Vancouver Sun: 2008 October 2
For Susan Harman, Social Justice 12 brings hope for basic human rights
Here we are today, 40 years after the Stonewall riots, 35 years after the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders, 30 years after Denmark became the first government to recognize civil unions between gay and lesbian couples, and five years after Queer Eye For the Straight Guy made regular moisturizing acceptable to heterosexual males, and we here in B.C. are still agonizing over the issue of offering our schoolchildren courses that discuss, among other things, the idea that it’s unacceptable to beat the crap out of people whose sexual orientation may be different than their own.
I sometimes wonder if “B.C.” refers to the dinosaurs still roaming around out here.
This time, we must go a little east to find the Jurassic:
In Abbotsford this week, the school board decided to withhold a senior-grade high school elective course entitled Social Justice 12, pending a review. Social Justice 12, approved by the Ministry of Education just this August, is the first course in the province to include discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity, though sex isn’t its only focus.
It also encompasses a mindnumbing barrage of other politically earnest “isms,” — ageism, consumerism, cultural imperialism, extremism, feminism, racism, humanism, and — hello, Abbotsford! — fundamentalism.
Abbotsford, of course, is often described as B.C.’s “Bible Belt.” It is there where the spirit of the Golden Rule is not just taught in church but rigorously applied.
Except, presumably, when it comes to homosexuals.
A number of “concerned parents” — it was never made clear how many — complained to the board about Social Justice 12 because of the homosexuality component in it.
The board caved, and pulled the course.
Now, this is an old scenario in news stories such as these. There’s a divine-decreed right to righteous intolerance. There’s the charge that government has overstepped its moral limits. There’s a campaign of indignation engineered by innumerable, unnamed “concerned parents.”
The problem with these stories is that you never hear the other side of the story.
You never hear of the other “concerned parents,” and there are other concerned parents.
Susan Harman is one of them. Her son is gay.
“When he first told me he was gay, there was the realization for me that his life would be forever different, and my life would be forever different, and I was concerned for him that he was entering a world where it means that he might be bullied, harassed and attacked.”
Harman is the president of the Vancouver chapter of Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG.
A retired teacher, she also sits on the Vancouver school board’s pride education advisory committee, which advises the board on homophobia and gender issues.
For her, a course such as Social Justice 12 isn’t some esoteric exercise in touchy-feely politics. It isn’t a government vehicle meant to bruise the religious sensitivities of parents who believe the life her son leads is evil.
It is a plea to keep her son safe from harm.
It is a mother asking for her boy’s right to walk safely down the street without fear of assault, or being bullied in class, or being ostracized and demonized in his community for being different. And as a mother, she wants that taught in schools.
So when she sees a gay man allegedly being assaulted by a group of men who were allegedly taunting them with anti-gay remarks, in Vancouver, on Davie Street, in a neighbourhood considered to be a safe haven for gays and lesbians, she sees a direct connection between that alleged assault and the pressure put on the Abbotsford school board to withdraw Social Justice 12. And she is not alone.
“[Parents of gay children] feel that their child being gay puts them in extra danger. So this kind of crime [the alleged assault on Davie] just increases that level of danger.”
In Abbotsford, of course, there isn’t that sense of danger, because there are no gays or lesbians in Abbotsford, or parents of gays and lesbians. But I wonder: If there were, what would those parents pray for?
That their children forsake their homosexuality or, failing that, that they be able to walk down the street without fear of having the crap beat out of them?
(Susan Harman is a Retired Vancouver T-L)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Mesa (AZ) Tables Librarians
SLJ: 2008 October 1
School libraries in Mesa, AZ, don’t look the same this fall. That’s because more than half of last year’s media specialists are gone, leaving only 31 certified librarians to serve a total of 87 schools.
Some 47 teacher-librarians either retired or were reassigned to classrooms as part of the Mesa Public School Board’s decision last June to eliminate all school librarians over a three-year period.
By comparison, 78 Mesa schools had certified librarians last year, says Ann Dutton Ewbank, a librarian at Arizona State University and the key organizer of the Fund Our Future Arizona movement to save the district’s media specialists.
“That leaves Mesa with librarians in 31 schools,” says Dutton Ewbank. “And those librarians will be phased out by 2011.” The plan to get rid of media specialists—which was met with fierce opposition by library supporters—is intended to save $1.2 million every year for three years to offset a $20 million budget deficit.
