In its most recent attempt to reduce child literacy rates, Moms for Liberty has announced that Scholastic Book Fairs provide inappropriate material to children, and must be stopped. More specifically, a spokesman for the group stated in a press release:
“Scholastic, a once trusted company that happens to be one of the top publishers of children’s books, now appears largely focused on indoctrinating youth with radical viewpoints and sexual ideologies from a very young age at an increasingly rapid rate[.]”
This could be in reference to Scholastic’s recent pledge to stop segregating “diverse” books in their shipments for school book fairs but we can’t say for certain. When asked to elaborate on which viewpoints and ideologies the group was referring to, a spokesperson declined to answer.
In their original press release, Moms for Liberty claimed that the books available to children at Scholastic book fairs violate Oklahoma state law, but failed to specify which ones. The group also asserted that parents have the right to monitor the content their children read. (Scholastic encourages parent participation in book fairs, and most school fairs are actually run by parent volunteers.)
Defense of Democracy, an advocacy group focusing on cultivating diverse and accepting learning environments, responded to Moms for Liberty’s assertions:
“It’s just another thing they come up with to fight and make a fuss and to continue their attack on public education…Moms for Liberty doesn’t get to decide when everybody else determines the material is appropriate for their children[.]”
The group has previously taken umbrage with certain mathematics textbook publishing companies due to the content of their books containing “Social Emotional Learning.” The result was eight textbook publishers removing themselves from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. What is social-emotional learning, you ask? Put simply, it refers to how children develop self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills among their peers. An imminent danger that was apparently lurking in the pages of our children’s math textbooks.
(via Oklahoma’s News 4, featured image: Getty Images)
