madcow writes “Today’s ajc.com has a story (buried under a javascript video tag) about Gwinnett County’s head librarian being fired at a public meeting by the board. Angry public speakers from both sides testified about her case at the meeting. Board members wouldn’t comment on it afterwards, but rumor is that she made the library “too commercial”.”
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No, homeschool was the issue.
No this was a debate over homeschooling. Get your arguments ready because if you are a public librarian in the South this is your issue.
So-called- ‘Family Friendly Folks’
A group of so-called “Family Friendly” conservatives in Gwinnett County, Georgia sponsor launched a Web site to harmonize the library system with conservative values .
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
Care to elaborate?
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
Should public libraries have a mandate to support the curriculum of homeschoolers? Maybe, if the library board is prepared to tackle this mission then sure. The issue boils down to money to support this mission. Homeschoolers already have shunned the local education system and school library system which would has the mission of supporting the local curriculum. Shouldn’t public libraries receive necessary funding to develop, staff, and sustain such a mission? Yes, public libraries are the “peoples university†but in a tight budget should public libraries concentrate on K-12 taking away from the adult and pre-school portions of the cradle to grave portion of that mission?
This is a tricky issue. The only statistics on homeschooling say its the best thing since the plow. Those who interact with homeschoolers tend to feel that the statistics are cherry picked and only the success is reported. I guess my view is that when its done well by parents willing to make the necessary commitment that it will probably be at least as good as a public school education. The problem with stats on the issue is once a child leaves the system the system no longer counts them. You really have no idea of the number of failures in homeschoolers because it is largely unmonitored. Most of the regulation for it is to make sure that homeschoolers have similar opportunities as those who stay in the system. I tend to think most people in my area gravitate to homeschooling for lack of money to afford private religious schools, or if they lack a private school that supports their personal view point.
Tough issue no one wants to stand up and argue that dear old mom might not know what’s best for her children. Like I said when I started this post this is the issue for southern public librarians for the next several years. They have already toppled one library director on this issue. Be prepared, there will be others. The question is will you rollover and become a “homeschool library” or will you fight to preserve your other missions. The http://www.gcplwatch.org website did an excellent job of choosing statistics and misrepresenting them to make an argument. Shouldn’t libraries support education they ask? The correct phrasing would be shouldn’t libraries support education at your expense?
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
The gcplwatch.org site doesn’t seem to mention homeschooling that I can tell. Where does homeschooling come into this?
Re:So-called- ‘Family Friendly Folks’
I guess that’s as fair as a very left-leaning profession that wants to harmonize library systems in general with liberal values.
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
Well, folks, fill me in, I cannot get at the story because of the newspaper’s registration procedure. The form wants a zip code, I am in Canada where our codes are not zip codes but postal codes in a different format so the newspaper will not let me in. The Help button wants you to give a phone number, c’mon, way too much hassle. Registration is a pain anyway… Thanks just had to get that off my chest, and I AM interested in this story…
Re:Article links
Here are direct links to the articles in the
Atlanta Journal Constitution and the
Gwinnett Daily Post
Gwinnett Daily Post. I find it most intriguing that one of the board members who cast a “Fire” vote was actually just appointed–this was her very first meeting.
Thanks for Article links
Thank you for the link to the Gwinnett Daily Post, I am clued in now. (Constitution one still wants a zip code.) Home schooling and the demands of home schoolers are an issue for many public libraries, not just southern ones. In rural maritime Canada, home schoolers look for lots of curriculum support from our library, and our budget cannot always provide the resources they want. Nor should we feel we must – that is not the public library’s role.
Re:Thanks for Article links
Why isn’t it our role? We certainly carry the schools’ water to a great degree.
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
Some of the complainers are homeschoolers. Bhey aren’t demanding a bunch of homeschool materials. In fact, they said:
“Popular materials please a lot of people, but we would like to see a county-wide taxpayer survey because the supply may be creating the demand.”
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
Some of the complainers are homeschoolers. But they aren’t demanding a bunch of homeschool materials. In fact, they said:
“Popular materials please a lot of people, but we would like to see a county-wide taxpayer survey because the supply may be creating the demand.”
Re:No, homeschool was the issue.
That would be lovely. A tax payer supported survey for how to support education that is already supported by tax dollars.