So who’s running those Mesa school libraries now? Library aides. In fact, says Dutton Ewbank, by the 2010–2011 school year, “all libraries will be operated by aides.” And that’s unacceptable to her, she says. “No amount of training can replace the expertise of a certified teacher-librarian in guiding students to find and use the right information,” she adds. “One of the key tenets of Information Power is that skills should not be taught in isolation. Replacing certified teacher-librarians with aides takes resources out of students’ hands and may negatively impact student achievement.”
Dutton Ewbank’s campaign plans to solicit state lawmakers after the November election to introduce legislation that would fund school libraries at the state level. “We hope that legislators will introduce legislation that requires a certified teacher-librarian in every school, with an appropriation to support the endeavor,” she says.
Arizona doesn’t have dedicated funds for school libraries or mandate certified media specialists at any grade. School libraries and librarians are controlled at the district level, not by the state Department of Education, which means that when funds are scarce, librarians are typically the first on the chopping block, says Dutton Ewbank, adding that state funding would have ensured a “dedicated funding stream” for school librarians.
School libraries in Mesa, AZ, don’t look the same this fall. That’s because more than half of last year’s media specialists are gone, leaving only 31 certified librarians to serve a total of 87 schools.
Some 47 teacher-librarians either retired or were reassigned to classrooms as part of the Mesa Public School Board’s decision last June to eliminate all school librarians over a three-year period.
By comparison, 78 Mesa schools had certified librarians last year, says Ann Dutton Ewbank, a librarian at Arizona State University and the key organizer of the Fund Our Future Arizona movement to save the district’s media specialists.
“That leaves Mesa with librarians in 31 schools,” says Dutton Ewbank. “And those librarians will be phased out by 2011.” The plan to get rid of media specialists—which was met with fierce opposition by library supporters—is intended to save $1.2 million every year for three years to offset a $20 million budget deficit.
So who’s running those Mesa school libraries now? Library aides. In fact, says Dutton Ewbank, by the 2010–2011 school year, “all libraries will be operated by aides.” And that’s unacceptable to her, she says. “No amount of training can replace the expertise of a certified teacher-librarian in guiding students to find and use the right information,” she adds. “One of the key tenets of Information Power is that skills should not be taught in isolation. Replacing certified teacher-librarians with aides takes resources out of students’ hands and may negatively impact student achievement.”
Dutton Ewbank’s campaign plans to solicit state lawmakers after the November election to introduce legislation that would fund school libraries at the state level. “We hope that legislators will introduce legislation that requires a certified teacher-librarian in every school, with an appropriation to support the endeavor,” she says.
Arizona doesn’t have dedicated funds for school libraries or mandate certified media specialists at any grade. School libraries and librarians are controlled at the district level, not by the state Department of Education, which means that when funds are scarce, librarians are typically the first on the chopping block, says Dutton Ewbank, adding that state funding would have ensured a “dedicated funding stream” for school librarians.
OCTOBER PROCLAIMED LIBRARY MONTH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
BC Ministry of Education: 2008 October 1
VICTORIA – The Province is proclaiming October 2008 as Library Month in British Columbia, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.
“B.C.’s libraries help British Columbians of all ages access the information and tools that they need to live, work and learn,” said Bond. “Library Month is an excellent opportunity for all of us to recognize and celebrate these valuable public resources and the amazing people who work in them.”
The concept for a month dedicated to library and information services in British Columbia was developed by library partners from across the province to help raise public awareness about the fundamental role that libraries play in people’s lives.
“Libraries are gateways to learning and the world of ideas. It’s wonderful to have a month celebrating these vital institutions in communities, large and small, all over the province,” said B.C. Library Association executive director Alane Wilson. “What’s more, library month allows us to celebrate the hard work of staff, volunteers and stakeholders.”
More than 98 per cent of British Columbians live in an area that is served by a public library, and this year’s theme for Library Month – “Your Library, Your World” – reflects the many ways in which libraries contribute to the fabric of B.C.’s education, culture and community. Besides providing recognition for our public libraries, Library Month also gives school libraries the opportunity to expand on National School Library Day celebrations that will be taking place on Oct. 27.
“Public libraries are a key component of our government’s goal to make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent,” said Bond. “Thank you to the B.C. Library Trustees’ Association, the Public Library Services Branch, the B.C. Library Association, the B.C. Teacher Librarians’ Association, as well as all of the library staff and information professionals from across the province for bringing us the summer reading programs and other excellent services that will help ensure we reach that goal.”
