He compared tech companies to 20th-century car giants producing vehicles without seatbelts and airbags until legislation mandated it.

“What’s happening in social media is the equivalent of having children in cars that have no safety features and driving on roads with no speed limits,” he said. “No traffic lights and no rules whatsoever. And we’re telling them: ‘you know what, do your best – figure out how to manage it.’ It is insane if you think about it.”"

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt – a pocket full of poison; The Guardian, Book Review, March 21, 2024

 Sophie McBain, The Guardian, Book Review; The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt – a pocket full of poison

"The American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes this mental health crisis has been driven by the mass adoption of smartphones, along with the advent of social media and addictive online gaming. He calls it “the Great Rewiring of Childhood”.

Children are spending ever less time socialising in person and ever more time glued to their screens, with girls most likely to be sucked into the self-esteem crushing vortex of social media, and boys more likely to become hooked on gaming and porn. Childhood is no longer “play-based”, it’s “phone-based”. Haidt believes that parents have become overprotective in the offline world, delaying the age at which children are deemed safe to play unsupervised or run errands alone, but do too little to protect children from online dangers. We have allowed the young too much freedom to roam the internet, where they are at risk of being bullied and harassed or encountering harmful content, from graphic violence to sites that glorify suicide and self-harm...

The Anxious Generation is nonetheless an urgent and essential read, and it ought to become a foundational text for the growing movement to keep smartphones out of schools, and young children off social media. As well as calling for school phone bans, Haidt argues that governments should legally assert that tech companies have a duty of care to young people, the age of internet adulthood should be raised to 16, and companies forced to institute proper age verification – all eminently sensible and long overdue interventions."

Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law; Associated Press via The Guardian, March 11, 2024

Associated Press via The Guardian ; Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law

"Under the terms of the settlement, the Florida board of education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law does not prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral – meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people – and that it doesn’t apply to library books not being used for instruction in the classroom.

The law also doesn’t apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples, “as they are not instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity any more than a math problem asking students to add bushels of apples is instruction on apple farming”, according to the settlement.

“What this settlement does, is, it re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is respected and where their families and parents are welcomed,” Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in an interview."

Beaufort, South Carolina, schools return most books to shelves after attempt to ban 97; CBS News, March 3, 2024

Scott Pelley, CBS; Beaufort, South Carolina, schools return most books to shelves after attempt to ban 97

"Ruth-Naomi James: I'm a combat veteran, right? There's no way I went to Iraq thinking that when I moved back home, I would have to do this to make sure that the freedom that we fight for in this country is taken out of the hands of students and parents.

The final votes came this past December. Five books were judged too graphic in sex or violence. But 92 returned to the schools. Dick Geier says this lesson reaches beyond the classroom.

Dick Geier: Diversity brings tolerance. The more you understand what other people think and realize that what they say is important, but who they are, what their story, what their background is. The more you know that, the more you see the power of diversity. And then, be kind, and be understanding. And don't make judgments because you haven't lived their story. They have.

In the city that's lived a story of letters and learning, one book that was banned and restored was "The Fixer," a novel of antisemitism that won the Pulitzer prize. In its pages, the book's hero expresses this opinion, "There are no wrong books." "What's wrong is the fear of them."

From ethics to outsmarting Chat GPT, state unveils resource for AI in Ohio education; Cleveland.com, February 15, 2024

Laura Hancock, cleveland.com ; From ethics to outsmarting Chat GPT, state unveils resource for AI in Ohio education

"The state released a guide Thursday to help schools and parents navigate generative artificial intelligence in an ethical manner.

“When you use the term AI, I know in some people’s minds, it can sound scary,” said Lt. Jon Husted, whose InnovateOhio office worked with private sector organizations to develop the guide...

Every technology that’s come into society has been like that.”...

But AI is the wave of the future, and Husted said it’s important that students are exposed to it.

The AI toolkit is not mandatory but can be used as a resource for educators and families.

It doesn’t include many prescriptive actions for how to begin teaching and using AI. Rather, it contains sections for parents, teachers and school districts where they can find dozens of sample lessons and discussions about ethics, how to develop policies to keep students safe, and other topics.

For instance, teachers can find a template letter that they can send to school district officials to communicate how they’re using AI...

“Before you use AI in the classroom you will need a plan for a student with privacy, data security, ethics and many other things,” Husted said. “More is needed than just a fun tool in the classroom.”"

In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'; St. Louis Public Radio , NPR, December 26, 2023

St. Louis Public Radio , NPR; In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'

"Maestas decided to speak out at a recent school board meeting for the first time against the proposed revisions. She is especially worried about the removal of diversity requirements.

