There’s a new book club at Brookshire Elementary in Winter Park. It was started in response to statewide book bans.
It’s Valentine’s Day and the kids who are a part of the Reading Fox book club, are passing out candy before they separate into their assigned reading groups.
Each group consists of two to three students from Brookshire Elementary along with two undergrad student teachers from Rollins. The goal? To boost literacy while introducing kids to diverse works.
The book club is the brainchild of Rollins College education professor Dr. Jie Yu. Yu said right now most teachers are afraid to introduce students to books about Black, brown and LGBTQ people.
“That's actually a reasonable concern, if not a worry for teachers, because we know that there's a list of banned books that teachers are not allowed to use in the public schooling system," said Yu.
Yu has book club participants read books like “Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story” banned in Duval County. She said students need to learn how to navigate the world around them.
“The real task is how to appropriately respond to those diversities that are already there," said Yu.
It’s only their second meeting, but Jocelyn LeStourgeon, a kindergarten teacher at Brookshire said the club is popular amongst students. On this day, about 20 kids were there.
LeStourgeon said there’s a need for diverse books.
“Because it’s like oh that character could do it so, I can do it and students love that. Students love that," said LeStourgeon.
Since the passage of HB 1069 last year, the Florida Freedom to Read Project says thousands of books have been banned here.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis at a recent press conference called on lawmakers to reform the law to make it more difficult to challenge classics like “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
“I really hope that that could put an end to the games that have happened, there is nothing in state law that would require not having any of these classic works in a school setting. These books have been there for generations," said DeSantis.
But as the legislature works on a rule that would curtail these challenges, teachers are still trying to navigate laws regarding book bans and what books they make accessible for students.
Stephana Ferrell, is the director of the Florida Freedom to Read Project. Simply put, she said people are scared to lose their jobs and some are removing books just in case.
“One parent might see a book or a citizen might see a book on the list. It talks about racism and segregation or discrimination. And somebody might file a complaint with the state saying, this is teaching about those topics in an age inappropriate way," said Ferrell.
An example of this is Orange County where Brookshire is located. Almost 700 books were removed from Orange County classrooms in 2023 though there were only 10 challenges filed. This school year, there has been only one official challenge.Volusia has had 34 challenges, Seminole 10, Brevard one and Marion has received no book challenges this school year.
Ferrell said there needs to be training around the law and how it’s enforced.
Back at the Reading Fox book club, kindergarten teacher Jocelyn LeStourgeon said regardless of what happens at the state level…
“We have a diverse community here. We have new students coming every day from all over the world, truly. And then it can be isolating coming to a new place and seeing yourself in text is so important and encourages you to become a reader, a learner," said LeStourgeon.
Check out the list of books, Reading Fox book club participants might read from this year.
