So one of my online friends turned me on to this article about the Menifee School District in California which has pulled dictionaries from the shelves due to a parental complaint about the definition of the phrase "oral sex" claiming it was too explicit and was not age appropriate.
For starters, here is the definition from Miriam Webster Online:
Main Entry: oral sex
Function: noun
Date: 1973
: oral stimulation of the genitals : cunnilingus, fellatio
Yup, that's about right. I'm not sure how much more of a dry, clinical explanation of this phrase this parent wants, but it seems pretty spot on to me.
So here's my beef.... beefs with this whole thing. No one parent gets to decide what is appropriate for all students, ESPECIALLY when we are talking about an important reference material like the dictionary. If she wants to keep her child ignorant that things like oral-genital contact might exist, that's her responsibility, not the school district's. The job of the school district is to promote learning and the spread of information. I even agree that schools should try to prevent access to pornography and explicit sexual content, which this definition is not.
Also, if parents would just give their kids good, age appropriate information about sex this wouldn't be an issue. I, for one, remember looking up "dirty" words in the dictionary just because I wanted to know what they were. The knowledge didn't make me sexually active at a young age and won't for other kids.
So, I encourage people to contact the Menifee School District and let them know that this kind of censorship is just plain silly. This parent is setting too broad of a definition on what isn't age appropriate, which will have a detrimental effect on the quality of education in this district.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Book Review: The Color of Earth
The Color of Earth by Kim, Dong Hwa
New York : First Second, 2009
This book was assigned to me as part of my LIS 566 Young Adult Materials: Evaluation and Use readings. First, this book was a pain in the butt to find. I went to 5 book stores in my area and called a few more before giving up and driving over to the University Book Store. I'm going to request that my small, local bookstore order these for me since I'd prefer to give them my money, but may end up having to go through Amazon.
The Color of Earth is not a book that I would have picked up on my own accord, despite being a graphic novel, a genre that I know and love. However, I'm glad I did. The artwork is a combination of classical Korean landscapes and modern Japanese anime style artwork and is quite lovely, though not a style I generally seek out. The story is of a young girl, Ehwa, living with her widowed mother in rural Korea and follows her as she begins her journey towards womanhood, discovers love and begins to recognize her mother as an individual with her own wants and needs.
The main focus of this story is the relationship between Ehwa and her mother, and it is a beautiful thing. The story does not shy away from sex and sexuality but instead addresses it in a very honest yet poetic manner. The imagery used is lovely and approachable and the lack of shame and negative feelings makes me think that this would be an excellent book for young women approaching menarche. I also think that this is a good book for mother's of young girls to read as Ehwa's mother gives a good example how to approach a young woman's sexuality with grace not fear.
I give this book four stars only because I probably won't read it again. Though there is little real action the story is engaging (I read it in under 3 hours) and keeps you turning the pages. I can't wait to get the other two books to find out about the rest of Ehwa's life.
New York : First Second, 2009
This book was assigned to me as part of my LIS 566 Young Adult Materials: Evaluation and Use readings. First, this book was a pain in the butt to find. I went to 5 book stores in my area and called a few more before giving up and driving over to the University Book Store. I'm going to request that my small, local bookstore order these for me since I'd prefer to give them my money, but may end up having to go through Amazon.
The Color of Earth is not a book that I would have picked up on my own accord, despite being a graphic novel, a genre that I know and love. However, I'm glad I did. The artwork is a combination of classical Korean landscapes and modern Japanese anime style artwork and is quite lovely, though not a style I generally seek out. The story is of a young girl, Ehwa, living with her widowed mother in rural Korea and follows her as she begins her journey towards womanhood, discovers love and begins to recognize her mother as an individual with her own wants and needs.
The main focus of this story is the relationship between Ehwa and her mother, and it is a beautiful thing. The story does not shy away from sex and sexuality but instead addresses it in a very honest yet poetic manner. The imagery used is lovely and approachable and the lack of shame and negative feelings makes me think that this would be an excellent book for young women approaching menarche. I also think that this is a good book for mother's of young girls to read as Ehwa's mother gives a good example how to approach a young woman's sexuality with grace not fear.
I give this book four stars only because I probably won't read it again. Though there is little real action the story is engaging (I read it in under 3 hours) and keeps you turning the pages. I can't wait to get the other two books to find out about the rest of Ehwa's life.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Book Review: When You Reach Me
When you reach me by Stead, Rebecca.
New York : Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.
I was introduced to this book by a number of classmates in my Storytelling Class last quarter. They all raved about what an amazing book it was, but I had a lot on my plate so it went under my radar until winter break. I then picked it up at audible.com read by Cynthia Holloway for bus listening since trying to read down the bumpy roads makes my tummy less than happy.
I LOVED this book. It's a great read for young adults and I'd go anywhere from a mature 8 or 9 year old (if being read to) to a mid teen or older on the group who would be interested in it. I especially recommend this book for kids who like A Wrinkle in Time as that book is referenced a number of times and When You Reach me has a very similar feel.
