It's About Conversation

November/December 2007

Pat Scales

I have a favorite quote from Alice in Wonderland. Alice says,
"What is the use of a book without pictures and conversation?"
I'm on the side of conversation. It is the only way to build a
trusting relationship with students and their parents.

My passion for intellectual freedom began at home, not at school. Frankly I don't think that I ever had a teacher or a librarian who really wanted to know what I thought about a work of literature. But I had a father who not only wanted to know my thoughts, but wanted to challenge me intellectually by giving me the books that he read. These novels were by John Steinbeck, Erskine Caldwell, J.D. Salinger, Carson McCullers, and numerous other writers that have been "censored". It never dawned on my father that I wasn't "ready" to read these books. He simply wanted to share them, and talk about them with me.

We talked about the conflict in The Catcher in the Rye, and how Holden Caulfield grew. We discussed his alienation and fear and his thoughts regarding the phoniness of the adults in his life. We compared Caulfield's fears to those of Frankie Addams in Carson McCullers' The Member of the Wedding. And, we related their feelings to those of most adolescents. We discussed the term coming-of-age, and talked about the journey of both of these characters. Why did Frankie Addams think that changing her name would make things different for her? At what point did Holden Caulfield realize that he had the same faults that he saw in others? Scenes and words weren't censored; they were a natural part of our discussion.

This experience led me to develop a program at Greenville Middle School in the mid-1970's called "Communicate through Literature." Fifty parents gathered in the school library once a month to learn about books their young adolescents were reading, and to develop skills for discussing the books with them. No one seemed to shy away from the issues. In fact the books provided a bridge that allowed them to deal with tough issues like suicide, teenage sexuality, death, bullying, and drug and alcohol abuse. Before long parents and students were reading together. Then Judy Blume read about the program and contacted me. She is the person who helped me see how this program actually promoted the principles of intellectual freedom.

Judy Blume and Pat Scales

I had never thought too much about censorship until I met Judy Blume. It wasn't a part of my life. When I came to Greenville Middle School, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, one of the most censored books at the time, had been out for two years. There wasn't a single copy in the school. I bought 5 copies for the library, and sold 150 copies in the school book fair in one afternoon. Kids were reading it. Parents were reading it. And while the book was being tried in major newspapers all across the nation, my students and their parents were discussing it together. Censors fear the unknown, often reacting to what the media has told them. My community's parents didn't react to " Margaret" because they knew the book and had used it to spark open and honest conversation with their young adolescents about a difficult topic. Before I realized it, I became a spokesperson for intellectual freedom and, in a pro-active way, I began fighting the censorship wars across the nation. And, by my side were Judy Blume, many of her young fans, and their parents.

The students in my school began to feel special, because they were openly reading books that students in other schools in our city, and across the nation, didn't have access to. When a parent at another middle school in our district challenged One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte, my students wrote a letter to the materials review committee explaining why the book was important to them. The book was retained. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln and Christopher Collier was challenged in another school, and my students posed for the newspaper holding the book. Later, an editor of a newsletter in the Midwest wrote that she thought Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor wasn't an appropriate book for children because, Judd Travers, the character who abuses his dog was too mean. My sixth grade students became so angered by the editor's remarks that they wrote her letters. She printed all of them, and even admitted that these students helped her see that she was wrong.

Students began bringing me articles from newspapers and magazines about censorship. And, I began teaching them about their First Amendment rights. Together, we became advocates for free speech. Students have opinions, and they want to be heard. And, often their thoughts and opinions are enlightened. Students will reject what they aren't ready for if they are truly granted the freedom to read. Open and free. That's the kind of library I always wanted to manage, because that's how my father taught me.

I knew, early on, that the key element to an open and free library is trust. I began by getting to know my students as readers. I asked them to tell me what they liked or disliked about a particular novel. I never passed judgment on their thoughts and I respected their ideas. They could reject books they didn't like. Soon students began requesting my help each time they wanted a book to read. They would tell me, "You know what I like." (Wouldn't anyone respond this way when they think someone knows them so well that they can point them to just the right book?) I have a favorite quote from Alice in Wonderland. Alice says, "What is the use of a book without pictures and conversation?" I'm on the side of conversation. It is the only way to build a trusting relationship with students and their parents.

Censorship is about control. Intellectual freedom is about respect. Every time we listen to a student's opinion we have practiced and demonstrated the principles of intellectual freedom. Students want a forum where they may speak; the First Amendment grants them that right. And, even school boards find it difficult to vote against an articulate student who is brave enough to stand up and fight for a book.

My father is no longer living, and I'm retired now. I will never forget the books he and I shared, and the conversations we had. Judy Blume is still by my side, and so are my students, all grown up now, and some of them are fighting the book banners because they understand what it means to be intellectually free. My passion for intellectual freedom has defined by career, and I will continue to speak out on behalf of students because they deserve it.

    Pat Scales recently retired after 36 years as a middle and high school librarian. She is a free-lance writer and author of  Teaching Banned Books: 12 Guides for Young Readers, Chicago: American Library Association, 2001.