Brian from Toronto, in the interest of full disclosure, are you the same Brian who wrote the original article in for the Jewish Tribune entitled, "Could This Book Turn Your Child Against Israel" and "An Open Letter to Ontario's Education Minister?"
Brian Henry, a parent and the writer of the article believes that although 'one book by itself is never going to make any child any sort of bigot. Along with other things though, yes, it could.' He add that schools should be 'a politics-free zone.'
What is your source for concluding, "Every school board in the province that has independently examined The Shepherd's Granddaughter has concluded that the book is problematic?" Are you the parent who is asking that this book be removed from the OLA Forest of Reading list and are filing a formal complaint?
May I ask if you have read the book? I will admit that I have not. I am awaiting an Inter-library loan and will read it. However, I am opposed to banning books on principle. Many of the same criticisms of The Shepherd's Granddaughter were leveled at Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak prior to having it removed from Toronto schools. I have read this book and found it to be balanced and fair.
Schools cannot be "a politics-free zone," in my opinion, if we are to raise healthy, well-rounded, critical thinkers. There is a huge difference between addressing controversial issues and promoting political agendas. The Toronto District School Board policy, which you cited states that controversy is part of life. You imply that some parties have a political agenda which they are promoting through "slipping" The Shepherd's Granddaughter into the Red Maple Award Program. I do not see what the author, the Ontario Library Association, or the Ontario schools would have to gain by promoting a political agenda through a novel for children.
As for making sure a book is "good" before encouraging children to read it, I searched a number of reviews. You are welcome to read them in their entirety. The links are included.
Quill and Quire is negative about the complexity of the subplots.
...this novel has enough material for a whole series of books, and it gets overwhelmed by a series of underdeveloped subplots...that fragment the narrative’s focus and undermine its realism.However, this respected magazine also lauds the author for her attempt to foster peace.
The Shepherd’s Granddaughter is a well-intentioned, very earnest narrative that aims to foster international harmony by educating young readers.
The Jane Addams Peace Association chose The Shepherd's Granddaughter as an honor book for older children for the 56th Jane Addams Children's Book.
In 2009, the Canadian Library Association chose The Shepherd's Granddaughter as a Book of the Year for children, according to the School Library Journal.
This is an award winning book (USBBY Outstanding International Books selection, selected for the Cooperative Chidlren's Book Cente0 Comments on A Response to Brian re: The Shepherd's Granddaughter as of 1/1/1900Add a Comment
Posting about The Shepherd’s Granddaughter under "Banned Books" gets the issue upside down.
When schools recommend a book to students, they should first make sure the book has merit.
This wasn't done with the Shepherd's Granddaughter. The Ontario Library Association put the book in its Forest of Reading program and the schools assumed the book must be good.
As a result, Ontario schools have been recommending a book that depicts Israelis as child-murderers, commanded by the Jewish God to steal and kill.
This isn't just my opinion. Every school board in the province that has independently examined The Shepherd's Granddaughter has concluded that the book is problematic.
The York Region School Board has advised its administrators and teacher-librarians that students
reading The Shepherd's Granddaughter should be supported by “facilitated discussions”
to avoid discrimination and the expression of bias.
See here: http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18696&Itemid=86
In the Niagara District, the book has been red-flagged so that student readers are alerted that the book is unbalanced.
In Toronto, the Board has labelled the book as "controversial," which puts into effect a series of requirements, including guidance from teachers before, during and after the students read the book, and the supply of supporting material to teachers and alternate books to students so that they can identify and correct bias.
See here: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/viewitem.asp?siteid=15&menuid=8974&pageid=7863
Moreover, the Toronto Board has changed its procedures in regard to The Forest of Reading program so that henceforth staff will review these books before schools start recommending them to students.
The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has followed suit.
You headline this posting: "Should schools be a politics-free zone?"
That's not actually a question: everyone involved in education agrees that schools shouldn't be used to promote political agendas.
Only the Ontario Library Association doesn't get this. Hence, they slip a book like the Shepherd's Granddaughter into the Forest of Reading program. Then they yell "censorship" when someone points out that schools shouldn't encourage children to read a book that promotes hatred of Israelis and Jews.
When schools encourage children to read a book, they should first make sure the book is good. The issue is as simple as that.