It Couldn't Happen Here In America?

As I told Carlos over breakfast yesterday, I can find a showtune to fit every mood, occasion, or story, and after reading this particular news item, the song ‘Something Bad,’ from Wicked, instantly sprang to mind:

“Oh, Miss Elphaba, the things one hears these days

Dreadful things
I've heard of an Ox, a professor from Quox
No longer permitted to teach
Who has lost all powers of speech
And an owl in Munchkin Rock
A vicar with a thriving flock
Forbidden to preach
Now he only can screech
Only rumors, but still enough to give pause
To anyone with paws
Something bad is happening in Oz.”

But the something bad is happening in America …

Summer Boismier, a teacher in Norman, Oklahoma, has resigned her position after being reprimanded for placing the Brooklyn Libraries QR code in her classroom. That code allows people everywhere the ability to download and read the books banned in this country by our public school system. In addition to the QR code, Boismier placed butcher paper over her classroom bookshelves with the words "Books the state doesn't want you to read":

"I saw this as an opportunity for my kids who were seeing their stories hidden to skirt that directive. Nowhere in my directives did it say we can't put a QR code on a wall."

But a parent complained that Boismier was talking about politics in class :::gasp::: and she was reprimanded because Oklahoma's new law, House Bill 1775, says a teacher may not teach anything that makes a student feel uncomfortable on the basis of their race or sex. But Boismier was talking about books, and not even specific books, just banned books.

And in America today speaking of banned books can cause you to lose your job..

Wes Moody, a Norman Public School [NPS] spokesperson, said the issue did not center around the QR code, though he did not specify what the real issue was, though he claims Boismier made "personal political statements" and made a "political display" in the classroom. I imagine that was the "Books the state doesn't want you to read” sign  which is, in fact, the truth.

Enter State education secretary Ryan Walters, clearly a rightwingnut loon, who first said Boismier was fired—she was not—and then backtracked on that, but claimed that by sharing that QR code, Boismier provided pornographic material to her students. And for that lie, he wants her teaching certificate revoked, which the Department of Education says would be the first teaching certificate revocation of its kind in that state. But Ryan Walters wants to make sure that Summer Boismier cannot teach anywhere in this country because she gave her students access to book he deems unacceptable.

“There is no place for a teacher with a liberal political agenda in the classroom. Ms. Boismier’s providing access to banned and pornographic material to students is unacceptable and we must ensure she doesn’t go to another district and do the same thing.”

Now, wait a moment; doesn’t that sound political, if Walters is suggesting only rightwing conservatives teach in public schools? In America is speech only free is it fits the narrow-minded narrative of conservatives?

And while Ryan Walters is a vile human being, even more disgusting is GOP state Senator Rob Standridge, co-author of HB 1775, who says Boismier should be criminally prosecuted for sharing the QR code because book sharing is a crime in America in 2022.

The district, in its statement about Boismier's resignation, said some colleagues shared her concerns about HB 1775:

"Like many educators the teacher has concerns regarding censorship and book removal by the Oklahoma state legislature. However, as has always been our expectation, we want our classrooms to be places where ALL students feel welcome."

How are ALL students welcomed if you remove books about LGBTQ+ American? How are young people of color made to feel welcome when history is scrubbed of the indignities their ancestors suffered?

Linda E. Johnson, president and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library, says the library will continue to support teachers like Summer Boismier:

"The democratic principles on which both our nation and public libraries were founded include the right of every individual to seek information from all points of view. Brooklyn Public Library stands firmly with Summer Boismier and all who champion free expression, intellectual freedom, and the right to read."

And on the upside, a small upside, Heather Hall, owner of Green Feather Book Company in Norman, Oklahoma is stepping up by giving away free T-shirts to NPS students with the QR code to the Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned Project:

"A teacher should not be held responsible for anything at a public library, even if she was the one who made the library more accessible to the students."

Hall believes the shirts don't violate Oklahoma law because students, not teachers, will be wearing them, and NPS spokesperson Wes Moody agreed that, under the school district's dress code, students will be allowed to wear the T-shirts; and Hall added:

"I really hope [the shirts empower the] administration to be brave, to stand up for education, for public education, for the open and free exchange of ideas, and for the hard conversations. As parents, we always have to have the hard conversations, and for us, with the way public education has evolved, sometimes those conversations have to happen in public schools. and as long as they're respectful of all walks of life and all views, I think that it's important to allow kids to have these conversations, particularly around literature."

It couldn't happen here in Oz America

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