Category: education
Intellectual Freedom Inventory: Back to School Edition
It’s almost that time again, the most wonderful time of the year! Back to school!
The Best Educating Requires Academic Freedom
Weakening the protections of academic freedom will make it harder for all educators to do their jobs effectively and creatively. I think for most of us, if we think back we will realize the teachers we remember most, and that we learned the most from, are the ones who challenged the way we think and pushed us beyond our comfort zones. Educators at all levels need to continue to have the freedom to do this.
Is literacy a right? My internal conflict
A federal district court ruling earlier this month which held that there is no clearly established constitutional right to literacy in the United States has reminded me that the various pieces of my background are sometimes in conflict with one another.
How Libraries Can Help Migrant Children: A Book List
We, as librarians and information specialists, can use our skills and our platform as a center of the community to educate our patrons about the immigrant experience and what it means for children and families to leave behind everything familiar for an unknown country.
Ideas for the College Library: Banned Books Week 2018
Some of my more memorable interactions with the campus, especially students and faculty, have revolved around the themes BBW brings to the surface and highlights in real life situations for discourse.
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Library Freedom Project Introduces Inaugural Cohort
This summer, the Library Freedom Project introduces the latest endeavor in its mission to promote online privacy. The Library Freedom Institute will equip 13 librarians from around the country to serve as privacy advocates in their communities.
Gender bias lesson leads to policy changes–and questions for school librarians
No policy can be written to prevent all challenges and all selection mistakes. But we can improve how we talk to each other and how we talk about our policies. Included here are three steps school librarians can take to lay the groundwork for improved conversations between parents, teachers, and administrators.
Book Review of ‘Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech’
If you’re looking for a good overview of free speech on college campuses, I highly recommend Speak Freely by Keith Whittington published by Princeton University Press this month. The book is 232 pages and distributed in print and e for $24.95. It offers a timely and very sophisticated treatment of free speech and academic freedom on American college and university campuses.
The Role of Libraries in Free Campus Speech
Perhaps the most important thing librarians can do is to continue to be a part of the dialogue on how we manage these issues and balance competing interests to ensure intellectual freedom and inclusion, and to be mindful of these issues in program scheduling, meeting space usage, and collection development choices.
Do Student Protesters Have First Amendment Rights?
They are saying that politics do not belong in schools; students are there to learn, not make political statements. A Houston-area school went so far as to threaten discipline for students who participated in any walkout or political protesting on campus. And it got me thinking: do these minors have a right to free speech? Are their actions protected by the First Amendment? I decided to find out.