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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 28, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Wrong course of action With all due respect, we think the Halton Catholic District School Board has a backward approach to vetting which books are acceptable for its elementary school libraries. In a move that has garnered global attention, the school board recently decided to pull The Golden Compass -- and two other titles from the same fantasy trilogy -- off elementary school library shelves following a complaint about the British author's openly-atheist views. First published in 1995, The Golden Compass is an award-winning book that was named the best children's book of the past 70 years by a worldwide audience of readers. While the book is not yet banned, it will not be on display at the Catholic board's school libraries until a committee has completed a review of its content. Wouldn't it have made more sense for the board to review this book first before making it available to schoolchildren? Since the board's schools are permitted to purchase library materials independently, it's not clear how many copies of the book were in circulation at Halton Catholic schools, or for how long. With many of author Philip Pullman's most-often-quoted controversial remarks having been made in interviews that took place between 2001-03, it would seem there's more at work here than a concerned citizen's discovery of offensive literature. In the United States the Catholic League has accused Pullman's trilogy of attacking Christianity and promoting atheism to children. The same religious group is actively encouraging parents to boycott a Hollywood adaptation of The Golden Compass starring Nicole Kidman when it opens next month. Is it purely coincidental that the board would receive a complaint about Pullman's books at precisely the same time that this protest south of the border is reaching its climax? We don't think so. Is it possible that Pullman's character and controversial statements are the real subjects of this review -- not the content of his books? We certainly hope not. According to a school board spokesperson, students will still be able to access the temporarily-pulled books by simply asking a school librarian for them. If the point of removing the books while they're being reviewed is to achieve an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" result, we think the effort may be ineffective. All the spinoff publicity that Pullman, his trilogy and the film are receiving will likely increase -- not reduce -- their popularity. In the end, all the extra attention may prove counter-productive to the Catholic board's goal of keeping children from being exposed to what its review committee may decide is inappropriate material for the school environment. While we support the board's right to choose -- in consultation with all its stakeholders -- what books are appropriate for young, developing minds in its charge, we would hope that an author's publicly-expressed ideology would not become the catalyst for finding his acclaimed literary works guilty by association. Making such a leap of faith in the name of protecting children makes us fear how far it could go. Will the literature of a gay author, a self-confessed drug addict or a promoter of religious teachings that conflict with Catholicism be next off school library shelves? The real lesson to be learned here -- by parents and educators -- is the importance of teaching our children to be critical thinkers, capable of interpreting another person's thoughts and ideas and deciding for themselves what, if any, value they hold. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Questionable decision The story Catholic schools pull book (Oakville Beaver, Nov. 23) shows how difficult it is to be a Catholic school trustee in these complicated times. Not only are the trustees called upon to answer questions regarding ontological arguments for God's existence, creationism and intelligent design, but nowadays they are expected by some parents to have read all the books on the school bookshelves and even to know the difference between science fiction and reality. Surely, this is a tall order for school trustees and leads us to empathize with them, if not sympathize. What's really astounding about the decision to withdraw the book is that it was made on the basis of so little knowledge and questionable authority. I'm reminded of a conversation the outstanding mythologist, Joseph Campbell, recalled in his book Myths To Live By. Campbell said he was seated in a restaurant at lunchtime and overheard a conversation between a young boy and his mother. The boy excitedly told his mother that another boy in his class got into trouble at school that morning because he wrote a report advocating the truth of evolution. The teacher reprimanded the boy and told the class that Adam and Eve were the first parents. The boy's mother said this was quite proper of the teacher because evolution was only a theory. The boy, Campbell recalled, was not daunted even by his mother and replied, "but it has been factualized: they found the bones." Hopefully the trustees of the Catholic board will themselves get copies of this book and look for "bones." Or, better still, perhaps they can leave it to the intelligence of 12-year-old students and their well-educated teachers. DOUG KNOTT, RETIRED TEACHER Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.