The plot is interesting and revolves around Miranda, a 6th grader who has recently parted ways with her best friend, Sal. She begins to receive mysterious notes from someone who claims to be coming to save her friend, but needs her help. On top of having to worry about a stranger who can somehow predict the future Miranda must learn about growing up, making new friends and seeing the world through the eyes of others.
In a time where teen fiction seems to be focusing on vampires and girls falling in love When You Reach Me is a refreshing break focusing on friendship and a different kind of fantastic.
Rating: ***** I would recommend this to anyone and will probably read it again
New York : Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.
I was introduced to this book by a number of classmates in my Storytelling Class last quarter. They all raved about what an amazing book it was, but I had a lot on my plate so it went under my radar until winter break. I then picked it up at audible.com read by Cynthia Holloway for bus listening since trying to read down the bumpy roads makes my tummy less than happy.
I LOVED this book. It's a great read for young adults and I'd go anywhere from a mature 8 or 9 year old (if being read to) to a mid teen or older on the group who would be interested in it. I especially recommend this book for kids who like A Wrinkle in Time as that book is referenced a number of times and When You Reach me has a very similar feel.
The plot is interesting and revolves around Miranda, a 6th grader who has recently parted ways with her best friend, Sal. She begins to receive mysterious notes from someone who claims to be coming to save her friend, but needs her help. On top of having to worry about a stranger who can somehow predict the future Miranda must learn about growing up, making new friends and seeing the world through the eyes of others.
In a time where teen fiction seems to be focusing on vampires and girls falling in love When You Reach Me is a refreshing break focusing on friendship and a different kind of fantastic.
Rating: ***** I would recommend this to anyone and will probably read it again
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Intellectual Freedom: Digital Rights Management
I'm ashamed to admit that I don't really know the ins and outs of DRM as well as I feel that I should. However, I do know that, the more I learn about it, the bigger issue I am having and am becoming more likely to change my buying habits.
In a discussion I've been having with classmates in LIS 520 about electronic books I really started thinking about how DRM is affecting the process of this technology being adopted. I have heard from a few people that, like me, they are unwilling to get an ebook reader like the Kindle as it doesn't allow you to share books with your friends. Basically you are paying the same price as you would for a paperback, on top of an expensive reader but don't have the rights of first-sale doctrine, which has been upheld by the US Supreme Court for over 100 years. So basically you are renting for the cost of buying.
There is also the issue that when you are buying media with DRM you actually aren't buying the item as much as a license to use it. A license which can be revoked. There is always the option of hacking to remove the DRM but most people don't have the know-how or even the knowledge that it CAN be done. This license also prevents you from sharing material with friends and as someone who loans books out on a weekly basis I find this limitation unacceptable.
I'm not sure what the future of DRM and ebooks will be. In some ways ebooks could give people access to more information than ever before. I just think that publishers unwillingness to relinquish control by removing DRM is hindering the acceptance of ebooks by the general population. Removing that barrier would be another step toward this new technology taking hold.
In a discussion I've been having with classmates in LIS 520 about electronic books I really started thinking about how DRM is affecting the process of this technology being adopted. I have heard from a few people that, like me, they are unwilling to get an ebook reader like the Kindle as it doesn't allow you to share books with your friends. Basically you are paying the same price as you would for a paperback, on top of an expensive reader but don't have the rights of first-sale doctrine, which has been upheld by the US Supreme Court for over 100 years. So basically you are renting for the cost of buying.
There is also the issue that when you are buying media with DRM you actually aren't buying the item as much as a license to use it. A license which can be revoked. There is always the option of hacking to remove the DRM but most people don't have the know-how or even the knowledge that it CAN be done. This license also prevents you from sharing material with friends and as someone who loans books out on a weekly basis I find this limitation unacceptable.
I'm not sure what the future of DRM and ebooks will be. In some ways ebooks could give people access to more information than ever before. I just think that publishers unwillingness to relinquish control by removing DRM is hindering the acceptance of ebooks by the general population. Removing that barrier would be another step toward this new technology taking hold.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Introduction
So welcome to the Scintillating Bibliophile. My name is Courtney and I am a second year student getting my master's in library and information science at the University of Washington. I have been meaning to start a blog to record my journey through my master's and into my career in the information field. However, when I found that The Snarky Librarian had already been taken I lost momentum and let the project slide. Now, thanks to LIS 551, Intellectual Freedom in Libraries, I HAVE to. I'd like to give a shout out to ZeroHourHero for helping me come up with such an awesome name, which is the hardest part of this whole blogging thing for me.
I'll be using this blog to document all sorts of things as I move through my degree and into the field including book reviews, thoughts on intellectual freedom and anything else that strikes my fancy dealing with the field of information science. Thanks for checking this out!
I'll be using this blog to document all sorts of things as I move through my degree and into the field including book reviews, thoughts on intellectual freedom and anything else that strikes my fancy dealing with the field of information science. Thanks for checking this out!
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