“We have to have diversity in our libraries,” Maestas said. “We have to. All people have the right to be recognized or appreciated, to see themselves in the collection. And students have the right and the privilege of being able to step into the shoes of someone unlike themselves, to experience their life through 300 pages.”

The school board has indefinitely tabled the policy change.

Looking back at the past two years, Maestas doesn’t know what is behind the focus on libraries, but she thinks it is part of a broader attack on truth, public education and even democracy.

“Libraries are at the heart of our democracy,” Maestas said. “People have those First Amendment rights to learn what they want to learn, to hear what they want to hear, to say what they want to say. When you can attack those First Amendment rights and you can remove the sources of valid information and valid education from everyone, then you have the power.”"

Someone complained about a book in a Great Barrington classroom. Then the police showed up; The Berkshire Eagle, December 15, 2023

Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle; Someone complained about a book in a Great Barrington classroom. Then the police showed up

"What baffles and disturbs educators, parents and librarians is that a police officer was allowed into a school to investigate a book. It is also that the teacher was not alerted beforehand.

One librarian said it harkens to something dark.

“It brings you back to 1930s Germany, when law enforcement was behind censorship,” said Wendy Pearson, director of the Stockbridge Library, which has Kobabe’s novel on its shelves.

The teacher whose classroom was searched pointed also to the absurdity of it.

“I will never condone book-banning,” she wrote in another social media post about the incident. “Respect for parental and educational guidance? Absolutely! But a police officer should never, ever search classrooms for award-winning literature to remove. Period.”"

Scholastic backtracks, saying it will stop separating diverse books for fairs in 2024; NPR, October 25, 2023

Rachel Treisman , NPR; Scholastic backtracks, saying it will stop separating diverse books for fairs in 2024

"In a statement issued Wednesday, Scholastic said it will keep in mind the needs of the children it serves as well as educators facing local content restrictions. 

"It is unsettling that the current divisive landscape in the U.S. is creating an environment that could deny any child access to books, or that teachers could be penalized for creating access to all stories for their students," it wrote.

PEN America, the nonprofit organization that supports free speech, acknowledged Scholastic's dilemma and applauded its decision to pivot. 

"Scholastic recognized that, as difficult a bind as this pernicious legislation created, the right answer was not to become an accessory to censorship," Jonathan Friedman, the director of its Free Expression and Education program, said in a statement. "Scholastic is an essential source of knowledge and a delight for countless children. We are glad to see them champion the freedom to read.""

WHAT ELSE DO PARENTS WHO BELIEVE LIBRARIANS SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR LIBRARY MATERIALS THINK?; Book Riot, October 13, 2023

Kelly Jensen , Book Riot; WHAT ELSE DO PARENTS WHO BELIEVE LIBRARIANS SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR LIBRARY MATERIALS THINK?

"Book Riot and EveryLibrary have teamed up to execute a series of surveys exploring parental perceptions of libraries, and our first data sets were released at the end of September. These specifically explore the ways parents perceive public libraries...

While most parents have no idea how librarians choose the books in the collection (53%), and most also believe librarians should be responsible for collection development and maintenance (58%), one of the most surprising findings was that fully one-quarter of respondents believed librarians should be prosecuted for giving children access to materials...

People who do not know how librarians select material are much more likely to also believe librarians should be prosecuted for that material. This is chilling, to say the least. It’s also an important point to emphasize for library workers. Where and how do you educate your patrons about the process behind the acquisition of books, movies, and other collection items? If this demographic who somewhat or wholly believes librarians should be prosecuted for materials is your average or above average user, there is a lot of opportunity — maybe even necessity — for education."

Children and parents begin uphill fightback against book bans in Florida; CNN, October 6, 2023

 Elle Reeve and Samantha Guff, CNN; Children and parents begin uphill fightback against book bans in Florida

"Now that books are being banned and disappearing from school libraries, students and parents are showing up to school board meetings in Florida to argue for access to books that take on difficult subjects. But they are losing out to a new state law that makes it easier for opponents to get books off shelves."

Banned Books Week comes at tense time for nation’s libraries and schools; The Hill, October 2, 2023

LEXI LONAS , The Hill; Banned Books Week comes at tense time for nation’s libraries and schools

"Banning books has become a top issue around the country, with many Republican states making it easier for parents to challenge what’s available on school shelves while Democratic states try to do the opposite."

