frank strong @frankstrong Twitter profile | Pikagi

Pikagi

frank strong

@frankstrong

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Writing teacher. Co-founder @TXFreedomRead .

Austin, TX

Joined August 2008

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

3 months

Because we never rest at @TxFreedomread , we sent this letter (w/ some amazing partners) to superintendents & trustees providing guidance on how to implement the new library standards mandated by HB900 *without* removing books unnecessarily or damaging students’ educations.

@TXFreedomRead

TX Freedom to Read Project

3 months

@TSLAC Letter sent by @TXFreedomRead @AuthorsABB @CDFTexas @studentsengaged to your Texas school district. 👇🏻

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

I want y’all to look at the fruits of the book-banning movement in Texas. A HS teacher shared these images on social media today, saying that these books have been removed from their classroom library and are being “shipped back to the district for disposal.”

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

In these boxes, there are Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award winners. There are books that young people have read for generations without controversy. All of these are books you can find on high school reading lists across the country.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

Now I want y’all to look at the unvarnished ugliness of the folks that brought you this censorship. Threatening educators’ licenses. Calling people who disagree with them “leftist groomers”—i.e., suggesting they’re pedophiles.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

For what? For keeping great books in their classrooms and libraries. For doing their best to introduce young people to some of the best literature our nation has produced. For trying to match students to books that will capture, engage, interest, inspire them.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

These people would have you believe that rogue packs of teenagers are bursting out of libraries to do depraved things inspired by their readings of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Or that teachers are handing out Toni Morrison novels for pervy kicks.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

Whether they’re delusional or deceitful, I don’t know. But they’re doing actual damage. Not just to teachers and librarians, who are demoralized and leaving the profession in alarming numbers, but to the young people they pretend to be protecting.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

Research shows that reading the books they’re trying to remove does the opposite of what they claim: it makes students more engaged, better learners. It helps students find their voice against sexual abuse.

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New Research Shows Why the Freedom to Read Matters - Texas Freedom to Read Project

See what the research by Ivey & Johnston suggests about how reading challenging texts affects teens.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Be aware: If you teach in a district w/ a Moms 4 Liberty group, they will screen you for any political view they disagree with (no matter what you do in class), share your name in their private groups, try to chase you out of your job, and celebrate if you leave.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

10 months

Two reasons to watch this clip (and listen to the Grapevine podcast when it comes out tomorrow): 1) it's so important to recognize the patterns of Christian Nationalism and intolerance as they appear across the whole state, and 1/2

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Politics and religion’s growing influence in three Texas school districts

School board candidates in three North Texas districts have passed sweeping policies that restrict lessons on race, gender, sexuality and have resulted in hundreds of books being removed from...

www.nbcnews.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Moms for Liberty and allied groups are now training members to monitor teachers’ social media.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Every once in a while I take a step back and just shake my head in disbelief that there are grownups who go from district to district, attending board meetings every month, for the sole purpose of taking books away from high school students.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

It's UP! The Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the November School Board Elections is now live. First races featured: Austin, Conroe, Leander, & Round Rock ISD. Please use this to fight pro-censorship/anti-diversity candidates at the polls:

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Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November School Board Elections

The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November School Board Elections (This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community.) Contact: booklovingtexanvotes@gmail....

docs.google.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: It's finally here!! The May 2023 Book-Loving Texan's Guide to Texas School Board Elections is up and running. Please use this guide to keep book banners and anti-LGBTQ candidates off of school boards. Share and reach out with tips!

