Counselor’s Corner:
Steller and School Business Partner Title Wave Celebrate Banned Books Week 2007
The first Wednesday afternoon in October was brilliantly sunny and mild, but that didn’t stop 17 Steller students from staying inside to read books!
Admittedly, they were in good company as Steller graduate Mayor Mark Begich, Superintendent Carol Comeau, Rebecca Sheir, host of the Alaska Public Radio Network’s award-winning show “AK,” joined them at Title Wave Books to celebrate the 26th annual celebration of Banned Books Week 2007.
The American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week aims to remind our country of its freedom to read by focusing special attention on those books, many of which are contemporary classics that have been banned or threatened throughout history.
During Steller’s Banned Book Read Out at Title Wave, all those that participated read passages from their favorite banned and challenged books in front of a packed house and the watchful eyes of a Channel 11 camera crew. Each celebrity in turn introduced themselves and the reasons they had chosen their particular banned book:
Clay K., Mira M., and Karlie W. – To Kill A Mockingbird;
James G. – Slaughterhouse Five;
Rebecca Sheir(Alaska Public Radio Network) – And Tango Makes Three;
Carol Comeau, Anna M., Tonya P., and Shannon Herda – Harry Potter;
Dieter B. – Naked Lunch;
Cooper G. – Fahrenheit 451;
Madelyn T. – The Color Purple;
Tonei G. – Perks of Being a Wallflower;
Mayor Mark Begich – The Chocolate War;
Jesse N. – 1984;
Hayley H. – The Catcher in the Rye;
Wade B. – Fallen Angels;
Alexandra G. and Malcolm K. – Lord of the Flies;
Jordyn S. – A Light in the Attic;
and Eliza M. – censorship quotes.
Give a HUGE thank you to Danielle and Shannon for recruiting and working with students on this project. Danielle was thrilled with the Steller participation and was later overheard saying, “I was so proud of all of them!” Carol Comeau remarked, “I was SO impressed by the poise of the students, and the selections they read.”
A HUGE thanks goes out to Title Wave Books, our incredible school business partner, for graciously hosting this event. Finally, one more HUGE thanks goes to everyone who participated and attended, including students, parents and staff. Steller demonstrated to our community once again that its uniquely indomitable and intrepid school spirit is alive and thriving. As Alfred Whitney Griswold stated in his Essays on Education,
“Books won’t stay banned. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom. And the surest path to wisdom is a liberal education.”
Linda Samorajski
School Counselor and
School Business Partnership Coordinator