New S&S Program, Books Belong, Takes Aim at Book Bans; Publishers Weekly, September 20, 2023

 Jim Milliot , Publishers Weekly; New S&S Program, Books Belong, Takes Aim at Book Bans

"Simon & Schuster is introducing a new "multi-platform education and resources program," Books Belong, during this year's Banned Books Week (October 1-7), as part of an effort to expand the publisher's response to the book bans and challenges.

The program, the publisher said, will "highlight the merits of books that have been subject to bans and challenges and will provide educators, parents, librarians, and students with tools and resources" on how to "take action when faced with a challenge in their community" and "incorporate banned and challenged books into classroom, library, and family reading time." 

The initiative's website will host "reading group guides and videos, book lists, giveaways, exclusive author and expert content, and links to additional resources," S&S said, including those from Unite Against Book Bans and PEN America."

What You Need to Know About the Book Bans Sweeping the U.S.; Teachers College, Columbia University, September 6, 2023

Morgan Gilbard , Teachers College, Columbia University; What You Need to Know About the Book Bans Sweeping the U.S.

"What Could Happen Next?

American schools stand at a critical inflection point, and amid this heated debate, Rebell sees civil discourse at school board meetings as a paramount starting point for any sort of resolution. “This mounting crisis can serve as a motivator to bring people together to try to deal with our differences in respectful ways and to see how much common ground can be found on the importance of exposing all of our students to a broad range of ideas and experiences,” says Rebell. “Carve-outs can also be found for allowing parents who feel really strongly that certain content is inconsistent with their religious or other values to exempt their children from certain content without limiting the options for other children.”

But students, families and educators also have the opportunity to speak out, explains Douglass, who expressed concern for how her own daughter is affected by book bans. 

“I’d like to see a groundswell movement to reclaim the nation's commitment to education — to recognize that we're experiencing growing pains and changes in terms of what we stand for; and whether or not we want to live up to the democratic ideal of freedom of speech; different ideas in the marketplace, and a commitment to civics education and political participation,” says Douglass. 

As publishers and librarians file lawsuits to push back, students are also mobilizing to protest bans — from Texas to western New York and elsewhere. But as more local battles unfold, bigger issues remain unsolved. 

“We need to have a conversation as a nation about healing; about being able to confront the past; about receiving an apology and beginning that process of reconciliation,” says Douglass. “Until we tackle that head on, we'll continue to have these types of battles.”"

Hillsborough schools cut back on Shakespeare, citing new Florida rules; Tampa Bay Times, August 7, 2023

Marlene Sokol , Tampa Bay Times; Hillsborough schools cut back on Shakespeare, citing new Florida rules

"There are ways that students can read these works in their entirety, district officials said. If a student can obtain a copy of one of the books or plays, perhaps with the help of their parents, they can do so.

But teachers are advised, during class lessons, to stay with the approved guidelines, which call for excerpts. If not, in extreme circumstances, they might have to defend themselves against a parent complaint or a disciplinary case at their school...

When asked if students could have that caliber of experience through excerpts, he said, “absolutely not.”"

Facing book bans and restrictions on lessons, teachers are scared and self-censoring; Fresh Air, NPR, June 22, 2023

Dave Davies , Fresh Air, NPR; Facing book bans and restrictions on lessons, teachers are scared and self-censoring

"Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson explains how new laws about teaching race, racism, gender identity and sexuality have created new fears and burdens in schools and classrooms."

A Florida School Has Banned the Poem Read at Biden’s Inauguration; The New Republic, May 23, 2023

Tori Otten, The New Republic; A Florida School Has Banned the Poem Read at Biden’s Inauguration

Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb” is restricted after just one parent complained about it.

"The school decided in April to restrict four of the titles, including Gorman’s, to middle school students only, the Miami Herald reported Monday. Salinas told the Herald she was not satisfied with the decision because “I don’t see how these books support the curriculum.” But she insisted that she “is not for eliminating or censoring any books.”

This is just the latest book ban in Florida since Ron DeSantis was reelected governor in November. At least 175 books have been banned as of March, according to PEN America. The nonprofit sued one Florida school district last week over the book bans.

“The government should not foster censorship by proxy, allowing one person to decide what ideas are out of bounds for all,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, counsel and managing director of PEN America Washington, in a statement regarding the lawsuit.

The Bob Graham ban has come to light after an elementary school in Pinellas County banned the movie Ruby Bridges in March. School officials in the same county also banned high school students from reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison earlier this year. And in October, the Wakulla County school district decided to remove the graphic novel Little Rock Nine from its libraries. All of these bans were enacted after just one parent complained.""