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Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the May 2023 School Board Elections

The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the May 2023 School Board Elections (This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community.) Contact: booklovingtexanvotes@gmail....

docs.google.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

More news out of Conroe ISD in Tx: a local right-wing propaganda site, The Golden Hammer, published names & photos of teachers, librarians, & district employees on the committees that voted unanimously to keep Perks of Being a Wallflower and Eleanor & Park.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

@silexcunning

@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

@mrsgeedeck These are from a teacher’s classroom library, as the post says. Classroom libraries are often cobbled together from individual purchases and leftover classroom sets. For example, I’ve got about 100 Slaughterhouse 5s, and I’ve never even taught the book.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

4 months

People need to see this. A conservative, PAC-backed Lake Travis trustee explains her vote to retain Me, Earl, & the Dying Girl, describing how she was misled by out of context passages & how reading the book in its entirety changed her perspective on its adherence to policy.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

A lot of TX teachers start back this week. Get ready for stories like this: a teacher in a suburban district posted this on FB, saying she’s removing these books from her classroom library on direction from her district.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

11 months

My 4th-grade teacher read this aloud to my class after recess. That was 35 years ago. We’re going backwards.

@jonfreadom

Jonathan Friedman 📚

11 months

Banned! In Katy ISD, Texas. @judyblume

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

I often use this account to post lists of books challenged or removed from schools. Today I want to show you a different type of book list. This is Question 3 from last year’s AP Literature exam, with a list of suggested texts to help answer that question.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Among a ton of total removals, Frisco ISD has removed Anne of Avonlea from all elementary schools because it's "reviewed for grades 6+." Anyway, here’s a picture of my daughter dressed as Anne for Halloween in 4th grade.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

13 days

Every. Time. A conservative trustee in Lovejoy ISD explains that 4 challenged books can’t be judged based on out-of-context passages. “When I first saw the request, some of the language was concerning to me. Then when I read the books in whole, I had a different perspective.”

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

If the results in Katy, Keller, & Grapevine-Colleyville hold, you're going to hear book banners crowing. And those are definitely places where they spent big money. But to me the fact that all of these other districts are holding off extremist takeovers is as big of a story.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

As @LaneyHawes has pointed out, we need talk about the fact that elected school board members are often part of these groups.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 month

"I understand you didn't read them. That committee didn't read them either. But you know who did read them? The AP and English teachers we have in our district, that have taught this material year after year."

@frankstrong

frank strong

1 month

Last night was another dismal night for books in Conroe ISD, as the board voted not to restore 19 books removed from classrooms via internal review. But this was the moment of the night, from trustee Stacey Chase, who pleaded with her colleagues to return the books to shelves.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Looks like the incumbents have won in McKinney. Phenomenal news. That was a major focus area for the pro-censorship groups of Texas.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

To quantify why I’m upbeat today: I followed 9 districts where Moms 4 Liberty or Mama Bears Rising (🙄) candidates were running for the board or where book-banning/LGBTQ exclusion was an issue in the campaign. We got great results in 7 of them, including some big surprises.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

10 months

BRAND NEW! The Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the November 2023 School Board Elections is live!!!! Use this guide to keep extremists and book banners off of school boards. Please share and reach out with tips!

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Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the November 2023 School Board Elections

The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November 2023 School Board Elections (This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community.) Contact: booklovingtexanvotes@g...

docs.google.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

10 months

All the Texans in my neighborhood were helping each other, checking on each other, making sure everybody had what they needed.

@ColinAllredTX

Colin Allred

10 months

I don't know how to string up power lines either, but like so many other Texans who saw it was time to step up, I found my way to the food bank to help get resources to Texans.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Morning update: more green on the board! Good news in Fredericksburg and the Collin College races.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

5 months

The thing is, we have solid research about what happens when students have the ability to choose age-appropriate challenging texts—like Ellen Hopkins books—dealing with difficult topics. And it’s great.

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@mamaknowsbooks

Mama Bear is Book Aware

@mamaknowsbooks

5 months

TX Freedom to Read believes your teen should be able to obtain and read “Tricks” from their school. Are books about explicit child rape, prostitution, & drug use by minors things that OUR TAX DOLLARS should be paying for??

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Today in Frisco ISD in Texas, the board banned five books from the district, including Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, reversing decisions by committees made up of teachers, librarians, and community members.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

11 months

Me: Hey, I don’t think you should ban Native Son from Texas schools, or versions of Anne Frank’s diary. Them:

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@frankstrong

frank strong

5 months

Another verse of a familiar song: A middle school teacher was targeted by extremists for supporting LGBTQ students. Then a prominent X account (you know the one) picked up the story. Bomb threats towards the teacher & her school followed. This time in Northwest ISD, by Ft. Worth.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

11 months

These two things are connected.

