So after our in depth conversation today about informing parents about what their children were reading, I had much to think about on the way home. Putting on my mommy hat, I assure you even if my daughter was 18 years old I would want to know if she was reading that book. I remember my mom finding out that I was reading Christopher Pike books in high school and she flipped out on me. She only had to read the first page of chapter 1 to know that it was NC17 content. My parents were good parents and steered me in the right direction about making good moral decisions.
BUUUUTTTTT - as a teacher, I am somewhat torn. Yes, under normal circumstances I think it is our moral obligation to inform parents of what their children are reading. I think that we need to be teaching our students to read "good" literature that is appropriate for their age. HOWEVER - here is my dilemna....what if it is a student not in a "normal circumstance". What if we know their home life is not good? What if we know that their parents could care less that they are reading let alone what they are reading? What do we do? Is it appropriate for them to be reading it at school - no...but when do we choose not to send the email or make the phone call and just pull the student aside and talk to them about their book choice? Thinking about some of the struggling students who do not have a lot of support at home - should we just be happy they are reading? I have not read this book and have only know it to be "mommy porn", but is it that bad that it is completely hands off to students? Maybe someone who has read it can weigh in on the details of the book, but again I am torn. Are there moments when we don't involve parents and try to offer the student something else to read and ask them not to bring it to school?
SO I am not sure if anyone is still blogging here, but if you are and want to let me know your thoughts that would be great. I am still stuck on this idea of should we tell ALL parents.
I feel like it is our duty to tell the parents, even those we suspect don't care. It shows that you care about the student. But it really depends on the content of the book. For instance, since 50 Shades depicts a horrible, horrible relationship (seriously, that relationship is messed up) I would want to inform the parents. Kids are impressionable, and I do not think it would be great for them to get their sex education from a book like that. I believe that, as a teacher, before we make a move, we research the book ourselves. Look into why it might be inappropriate for a student to read.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point. As you said, there is an awful lot we need to take into condideration before we make that phone call. It comes down to the idea of getting to know our students and making it a point to know about their home life in order to make big choices about any type of situation and it's handling.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should tell parents if the students are a certain age. Definitely 8th grade and younger. But after they hit high school, I think that they have a right to read whatever they want. I feel it is our responsibility to pull them aside and make sure they are actually aware of and comfortable with the content. But I don't know if we should tell parents at that point, unless you know for some reason that they would object.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, 50 Shades is not nearly as bad as everyone says it is. Yes, there is some graphic material and yes the relationship is a bit messy, but it is not anything that students aren't seeing every week on TV shows like Gossip Girl. I'm not saying they should be reading it, but the hype around it is just ridiculous.
Honestly, once you get past the graphic material, it's an amazing and surprisingly realistic love story where neither partner is perfect and they're just stumbling their way through a relationship neither of them expected or quite knows how to deal with. I would seriously recommend that you all read this book.
I suspect that in many cases the administration of a school will also have some sort of policy on questionable choices of reading material by students, and that may be the first place to go in a situation where we are concerned that informing the parents of what their child is reading may not have the desired effect. It would probably be wise not to try to make the decision alone, but rather to bring in the principal or guidance counselor and get their take on the situation. I know that I know families where a simple statement of concern would be taken badly, and while it's one thing if the irate parent shouts us down- no big deal, but when that gets turned on the student it's a lot less ok. It's a messy question.
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