Synopsis:
Schools are supposed to introduce children to a variety of ideas and viewpoints, but the Miami-Dade School Board decided a few years ago to put one viewpoint off limits. It banned the children’s book “A Visit to Cuba” from its school libraries because it said the book offers too positive a portrait of life under the Castro regime. That was bad enough, but then last week, a federal appeals court upheld the ban. The Supreme Court should reverse this disturbing ruling.
A visit to cuba covers land, landmarks, homes, food, clothes, work, transportation, language, school, free time, celebrations, and the arts.To learn more about this interesting issue -- please visit (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/opinion/11wed3.html?_r=1)
Personal response:
After reading this interesting article, I was very surprised that this book caused such an uproar in the Miami-Dade County Public School District. As stated in the article, “A Visit to Cuba” and its Spanish edition, “Vamos a Cuba,” are part of a series of books for children ages 4 to 8 that introduces them to the geography, customs and daily life of different countries. The Miami-Dade County Public School District has 49 copies in its elementary and middle schools. Yet, a father of an elementary-school student, complained that the portrait of Cuba in the book was inaccurate, and petitioned to have “A Visit to Cuba” pulled.
Intrigued by this argument, I decided to review the book in order to gain a better perspective of the situation at hand. After reviewing the book, I can honestly say that I couldn’t locate any real specific things that signified this book should be removed from library shelves. But then again I am not a Cuban, and I have little knowledge about the Castro regime. Therefore, I feel that because this is such a touchy subject for readers (mainly parents) that this is the real reason why this book is being challenged. Although, some of books content includes advanced information for its intended age range, and it may include questionable pictures, I’m still undecided about the act of permanently removing this book from all Miami-Dade Public School libraries. If anything, I feel this book could educate many children about the way of life for Cubans.
Food for thought:
What is your thought/opinion about this article?
Do you feel this book should be removed from school libraries?
12 comments:
Kimberly,
I hope the U.S. Supreme Court takes up this case and is able to reverse this decision. I am always baffled when a work of nonfiction is challenged. People are going to have different interpretations of life in Cuba. However, to ban a book for a different interpretation is unbelievable.
Roger Barnes
Yes, I was pretty alarmed when I found this article. The book cover seems quite friendly and interesting, yet many people dislike this book and want it banned. Who would have ever thought a simple book about Cuba would cause so much trouble/fuss. I wonder what other books in this series will be next to be challenged by a disapproving parent.
I think this might be a case of a group that is too homogenous in it's thinking to be able to look at the case objectively. When you have feelings that run as deep as the Cuban community in Miami, it's a good idea to get someone to help decide the issue who isn't so emotionally investd in the subject matter. I am surpised that it was banned, even so.
I could see removing the book if the information was not correct or out dated, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Just because you do not think a book displays your personal ideal of a country does not mean you should remove it, since children should have access to many different viewpoints of life. For example, my husband is from Scotland and lives in a Village not a City. If I read a book that described Scotland only from the city standpoint, I would not demand it off the shelf just because I think of Scotland from the village and country standpoint.
Kimberly, I have two questions; the book is part of a series, correct? Do you know who the publisher is? and if any other titles are about countries governed by totalitarian regimes?
(No big deal if you don't; I'm just curious). And for anyone who knows Spanish--high school was a long time ago for me!--doesn't the Spanish title literally translate to "Let's go to Cuba"? Which should be a perfectly acceptable name: Let's Go to Canada, or Mexico, or wherever, probably wouldn't not raise any eyebrows, but given anti-Castro sentiment in Florida, it seems an odd choice; many people fought to get out of Cuba, and might not want their children to believe it's a wonderful place to go. I asked about the publisher because I wondered if they have another agenda besides selling books-- when does a publication become propaganda? Is propaganda protected by the first ammendment?It sounds like an innocuous book to me, and I hope the Supreme Court does reverse the ruling if indeed it is factually accurate. I'm just thinking aloud.
Tammy
I think Nell makes a good point about how feelings run so deep in the Cuban community in Miami. And given our government's stance against Cuba, it's not surprising (though I don't agree with the banning) that such a book would be banned and perhaps seen as propaganda, especially since traveling to Cuba has been banned and the book is called "a visit to Cuba." But even though our country has been politically opposed to Cuba, there can still be a positive viewpoint about the lives of the Cuban people, and so I don't agree with banning such a book. I think more controversial would be a book on North Korea that portrayed it in a positive light. I definitely see where there could be certain educational books that need to be reevaluated because of possible misinformation, but not just because a lack of agreement with a certain viewpoint.
Also, Obama has recently decided to lift some of the bans on travel to Cuba, so maybe our attitude/viewpoint will change. toward Cuba.
This story really annoys me because it hits on an element of intellectual freedom that can be most endangered in America: political, ideological freedom. Like all countries, the U.S. has official stances about other nations' regimes and even its own history, and it feels like people are not allowed to disagree with those. Democracy and freedom should permit people to discuss openly their opinions of other systems of government. It doesn't seem like that issue is even terribly relevant with this picture book, which sounds rather innocuous. I am sure it is a hot button issue in Miami, but people need to allow for the existence of other perspectives and interpretations!
Yes, this book is part of a series. This series also includes books on Brazil, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, The United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Here is the information regarding the publisher I located from amazon.com
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Heinemann Library (December 2000)
Hello Classmates,
I was talking to a close friend about this book being banned and she sent me this link that talked about the education level of adults in Miami which may shed some light on this situation. But I'm not sure if that's the case..But I wanted to share this little info with you all -- check out the link: http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/10.html
I watched a news story on this (could have been on CNN or NBC... can't remember). Apparently, this book has some factual inaccuracies. I personally do not know. But if it is an inaccurate book and it claims to be nonfiction, then I think this isn't about intellectual freedom at all. Instead, it is about keeping a lousy book off of the shelves. Now, if it was classified as fiction--- that brings up many more issues. Fiction books don't have to be factual, and thus, removing the book does bring up intellectual freedom issues.
Kim,
As Nell pointed out, many of the people who object to this book are either Cuban immigrants or the sons and daughters of Cuban immigrants (dissidents). While I do not agree with those who want to ban this book based on their political or ideological beliefs, I do believe the allegations of factual inaccuracies should be investigated.
Thanks,
Michael
I am sure if we went to Cuba and checked out a book about Americans, we would not be to thrilled either. Maybe the author did not spend enough time to getting the information correct. These non-fiction books are printed quickly and many times pictures and copy come from older sources. Having someone from the country review the copy and photos before it goes to print might be a good idea.
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