This is the third year that British Columbia is officially marking Library Month. In October 2005, Canadian Library Week was held across the country; the celebration was expanded in 2006 to Library Month.
Since 2001, the Province has invested more than $145 million in literacy strategies through ReadNow BC, a comprehensive provincial literacy action plan that helps provide preschoolers, K-12 students, adults, immigrants and Aboriginal people with the reading skills they need to succeed. For more information on ReadNow BC, visit www.readnowbc.ca.
VICTORIA – The Province is proclaiming October 2008 as Library Month in British Columbia, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.
“B.C.’s libraries help British Columbians of all ages access the information and tools that they need to live, work and learn,” said Bond. “Library Month is an excellent opportunity for all of us to recognize and celebrate these valuable public resources and the amazing people who work in them.”
The concept for a month dedicated to library and information services in British Columbia was developed by library partners from across the province to help raise public awareness about the fundamental role that libraries play in people’s lives.
“Libraries are gateways to learning and the world of ideas. It’s wonderful to have a month celebrating these vital institutions in communities, large and small, all over the province,” said B.C. Library Association executive director Alane Wilson. “What’s more, library month allows us to celebrate the hard work of staff, volunteers and stakeholders.”
More than 98 per cent of British Columbians live in an area that is served by a public library, and this year’s theme for Library Month – “Your Library, Your World” – reflects the many ways in which libraries contribute to the fabric of B.C.’s education, culture and community. Besides providing recognition for our public libraries, Library Month also gives school libraries the opportunity to expand on National School Library Day celebrations that will be taking place on Oct. 27.
“Public libraries are a key component of our government’s goal to make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent,” said Bond. “Thank you to the B.C. Library Trustees’ Association, the Public Library Services Branch, the B.C. Library Association, the B.C. Teacher Librarians’ Association, as well as all of the library staff and information professionals from across the province for bringing us the summer reading programs and other excellent services that will help ensure we reach that goal.”
This is the third year that British Columbia is officially marking Library Month. In October 2005, Canadian Library Week was held across the country; the celebration was expanded in 2006 to Library Month.
Since 2001, the Province has invested more than $145 million in literacy strategies through ReadNow BC, a comprehensive provincial literacy action plan that helps provide preschoolers, K-12 students, adults, immigrants and Aboriginal people with the reading skills they need to succeed. For more information on ReadNow BC, visit www.readnowbc.ca.
Oregon Moms Make Some Headway
SLJ: 2008 October 1
Fund Our Future Oregon is making some headway. The founders of this campaign to save school libraries recently obtained word that Representative Peter Buckley (D-Ashland) will sponsor a bill to fund media centers at the state level.
“It looks like we're on our way to getting a bill written, and we're launching a petition,” says Nancy Sullivan, a media specialist at James Madison High School in Portland, OR, and a founding member of Fund Our Future Oregon. “So we're about to make a big leap forward!”
Sullivan says she and cofounder Suzie Kabeiseman hope to meet with Buckley soon to help draft a bill. “We really want to be ready for the legislative session, which starts in January,” says Sullivan.
The news came as a pleasant surprise to Sullivan and Kabeiseman, a mother and elementary school teacher in Oregon, because until now, their efforts hadn't gleaned much success.
Launched on February 1, Fund Our Future Oregon—an offshoot of Fund Our Future Washington—got off to a rough start, and part of the reason is that both Sullivan and Kabeiseman happen to work for the school districts they're complaining about, Sullivan says.
The Spokane moms—Lisa Layera Brunkan, Denette Hill, and Susan McBurney—worked tirelessly for more than a year and secured a $4 million line item for school libraries in the 2008–2009 academic year. But they were three stay-at-home moms who could “go straight to the top” without any concern about repercussions relating to their jobs, says Sullivan.
Reps. Ben Cannon (D-Portland), and Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) have also expressed support for the proposed legislation.
Fund Our Future Oregon is making some headway. The founders of this campaign to save school libraries recently obtained word that Representative Peter Buckley (D-Ashland) will sponsor a bill to fund media centers at the state level.
“It looks like we're on our way to getting a bill written, and we're launching a petition,” says Nancy Sullivan, a media specialist at James Madison High School in Portland, OR, and a founding member of Fund Our Future Oregon. “So we're about to make a big leap forward!”
