And be very calm and non-confrontational... parents need to be heard, and if it is emotionally charged (for them) it is best not to give any opening for argument. You might look the titles up on TitleWave... or your primary vendor, print something, and keep it aside in the event an administrator asks you questions.

If a father is concerned about a daughter reading romance, there are probably issues at home you are not aware of and don't need to be involved in. It's an unfortunate situation, for it looks like she is a true reader and it would be a  shame if she were denied that or her interest in reading were to diminish. Sometimes you can suggest the teachable moment (where a controversial topic can be read and discussed with class or parent/child) but my experience is to frame boundaries very clearly when families are upset about books. What may be appropriate for a school library may not be the best choice for an individual.

Stephanie Patterson
Southington High School Library 
"Building character with critical thinking, creativity,
 collaboration and communication."
From: CASL-L [casl-l-bounces@mylist.net] on behalf of Vaghini, T [vaghinit@stafford.k12.ct.us]
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2015 1:11 PM
To: KRISTINE P. EMOND
Cc: CASL-l@mylist.net
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] parent

I'm my experience, this is how I handle it. 

1. Listen carefully to their concerns. 
2. Thank the parent for taking an interest in their child s education (in my experience this disarms/de-escalates the situation)
3. Respond with the reasonable advice you have received from your colleges. These books are age appropriate and it's the right of the students in the school to have access to that content. The parent should have the discussion with their child regarding reading expectations and family values moving forward.
4. Hold your ground and remember the students are counting on you.

My 3 cents. : ) Good luck.

Mr. V

Thomas Vaghini
 
Library Media Specialist
Stafford High School
145 Orcuttville Road
Stafford Springs, CT 06076
860.684.4233 x3032



"[People] occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened."   - - Winston Churchill - -

On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 9:26 AM, KRISTINE P. EMOND <emond.kp@easthartford.org> wrote:

Hi everyone,

 

Seeking advice.  This morning a parent of a one of my frequent library users/big reader's dad apparently brought into the main office all the books his daughter has taken out here and says he no longer wants her reading these books.  Two were Gayle Foreman's and two were Elizabeth Scott's YA romance.  In my eyes, these are your typical teen romance/love stories and fairly tame reading considering what's out there.  The secretary field his argument and request and told him to reach out to his daughter's assistant principal.  I would like to get my feet on the ground with this because I am not interested in policing my 1800 students' book choices and I'm not setting a precedent.  Thanks!!

 

 

 

Kristine Emond
Library/Media Specialist
East Hartford High School
East Hartford, CT 06118
860-622-5258
 
"You can be too rich and too thin, but you can never be too well read or too curious about the world." - Tim Gunn

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