A reader writes:
Have you heard of the Junie B. Jones books? My wife and I are a little bewildered on this issue, and I'd certainly like to hear your take and that of Crunchy Con blog followers.Here's the deal: Our daughter just entered the 1st grade in a private Catholic school. Our experience last year in kindergarten was great.
Now something has occurred that is causing us to reassess. Long story short, this is the first week of school and we found out tonight that her teacher plans to have the kids read Junie B. Jones books this year.
We are not Catholics, though we felt this private school was the best option for our daughter in terms of the choices available to us. After watching John Stossel's "Stupid in America" special report a few years ago, we began doing research and decided our public schools (though they have a decent reputation) were still not a good option. There is a Protestant private school in our community as well, but it is frankly too rigid an environment in our judgement (they don't allow children to talk during lunchtime), and home schooling did not seem best for an only child.
Anyway, back to Junie B. Jones: Two years ago, I started reading chapter books aloud to our daughter. Her attention span as a four year old was great, and we plowed through Little House on the Prairie, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, the Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe and James & the Giant Peach in short order.
Looking for more material, I picked up a Junie B. Jones book on the recommendation of a librarian and tossed it aside after reading the first chapter. My wife and I were absolutely horrified. Bad behavior, bad grammar, even bullying (all of it uncorrected or unpunished, and even contextualized as cute). We were basically stopping on every page, and noting aloud how naughty Junie was, or how she'd used a bad word, or she wasn't using correct words, etc. I had to spend more time explaining Junie's bad actions and bad language than I did actually immersing ourselves in the story.
After our close encounter with Junie B. Jones two years ago, I ran into this NYT article last year, and it confirmed what my wife and I already knew. We were astounded by how closely our experience tracked that of other parents who were concerned about the books.
If you read the article there's an astounding amount of sophistry used to defend the books. Some of the choice bits from the New York Times article include references to "whole language" reading methodology, along with quotes from a "doctoral student" who says demonstrably absurd things like "I believe perfect grammar is any grammar that works" and hails Junie B. Jones for teaching kids "the English of the future."
Also, comments from the author herself are false. She has a selective memory in downplaying the consequence-free disrespectful, insolent and bullying behavior of her fictional creation. The author of the books also tries to frame parental concerns about her books as a censorship issue, and it's anything but. I have no interest in "banning" Junie B. Jones. I simply don't think it's appropriate or useful educational material for six-year-olds.
This latest incident compounds our other experiences: My wife and I are having the increasingly bizarre experience of feeling like Amish in the midst of a hostile culture -- when, in fact, we're mainstream middle class Americans. A few years back when our daughter was in pre-K at a local church, we had to make our displeasure known about the fact that the class had been viewing PG-rated fare in class once a week, without any notification of parents. In fact, they'd been watching some of the cruder CG-animated "family" fare we ourselves had assiduously avoided.
At the time, we were the only parents to raise any objections, and I have a sinking feeling we're going to be in the same boat this time around. We were made to feel like prudes over that incident with PG films two years ago, but luckily this happened at the end of the year and we knew she would soon be gone from there and placed in the private school the next year. Ah, the irony.
I know nothing about the Junie B. Jones book, but man, do I ever sympathize with this reader. Last weekend we had some friends over to visit for the first time, and we were pleased that our kids got along so well. Julie and her distaff counterpart apparently talked for a bit about how hard it is to find parents who are as strict with their kids about exposure to this or that aspect of pop culture. I know people who count themselves as normal, middle-class conservatives who barely govern the TV, movies and music their kids take in -- and think that parents who take pop culture and parenting seriously are neo-Amish weirdos. Well, fine: when it comes to mainstream parenting standards, I stand with Caitlin Flanagan, who wrote in this must-read Atlantic Monthly piece:
"The 'it takes a village' philosophy is a joke, because the village is now so polluted and so desolate of commonly held, child-appropriate moral values that my job as a mother is not to rely on the village but to protect my children from it."
Amen. But to the point of this post: Readers, where do you stand on Junie B. Jones?
