Inappropriate Books Brought From Home

Greetings,

I am revisiting an old question that was asked in 2009 regarding inappropriate books that students bring from home. One teacher wanted to know how other teachers handled this issue. This is a good question because we all have had this happen. What should we as SDA teachers do?

This issue is more common in the upper grades than the lower grades. I believe that if a student needs to do a book report, the book should be approved by the teacher first. If the book does not appear to meet SDA standards, then I would tell the student to choose another book for the report. For example, you as the teacher have not read the book, but the cover and illustrations indicate that it is a fantasy novel, then the student likely should choose another book to read.

Some teachers avoid this problem by assigning certain genre for each book report. This month students need to report on a historical event, or a book of poetry, or a science book, or a biography. One advantage of this is that you can help students read other material that they might not otherwise be exposed to. You could also have students read across the Dewey numbers choosing a book from each of the Dewey numbers each month. Some teachers avoid the problem by having a class discussion about the kinds of books that will be acceptable and what is not acceptable. This will also make your expectations clear without causing embarrassment to a student.

As a teacher, when I saw a book that was inappropriate I would speak privately to the student and let them know that I thought it was wonderful that they enjoyed reading so much. Then I would explain that the book they had is not one that many of the other parents would like for their children to read and request that the student take that book home and read it there and choose a different one for school. I seldom had a problem.

I would like to hear from you about how you have handled this issue in the past and would be interested in sharing ideas in the near future. I will just use the ideas, not names.

I hope you have a great week.
Audrey