May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day, as established by UNESCO / United Nations. The freedom of the press is essential to the establishment and health of democracy. In our world of social media, misinformation, disinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories, more than ever we need a free, independent, professional and ethical press.
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Join with us in Your School Library as we celebrate International Women’s Day by learning more about the historical and ongoing struggle for women’s rights and equality in Canada and around the world.
“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
Source: Unknown*
The rights and freedoms of Canadians include the right to read what you want to read. Such rights and freedoms are fundamental to democracy. However, such rights and freedoms are meaningless unless citizens exercise these rights and freedoms.
There are authoritarian forces at work in our society that seek power by attacking your rights, including attempts to censor or limit your freedom to read. Totalitarian states know that uneducated and illiterate citizens are easier to control and oppress. Such forces can only celebrate that the work is much simpler when significant portions of the population choose not to read. Censorship becomes less pressing when “aliteracy” becomes prevalent.
A true democracy guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms to its citizens. But to work effectively, indeed, to survive, democracy requires that citizens exercise those rights. In particular, democracy breaks down if citizens aren’t educated, informed and active.
The rise of powerful new information technology in the last few decades has made it more important than ever that citizens are highly “information literate.” Citizens must not only have access to information, they must have the tools required to wade through increasingly destructive levels of misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and outright lies. Citizens need to have access to information that is credible, accurate and trustworthy.
The rise of anti-intellectualism and anti-science movements, perhaps most recently represented by anti-vax conspiracies, are part of the wider breakdown of democratic institutions. There is little doubt that attacks on public education over many years have reaped some these results and are integral to the rise of authoritarianism.
It is not enough to celebrate the Freedom to Read. As citizens of democratic societies, we have an obligation to exercise our Freedom to Read, in part so that we are equipped to defend our democratic rights and freedoms.
It is clear that democracy is under attack, throughout the world, and in our back yard. We must act.
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Note* The above quote, or variations on it, are often popularly attributed to Mark Twain. However the original source of this quote, or its variations, remains unclear.
From September 2022 to the end of August 2023, Canadian libraries, especially school libraries, faced the highest number of book challenges ever for a 12 month period in Canada (source). The number of official challenge is likely just a small fraction of the challenges that go unreported– ALA studies suggest 82 -97% of challenges go unreported (source).
Intellectual freedom has been a pillar of library philosophy for nearly a century; and in our current climate, it is perhaps our most valuable tool in our efforts to amplify the voices of the most marginalized within our communities.
Michael Nyby
Read the full article, “A Rising Tide of Censorship: Recent Challenges in Canadian Libraries” by Michael Nyby of the CFLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, at Freedomtoread.ca
Canada’s Freedom to Read Week in 2024 is February 18-24.
Do you believe that you should be able to choose what you read? Or should other people be able to decide for you what you can read? Freedom to Read Week celebrates our fundamental freedoms as citizens of democracies and our fundamental rights as human beings. Freedom to Read Week also asks you to stand up for your rights and oppose those who want to take away your freedom to read.
Find out more at freedomtoread.ca
One of the icons of the US Civil Rights movement looked an unlikely hero but proved to be someone whose strength of character belied her appearance. Rosa Parks was born on this day in 1934. In the face of the overt racism of 1950’s America, Rosa famously refused to give up her seat on the bus, as black people were expected to do for white people. She was arrested, and the resulting Montgomery Bus Boycott proved to be one of foundational events of the Civil Rights Movement.
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Come down to the School Library to check out our titles on Rosa Parks and other books for Black History Month:
October 1-7 is Banned Books Week. What can you do?
October is International School Library Month
October is Canadian Library Month
October 1-7 is Banned Books Week. Come down to your School Library to find out more. Find out why book banning is a threat to your freedoms. See the books that are among the most challenged in the world today. Read a banned book this week. Read what you want to read all the time.
There are an alarming number of myths about SOGI education in our schools that are being passed around in our neighbourhoods and around the nation. Misinformation, disinformation, distortions and lies are rampant. Here are some links to resources to find out more about what is happening in BC Schools and to learn more about why SOGI inclusive education is so important.
SOGI Inclusive Education Myth Busting
Surrey Schools SOGI-Inclusive Education
SOGI-PSST (Protecting Surrey Schools Together)
Government of British Columbia: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Information for Parents from Canada’s Paediatricians
We live, study and work in a diverse gender society. Today’s children and youth are growing up in a new gender world. It is important to acknowledge and create an environment that respects and celebrates our differences in gender identities and sexual orientation and expression. Creating an inclusive culture prevents children and youth from experiencing distress, discrimination, bullying and ultimately negative health outcomes. Creating a respectful environment helps transgender and gender creative children lead happy, healthy and confident lives.
Fraser Health
Also known by such names as Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery after the end of the American Civil War.
source: amny.com
Juneteenth has grown to be a day that is observed in the US and around the world, as it symbolizes not only the fight against the evil that is slavery, but also the fight against racism in all its forms. Slavery finally came to end in the US in 1865, but racism lies at the heart of so many of the evils that still haunt the United States, Canada, and indeed, humanity. Current issues such as Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, are all just part of the ongoing and centuries old struggle against racism.
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source: mosaictemplars.com
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 