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I have been a elementary school teacher for 10 years and a parent for 7, and have read all the Junie B. books to my students and a few to my daughter. Let me begin by speaking about how I use them with my class. I read them out loud, as an example of reading with enthusiasm and expression. As an audience, my students are asked to silently shake their hands above their heads if they (1) hear Junie B. speak incorrectly, (2) hear Junie B. do something we would NEVER do in school, and (3) hear Junie B. do something hilariously funny… as you can imagine, the children look as if they are going to take flight sometimes! They LOVE these books, if a series of books can inspire children to read then I can overlook the word “stupid” (which I whisper dramatically when I read them, because, after all, it is a swear word in my class!), and a bit of juvenile behavior on the part of the main character! Frankly, I’m not worried about offending the tender sensibilities of those children who cover their ears when they hear the word “stupid”, but rather, it’s the mtv-watching, halo-playing, children in my class who don’t bat an eye at Junie B’s naughty behavior that keep me up at night! Now, my daughter would fall into the tender sensibility crowd, and when we read the first couple of books to her (when she was around 5 years old, after she had heard Charlotte‘s Web, The Wind in the Willows, and The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh), they took twice as long as we thought because of the fact that almost every page had to have the “Now, you would NEVER do this at school/home/grandma’s/church, right”, disclaimer. After a couple of books, she lost interest, and asked for Charlotte’s Web again. Now that she is a first grader, she has returned to Junie B and aspires to read them on her own. She has had to make the transition to public school (and the turmoil that the students in her class who behave WORSE than Junie B cause), and I can happily say that she is still appalled/amused by Junie B and her antics. As a mother, I still use Junie B as a adjective for naughty in our house (“Oh, that sounds a bit like Junie B!”) which always causes my daughter to shape up and quick! As a teacher, I still read them to my class, and will until someone in a suit and tie tells me I can’t anymore!
i love junie b jones books and i think they are so ute and funny i have a whole collection of them i have junie b jones is a party animal plus junie b jones cheater pants+junie b jones and that big meanie jims birthday+junie bjones and the little monkey bussnisse+junie b jones is almost a flower girl+junie b jons is not a crook
love,sara davis email me anytime at nickropolis@site.com i love getting emails.
to,junie b jones.
I have to agree that Junie B. Jones has some really bad grammar to whom 1st graders, just learning to read and speak, should not be exposed. The stories could be just as funny and entertaining without using words in the wrong tense or flat out making up words that are easily considered accidental words by kids trying to figure out how to make words past or future tense.
Here's my favorite example - Do you remember anyone saying "my bestest friend" when you were growing up? If you have a child in kindergarden to 2nd grade, then I'm sure you have heard it now. Junie B. Jones has been teaching kids that "bestest" is a word since 1992 when she published her first edition of Junie B. Jones. Guess what - it is commonly used by kids now. So I'd appreciate more teachers being real teachers (like the one commenting above) and actually teach the kids that "bestest" is not a word. There has to be other kids books out there that can hold most children's attention without butchering the English language in front of empressionable young children.
I think the Junie B Jones books are inappropriate for children. My daughter has only been attending Kindergarten for two months in a public school, and I'm already faced with this dilemma - The teacher reads these books allowed to the class every day.
I am very saddened that even in Kindergarten, the teachers are not morally conscience. Sure the book is funny and entertaining. But many books are funny and entertaining without including negative words, negative actions, negative behaviors. With so many choices, why should we as parents or educators settle for a book that very likely will negatively influence our Kindergarteners? If there is debate or any question in your mind regarding your child's exposure to a particular book, the solution is simple - don't read it. There are so many other options, why compromise your child over a means of entertainment?
My 5-year old daughter soaks up information like a sponge. I don't think it's a coincidence that shortly after she began attending school, she began saying sentences that begin with "I hate.." and using the word "stupid" repeatedly. To those who argue their kids love the books- Well kids love a lot of things that aren't good for them. Junie B, as a main character in a book series, is a role model for these young innocent minds, a negative role model that is. Two very enthusiastic thumbs down.
The Junie B books are among our favorites. We homeschool, 1st and Kindergarten this year. We read a pretty wide variety of books. I absolutely love the books, as do my children. We read the entire series, and neither of my children have tried to emulate any negative behaviors, ever. Back when my kids were age 2 and 3, I remember a similar argument with The Teletubbies. People would not let their children watch it for fear they would stunt their language development. My kids loved the Teletubbies, and they speak very well. They also watched Caillou, and they don't whine.
I read The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton about 20 times in junior high and I never turned into a greaser... or a soc. There was some pretty bad grammar in there, as well.
I am amused that people think one piece of media, be it a book or movie or whatever, could be a stronger influence than parents and peers. My kids and I laughed and laughed through all the Junie B books. Perhaps our favorite part was when she put her little brother Ollie in the closet because he was making noise. My husband was the one to read that book to them, and he said they just kept bursting into laughter over and over about that. What is better than snuggling in bed with your kids and laughing your bottom off (I know that sounds weird, but I don't want to offend anyone)? My children will remember how much fun they had with their father, and how he cared enough to spend time with them. They will not, however, think it is ok to put a baby in a closet.
I try to be conscientious about the things to which my kids are exposed. It never crossed my mind to skip the Junie B books, and I would never want to give up how much fun we have had reading them.
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