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@veronikellymars

Buttered Jorts (fka kelly jensen) 🐱🐰

@veronikellymars

11 months

There were in fact SEVEN bomb threats yesterday in Chicago area libraries. Libertyville just got added.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Keller/M4L trustee Joni Shaw Smith tonight: "I do trust librarians, I trust our teachers and I want to know that I don't have to look at this list. But here I am finding multiple books that unfortunately are part of the LGBTQ community." (Quiet part out loud)

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

This is why, when extremists target your school board, you have to be organized and disciplined and start planning early.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

4 months

And ... It's up! The Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the May 2024 School Board elections is live. I've started with 9 districts, including North East ISD, Eanes, Keller, Katy, GCISD. Please use this to organize & mobilize--and check back! More will be added!

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@frankstrong

frank strong

9 months

I'm halfway through my second listen to Grapevine. My wife tore through all six episodes yesterday & today. I can't imagine a better document of what's causing Texas teachers anxiety right now, or what I've been fighting against for the past two years. It's so good and important.

@Mike_Hixenbaugh

Mike Hixenbaugh

@Mike_Hixenbaugh

9 months

In episode 6 of “Grapevine,” @ahylton26 and I attend a worship service at Gateway Church, to hear one of Trump’s spiritual advisors weigh in on school board politics, and to learn what message was being preached ahead of election day. Here’s a preview👇 Please listen and share!

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

More good Texas school board news: Moms for Liberty candidates Nicole Peters and Nicole Dowd lost in Flour Bluff ISD (Corpus Christi)

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

It's important to remember that people like this don't speak for most Texas public school parents, and that removing books from schools is wildly unpopular.

@TrueTexasTea

Erin Anderson

1 year

Texas moms watching the #TXLege Senate to see if they’ll take up #HB900 to keep sexually explicit books out of kids’ libraries, since school boards fearful of ACLU lawsuits won’t. @ALALibrary -trained activist librarians oppose the bill. ALA opposes any age limits on any books.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

I appreciate all of the speakers in Keller bringing up the influence of the private Facebook group that four board members belong to and that seems to be shaping board policy.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

I’m told by librarians that a typical large high school buys between 1000 and 2000 books in a normal year. I read for a living and got through 40 books last year. These people are literally trying to kill public education in Texas.

@TrueTexasTea

Erin Anderson

6 months

Librarians in @KatyISD must now read books in their entirety before making them available to students… the same standard applied to parents who want explicit books removed from school libraries. 👏👏 The “Texas Freedom to Read Project” thinks this is unreasonable. #TxEd

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Over and over. They’re not carelessly sharing names and personal details of teachers; they’re hunting them down. (Dale Inman, btw, is a current trustee in Conroe ISD)

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

With this in mind, this week's episode of the Now & Then podcast with @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 is essential listening.

@CBSNewsPoll

CBS News Poll

2 years

CBS News poll: Big majorities reject book bans Most say teaching U.S. history of race promotes understanding Read it here:

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@frankstrong

frank strong

10 months

And it's essential to listen to the voices of the young people who are affected by these awful, statewide movements.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 years

This is a must read from @joanwalsh & @RepJayapal . It ends with Rep. Jayapal promising the detained women that she's going to make sure everyone knows what's happening to them. That's a job for all of us right now:

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

When I tell you some of these school board candidates hate the whole idea of public school, it’s not hyperbole. Here’s a newly announced candidate in McKinney ISD calling for an entirely privatized education system.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

On a brighter note, standUP: Conroe ISD, an alliance of parents and teachers in the district, is organizing to send care packages to the outed educators.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

