Saturday, September 25, 2010
Kay McSpadden: "Banned books limit freedom"
Link to September 25 guest column in the Charlotte Observer.
Excerpt: Involved parents help their children make informed choices by reading with them, talking about the books and using literature as a jumping off point for serious discussions about relevant issues.
Involved parents know that literature that deals with the issues children face helps develop empathy - and that censoring their choices takes away opportunities to learn the critical thinking skills they need for the rest of their lives.
They show that famed Missouri skepticism - isn't it the Show Me State? - and question the motives of people urging them to make decisions based on fearmongering and mischaracterizations.
And the school boards would do well to follow this mission statement: "Every effort will be made to provide materials that present all points of view concerning international, national and local problems and issues of our times. Books, or other instructional and media materials of sound factual authority, shall not be prescribed, nor removed from library shelves or classrooms on the basis of partisan or doctrinal approval or disapproval."
SPARK Program at the Milwaukee Public Museum
Link to September 25 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, "Where history sparks memories. Museum program helps those with dementia".
Excerpt: On a recent day at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Paul Strains says a phrase he doesn't use very often any more:
"I remember now."
Strains, who has dementia, spots the 19th-century tool in an exhibit case and calls his friends over to talk about it. "My father had one of those. It's called a tack hammer. His was bigger. I used it. He was a painter. I was a painter, too. I remember now."
The tack hammer, the museum and Strains joined together to rekindle memories as part of SPARK, a new ongoing program here. The Milwaukee Public Museum is the first natural history museum in the Midwest to offer SPARK, a free cultural series for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia and their caregivers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)