Sullivan says she and cofounder Suzie Kabeiseman hope to meet with Buckley soon to help draft a bill. “We really want to be ready for the legislative session, which starts in January,” says Sullivan.
The news came as a pleasant surprise to Sullivan and Kabeiseman, a mother and elementary school teacher in Oregon, because until now, their efforts hadn't gleaned much success.
Launched on February 1, Fund Our Future Oregon—an offshoot of Fund Our Future Washington—got off to a rough start, and part of the reason is that both Sullivan and Kabeiseman happen to work for the school districts they're complaining about, Sullivan says.
The Spokane moms—Lisa Layera Brunkan, Denette Hill, and Susan McBurney—worked tirelessly for more than a year and secured a $4 million line item for school libraries in the 2008–2009 academic year. But they were three stay-at-home moms who could “go straight to the top” without any concern about repercussions relating to their jobs, says Sullivan.
Reps. Ben Cannon (D-Portland), and Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) have also expressed support for the proposed legislation.
B.C. authors finalists for kids’ books awards
Vancouver Sun: 2008 October 1
Three prizes that bring money and prestige to Canadian creators of children’s books have B.C. authors and illustrators on this year’s short lists.
Nominated for the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is Saltspring Island wildlife painter Robert Bateman, who illustrated and co-wrote Birds of Prey: An Introduction with Nancy Kovacs.
Vancouver’s Sue Ann Alderson, author of The Eco-Diary of Kiran Singer, has also been nominated for that award.
The short list for the $10,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award includes Lickety-Split, written by Vancouver’s Robert Heidbreder and illustrated by Dusan Petriaic, and Pink, written by the city’s Nan Gregory and illustrated by Luc Melanson.
Vancouver Island’s John Wilson is a finalist for the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People with The Alchemist’s Dream. Also a finalist is Errington’s Shannon Cowan, for Tin Angel.
The three awards, whose winners will be announced Nov. 6, are administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
From Toronto, Children’s Book Centre head Charlotte Teeple said: “I’m not sure the general public knows this, but Canadian children’s books are sold all around the world. They’re well known for the quality of their production and the great writing and wonderful illustrations. Every year, when I go to Bologna, [Italy], for the International Children’s Book Fair, I’m always even more impressed with Canadian children’s books.”
Three prizes that bring money and prestige to Canadian creators of children’s books have B.C. authors and illustrators on this year’s short lists.
Nominated for the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is Saltspring Island wildlife painter Robert Bateman, who illustrated and co-wrote Birds of Prey: An Introduction with Nancy Kovacs.
Vancouver’s Sue Ann Alderson, author of The Eco-Diary of Kiran Singer, has also been nominated for that award.
The short list for the $10,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award includes Lickety-Split, written by Vancouver’s Robert Heidbreder and illustrated by Dusan Petriaic, and Pink, written by the city’s Nan Gregory and illustrated by Luc Melanson.
Vancouver Island’s John Wilson is a finalist for the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People with The Alchemist’s Dream. Also a finalist is Errington’s Shannon Cowan, for Tin Angel.
The three awards, whose winners will be announced Nov. 6, are administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
From Toronto, Children’s Book Centre head Charlotte Teeple said: “I’m not sure the general public knows this, but Canadian children’s books are sold all around the world. They’re well known for the quality of their production and the great writing and wonderful illustrations. Every year, when I go to Bologna, [Italy], for the International Children’s Book Fair, I’m always even more impressed with Canadian children’s books.”
Children's book publisher could have done even better
Vancouver Sun Letter: 2008 October 1
Reading your Sept. 18 article on Bratz books being banned from Scholastic school book sales, I felt relief but also frustration. I am a high school student and it bothers me when I see eight-year-old girls wearing miniskirts, belly-baring tops and makeup. The fact that Scholastic has removed Bratz books is, in my opinion, just an attempt to make itself look good. If the company really cared, it wouldn't have sold them in the first place.
Kira Ogilvie, Richmond
Reading your Sept. 18 article on Bratz books being banned from Scholastic school book sales, I felt relief but also frustration. I am a high school student and it bothers me when I see eight-year-old girls wearing miniskirts, belly-baring tops and makeup. The fact that Scholastic has removed Bratz books is, in my opinion, just an attempt to make itself look good. If the company really cared, it wouldn't have sold them in the first place.