@mrsgeedeck These are from a teacher’s classroom library, as the post says. Classroom libraries are often cobbled together from individual purchases and leftover classroom sets. For example, I’ve got about 100 Slaughterhouse 5s, and I’ve never even taught the book.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Y’all, canvassing for school board candidates is doing God’s work. Ran into so many committed, politically engaged voters today who know there’s school board craziness around but don’t know it’s happening in their district or the names of candidates to vote for.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Y’all. I have considered myself an Austinite since I got here (as fast as I could) in 1997. I’ve seen framed “Best of Austin” awards from the @AustinChronicle on the walls of ALL my favorite restaurants/bars/hangouts. I never, ever, ever dreamt I might one day get my own.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

In Austin, Round Rock, and Del Valle, not only did the pro-censorship candidates lose, every candidate who won took a clear stand in favor of academic freedom and inclusive classrooms. Just pure good news out of these districts.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Another measure of how poorly censorship fared at the polls in Texas last week: Moms for Liberty officially endorsed 8 school board candidates. Seven lost their races!

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@frankstrong

frank strong

8 months

The Texas Freedom to Read Project ( @TXFreedomRead ) made it into the Fort Worth @startelegram ! "These Texas parents are pushing back against school library book bans. ‘We can fight this’"

These Texas parents are pushing back against school library book bans. ‘We can fight this’

“If anything, we can at least keep a record and call it out when we see so many books just pulled off the shelves,” one mom said.

www.star-telegram.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Do you get tired of book banners saying they're not book banners? I do, so I wrote a quick piece about why their argument doesn't hold water:

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A Note on Terminology

Why I use the term "book banner"

franklinstrong.substack.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

3 months

Phenomenal news out of Katy ISD, where Victor Perez and his cabal of book banners have had a lock on district elections. That lock is broken, as incumbents Rebecca Fox & Dawn Champagne have kept their seats.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 months

I do a weird thing when people demand I defend an “obscene” book based on out-of-context passages: I read the book. I know—radical. So after this person retweeted an internet stalker who was demanding I defend @barrylyga ’s Boy Toy, I spent a few days actually reading the text. 🧵

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@frankstrong

frank strong

3 years

Reading about attempts to mandate the teaching of Lost Cause mythology in the South after Reconstruction, and I’m struck by the parallels to today’s school board freakouts over “Critical Race Theory.”

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@frankstrong

frank strong

11 months

Huge news! This is a great day for Texas students, teachers, and librarians!

@FReadomFighters

TXFReadomFighters

@FReadomFighters

11 months

Judge Albright just announced that he will be granting an injunction to HALT HB900 in its totality, full statement will be announced in a week or two. He will not honor the motion to dismiss by the defendents(the state).

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

I had a wild, troubling conversation last night with a teacher in Klein ISD. First of all, she has removed more than 1000 books from her classroom library as a result of district directives tied to HB 900. Once again, here is the district guidance.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

5 months

Can we pause, take a deep breath, and then address the fact that the man in charge of all public schools in Oklahoma is telling people that The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner are “pornography” “in line with Hugh Hefner”? It’s all just so stupid and destructive.

@PENamerica

PEN America

5 months

In a video posted online, @RyanWaltersSupt describes The Kite Runner and The Glass Castle as "pornography" and claims that, by fighting to keep these two books in the HS library, Edmond Public Schools is pushing a legacy that's "in line with Hugh Hefner."

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Had a lot of disheartening conversations today about the educational climate in Texas. Then I got this message from a friend in Tennessee.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

10 months

I am 43 years old and hard to shock, but I promise you I gasped, laughed and cringed at “a sexual adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank.” Y’all. I’m begging you: before you say something like this, spend at least a *tiny* bit of time reading the texts in question.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

7 months

1400 books, including For Whom the Bell Tolls, Invisible Man, As I Lay Dying, and Love in the Time of Cholera. Y'all see what's happening, right? The lists are getting longer and more ridiculous. I told you this would happen.

@FLFreedomRead

Florida Freedom to Read Project

7 months

Physical books now in storage: 2800+ Titles of books that may wait years for a proper review: 1400+ These are the impacts of a bad law and even worse FLDOE guidance on the law. Ask your elected state officials to fix this during the 2024 Leg Session!

