Taking Banned Books Into Her Own Hands ... Er, Locker

Jen Chaney — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:05:00 GMT

One Catholic school student apparently has decided to stick it to the man. Or at least stick it to the people at her Catholic school, which has released a list of books that the students are not allowed to read.

According to a posting on Boing Boing, which points to a question posed by the student on Yahoo! Answers, the young lady has started a banned books lending library in the locker next to hers, a place where her peers can get access to such "offensive" tomes as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Paradise Lost, and Lord of the Flies. Her Yahoo! Question is whether she can legitimately get in trouble for doing what she's doing. The response, for the most part, has been positive, with several people calling her both brave and a hero. But at least one reader questions the truth of what she's saying.

And I can sort of see that person's point. I mean, it's a great story and that makes me want to believe it. But some of the books on the school's "banned" list seem a little ridiculous (Bridge to Terabithia? Really?) I also wonder why the girl would post this question on the World Wide Web if she is genuinely concerned about getting caught.

But, for the sake of argument, let's assume it is true. It's definitely awesome that she's taking matters into her own hands and exposing her fellow students to some really spectacular literature. (Even more awesome? The kid has standards: "Twilight is banned also, but I don't want that polluting my library," she writes.)

As far as the issue about getting into trouble, she might be better off running the lending library off of school grounds. Of course, that's not as delicious as clandestinely keeping the novels in a locker. But it might achieve the same goal and avoid the possibility of her getting suspended.

But that's just my advice, and I was never this rebellious. Again, if the story is true, the school finds out and action is taken against the girl, the ACLU would be on this case faster than you can say, The Canterbury Tales. Which, by the way, is another book on the school's banned list.

Image: Guardian

Top Baby Names in 2008 Announced!

Cole Gamble — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Do you have a little Aiden or Isabella scampering about the house? Then congratulations, your kid has the most popular name for 2008 (and condolences for all those hate jumping on trends).

According to Parent.com, the top influencers for names in 2008 were President Elect Obama, Brittany Spears, television and the Twilight series. Oh, and the letter M.

The top 10 names for girls?

And for boys:

From the Parents.com press release:

Presidential Baby Names: Barack Obama won the presidency – but did he also start a name trend? Malia, Michelle and Barack -- which previously wasn't even in the top 500 -- all rose in popularity from 2007 to 2008 (although Sasha fell in popularity), and we see them continuing to climb the charts after the inauguration.

Ooops She Did It Again--The Britney Comeback Effect: Parents are embracing the first and middle name Spears chose for her second son, Jayden James. Jayden is #2 and James is #7.

The influence of TV: The boob tube can affect baby names – witness the popularity of Aidan (#1), Carrie's loveable boyfriend on Sex and the City, or Addison (#8), the name of the Grey's Anatomy doc who got her own spinoff, Private Practice, this year.

Last Names as First Names That Can Be Used For Boys and Girls: Avery, Logan, Riley and Peyton are all climbing the lists. Last names as first names suggest power, prestige and tradition.

First Timers Making the List: Aalyiah (#28) and Teagan (#44) made their debuts on the list for girl's names. On the boy's side, Micah (#41) and Tristan (#49) showed up on the list for the first time.

Book it: Twilight fever has hit the baby name world too, as Edward and Bella, the names of the star-crossed lovers in Stephanie Meyer's vampire series and now the feature film, both rose in popularity last year. Other names inspired by popular fiction are Madeline (#9) and Olivia (#10).

"M" Names: Girl names starting with "M" rank high on the list, like Madison (#6), Madeline (#9), Makayla (#19), Mia (#21), MacKenzie (#22) and Michelle (#31).

Did your kids make the grade with any of these names? Do you care? Do you prefer to have an out of the ordinary name for your child and isn’t it true if enough parents use out of the ordinary names those names eventually turn ordinary?

Check out Parent.com’s full article here: top baby names of 2008

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