Kira Ogilvie, Richmond
Speech saga grabs global headlines
Globe & Mail: 2008 October 1
TORONTO — The most recent election campaign drama to unfold in Canada is getting international airtime on news websites from the United States to Australia.
Media outlets including ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews, the BBC, International Herald Tribune and the International Business Times have all picked up on a story detailing how an aide to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper plagiarized a speech in 2003 from then Australian leader John Howard.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae first made the allegations at an address in Toronto on Tuesday where he released transcripts and video highlighting striking similarities and even nearly verbatim passages common to the two speeches in support of the war in Iraq. Mr. Harper was Opposition leader at the time.
After initially playing down Mr. Rae's accusations of plagiarism, the Conservative war room later released a statement announcing that Owen Lippert, Mr. Harper's former speechwriter, had taken responsibility for cribbing Mr. Howard's words and had resigned his current position as a Harper campaign aid.
“Neither my superiors in the office of the leader of the Opposition nor the leader of the Opposition was aware that I had done so,” Mr. Lippert said in a statement.
“I apologize to all involved and have resigned my position from the Conservative campaign.”
International media seized on the story, displaying it prominently on the world news section of many websites.
“Canadian party accuses PM of copying speech,” read the headline on MSNBC.com, while the story carried in the International Business Times' website is entitled “Canada opposition party accuses PM of plagiarism.”
Coverage was most widespread in Australia with the Melbourne Herald Sun, Brisbane Times and ABC's Australian news section all displaying articles on their main pages.
One Australian headline even incorrectly suggested that Mr. Harper himself had resigned over the incident. Online news sites based in Taiwan and New Zealand were also carrying the story early Wednesday.
At least one media outlet included a link to the Liberal comparison video as part of its coverage.
Most of the pickups focused on the details reported in Canadian media on Tuesday, but reaction from Australian officials began to emerge in foreign coverage.
A spokesman for Mr. Howard said the former prime minister had no comment on the issue.
Australian economist John Kunkel, who served as Mr. Howard's speechwriter from 2004 to 2007, said plagiarism in speech writing is not uncommon in any political system and said he doubts Mr. Howard was offended by the incident.
“I think he'd probably find it mildly amusing,” Mr. Kunkel said. “He'd probably have a good degree of sympathy for his good friend, Mr. Harper.”
TORONTO — The most recent election campaign drama to unfold in Canada is getting international airtime on news websites from the United States to Australia.
Media outlets including ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews, the BBC, International Herald Tribune and the International Business Times have all picked up on a story detailing how an aide to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper plagiarized a speech in 2003 from then Australian leader John Howard.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae first made the allegations at an address in Toronto on Tuesday where he released transcripts and video highlighting striking similarities and even nearly verbatim passages common to the two speeches in support of the war in Iraq. Mr. Harper was Opposition leader at the time.
After initially playing down Mr. Rae's accusations of plagiarism, the Conservative war room later released a statement announcing that Owen Lippert, Mr. Harper's former speechwriter, had taken responsibility for cribbing Mr. Howard's words and had resigned his current position as a Harper campaign aid.
“Neither my superiors in the office of the leader of the Opposition nor the leader of the Opposition was aware that I had done so,” Mr. Lippert said in a statement.
“I apologize to all involved and have resigned my position from the Conservative campaign.”
International media seized on the story, displaying it prominently on the world news section of many websites.
“Canadian party accuses PM of copying speech,” read the headline on MSNBC.com, while the story carried in the International Business Times' website is entitled “Canada opposition party accuses PM of plagiarism.”
Coverage was most widespread in Australia with the Melbourne Herald Sun, Brisbane Times and ABC's Australian news section all displaying articles on their main pages.
One Australian headline even incorrectly suggested that Mr. Harper himself had resigned over the incident. Online news sites based in Taiwan and New Zealand were also carrying the story early Wednesday.
At least one media outlet included a link to the Liberal comparison video as part of its coverage.
Most of the pickups focused on the details reported in Canadian media on Tuesday, but reaction from Australian officials began to emerge in foreign coverage.
A spokesman for Mr. Howard said the former prime minister had no comment on the issue.
Australian economist John Kunkel, who served as Mr. Howard's speechwriter from 2004 to 2007, said plagiarism in speech writing is not uncommon in any political system and said he doubts Mr. Howard was offended by the incident.
“I think he'd probably find it mildly amusing,” Mr. Kunkel said. “He'd probably have a good degree of sympathy for his good friend, Mr. Harper.”
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