Anatomy of a Book Banning; The Washington Post, June 24, 2022

Dave Eggers, The Washington Post; Anatomy of a Book Banning

A South Dakota school district planned to destroy Dave Eggers’s novel. He went to investigate.

[Kip Currier: The 6/24/22 Washington Post article, Anatomy of a Book Banning, is an extraordinarily thought-provoking, illluminating "call-to-action" perspective by noted author Dave Eggers (The Circle, 2013). This article -- a proverbial "canary in the coal mine" on censorship realities and exigencies in present-day American school districts -- is relevant to all information professionals. This first-hand account also sheds light on a variety of stakeholders and communities, with particular pertinence to school libraries, teachers, students, parents, and all societal members concerned about informed citizenries and civil liberties.

Although information professionals are increasingly being asked to do more with less resources, less time, less compensation, less acknowledgement -- experiencing burgeoning compassion fatigue and the trauma of library work -- I would suggest we need to think even more strategically, both short-term and longitudinally, about what we can do to add our voices, ideas, passions, stories, and expertise to these bedrock issues of intellectual freedom, access to information, and the right to self-determination and pursuit of each person's happiness. To that end, more of us may need to consider running for and serving on school boards and other boards that make consequential decisions about many information-related matters that are within the wheelhouses and bailiwicks of librarians, archivists, data/information/computing/museum professionals. Or getting more involved in getting behind candidates and already-serving members of boards who support and lead on the kinds of issues that are integral to us and implicated by stories like this one by Dave Eggers.]

"South Dakota’s Codified Law 22-24-27 prevents the distribution to minors of sexually explicit material that is “without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Given that all five books are literary works that have only a few pages (or just a few paragraphs) of sexual content, the law does not apply in this case. Court rulings, including Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982), have further found that books cannot be removed from school libraries simply because certain individuals think they’re offensive.

Unspoken in much of the debate is that the vast majority of books assigned to high-schoolers also contain material that would probably be deemed objectionable under the same standards. The students of Rapid City are still allowed to read “Oedipus Rex,” in which the protagonist kills his father and then sleeps with his mother. They are still allowed to read “The Great Gatsby,” which contains alcoholism, adultery and murder. “Romeo and Juliet,” which remains on reading lists and on the shelves of all three Rapid City public high school libraries, centers on a torrid love affair between teenagers, both of whom kill themselves."

Central Bucks is proposing a library policy that targets ‘sexualized content.’ Here’s why people are concerned.; The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21, 2022

 Maddie Hanna, The Philadelphia Inquirer; Central Bucks is proposing a library policy that targets ‘sexualized content.’ Here’s why people are concerned.

"Facing a packed room of vocal community members Thursday night, the Central Bucks School Board sought to tamp down criticism of a proposed library policy that has spurred fears of censorship and attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The board’s policy committee did end up striking provisions that would have required all new books to gain its approval before they could be added to school libraries, a standard that some called burdensome and that would cede too much power to the board. And although critics said policy language targeting “sexualized content” would encompass too broad a swath of books, the board’s president promised the classics would remain, and there would still be “some discretion.”

But both the ACLU and Education Law Center, which are closely following the district’s actions, said Friday the policy advanced by the committee was still problematic.

“They’re playing with fire here,” said Vic Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania."

Some parents want action, but school guidance on Utah’s book ban law is still murky; KUER 90.1, May 20, 2022

Jon Reed, KUER 90.1; Some parents want action, but school guidance on Utah’s book ban law is still murky

"Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson sent a letter to the Utah State Board of Education Wednesday to urge education officials to “take initiative” against school districts refusing to comply with a new state law banning “sensitive materials” in schools.

While not naming specific districts, Wilson told KUER that he’s received reports of schools knowingly disregarding the law as well as input from parents on whether certain materials are inappropriate and should be removed.

“When we have clearly pornographic materials in our school libraries, it needs to come out and it needs to come out quickly,” he said. ”This is not an imaginary issue.”

School districts have long had policies for how to address requests to review and remove materials. But the law sets new standards about what material is considered pornographic or indecent, according to a memo from the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

The memo contradicted previous guidance from the Utah Attorney General. OLRGC also noted the AG’s office overstated U.S. Supreme Court precedent on when the removal of a book from a school library violates a student’s First Amendment rights.

Norman Emerson, president of the Utah Library Media Supervisors, said districts are working to update their policies to be in compliance with state law. Some had waited until more guidance was issued, including direction from USBE that is still forthcoming. In a letter addressed to Speaker Wilson, the board noted districts are already required to have a reconsideration process for library materials but also said it is working toward creating a “model policy” that can be used as a template."