Of this I have clarity...

 by Mary Reiman 

The phrase “looking for clarity” jumped out at me when reading the book The Last Thing He Told Me yesterday.  

 Clarity: the quality of being coherent and intelligible.

 Another word I do not use very often perhaps because there are many, many things in the world I’m not clear about. No clarity regarding most topics I tend to write about or think about or even read about. But there is one topic of which I am very, very clear. The Right to Read.

 One of the favorite components of my days as a school librarian were book talks. I had the opportunity to share just enough about each book to entice my students to want to check it out. Always included were the conversations that no one was requiring them to finish the book if they did not like it. I always suggested reading at least 50 pages. If it hasn’t grabbed their interest by that point, return it and find me for another suggestion. 

Sometimes the topic was so intriguing that several wanted to read the same book at the same time. Alas there was only one copy. What a heart soaring problem for a school librarian to have!

 I loved to see students find that spark. Finding just the right book at just the right time. Sometimes the topics were difficult, sometimes soul searching. And that’s what they wanted. To learn, to grow, to expand their horizons and to have choices. They had a great sense of social justice and, yes, they were appalled to think that anyone would tell them they didn’t have the right to read whatever they wanted to read. Or that anyone would suggest one they loved should be removed because it might offend someone. 

 Thinking of this reinforces the concept of windows and mirrors which was first introduced to me by Emily Style and Peggy McIntosh in the early 90s. The idea that reading the thoughts of others gives us a window into a world we have not seen before, as well as sometimes giving us a mirror to reflect on how closely our lives look and feel even though we may seem so different. Isn’t that what we want and need? To learn from others’ experiences, to learn from the past, to realize the mistakes and atrocities, the happiness and the sorrow. Because how can we be better if we never talk about sexual assault or domestic violence or hate or racism. How can we be better? How can we be better advocates for the injustices that surround us?

 These were the headlines yesterday in a post from NBC News. “Southlake school leader tells teacher to balance Holocaust books with ‘opposing’ views.” The leader making the statement was the school district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction. The superintendent later apologized, stating, "The comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history…Additionally, we recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust." Really?  REALLY? 

 For me, this is an obvious sign that we need to read. Read, reflect and read more.

 We must defend the importance of reading, the right to read...of this I have clarity.  

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