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

This happens over and over and over again.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

After all the texting I’ve done, I’ll never be too rough with a political texter. But I will have fun with some of them. I’ll let y’all know if Dan switches sides.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

I am once again remarking without surprise that my Black History Month book display looks suspiciously like a Banned Books Week display.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

The website, which obtained the names after AG Ken Paxton told the district they had to be released, smeared the educators (along with the unnamed students & parents who voted against banning the books) as “pro-porn”

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@frankstrong

frank strong

7 months

The stakes of the war on books aren’t limited to Gender Queer or All Boys Aren’t Blue; the stakes are *the entire library.* I’m losing count of the number of districts in Texas and Florida where this has happened.

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@FLFreedomRead

Florida Freedom to Read Project

7 months

"It makes me feel a little pessimistic towards where education is going. I feel like all these new laws coming out about education & book banning make FL students less competitive compared to other students from other states." - Jack Hayes, HS student. "

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 months

This is the kind of text message you LOVE to get. The Llano Seven are absolute heroes. This case took FOREVER, and it has been resolved in the plaintiff’s favor.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 month

This is a weak talking point. I don't let students read parts of Letter from Birmingham Jail aloud in class. Same w/ Huck Finn: many passages read aloud out of context would be wildly offensive. Students need to be able to read materials that don't fit board meeting decorum.

@Bentley4Texas

Christin Bentley SD-1 SREC

1 month

Governor Abbott said it perfectly today... If you can't read a book out loud at school board meeting because it's too vulgar, it shouldn't be in the library. @lovejoyisd1 is out of compliance with state law. @GovAbbott #txlege

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 month

Former Conroe ISD Teacher DeDe Fox at the CISD board meeting, speaking in a grievance hearing against the removal of 19 books from classroom libraries: “I feel like a few members on this board are dismantling everything I worked for in my entire life.”

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide got a mention in this morning’s LA Times, alongside some people and groups I admire, like @FLFreedomRead & @EveryLibrary . Thanks, @JeffreyLAT !

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Two Florida moms fight back against banned books

In DeSantis they trust: Conservative parental groups and powerful politicians clash with parents, teachers and librarians who oppose the banning of books.

www.latimes.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

8 months

I’m hearing from McKinney ISD teachers that they’ve shut down their classroom libraries in response to district directives. Nothing has done more damage to literacy education in this state than this pearl-clutching freak out about LGBTQ-themed books.

@Bentley4Texas

Christin Bentley SD-1 SREC

8 months

Superintendents have always had the moral imperative and the legal right to remove sexually explicit, vulgar materials from their schools. I'm glad McKinney ISD is finally removing some titles, but it should not have taken years or a state law for them to do it! #HB900

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

This is huge. Jared Patterson’s home district. I have a million great things to say about the ways educators and public ed advocates organized in Frisco.

@FISDGovAffairs

Frisco ISD Government Affairs

@FISDGovAffairs

1 year

Combined Early Voting and Election Day results for Collin and Denton Counties.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

I'm clowning on @JaredLPatterson for hating on Lonesome Dove (kind of; he's clearly not a real Texan), but there's a serious point: These book banners say they're going to protect "classic" literature, but they don't know *anything* about literature. So *everything* is at risk.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I told you about pro-censorship trustee Misty Odenweller's attempt to sit on ALL district book committees? This is why that's so troubling. The goal is clearly intimidation.

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Inherit the Wallflower

Notes from Conroe ISD's Epic January Board Meeting

franklinstrong.substack.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

4 months

Do I agree with her reasoning for removing 4 other books? No. But *this* is what we’re fighting for at @TXFreedomRead : deliberative consideration of texts in their entirety by stakeholders informed on law, standards & policies, & the texts—without outrage, threats, or insults.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Teachers in the district are saying that they're scared, that they're reluctant to join book review committees, and that they fear reprisal from the "Mama Bear Rising" contingent in the district.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

5 months

Open bigotry fails in Denton ISD.

@TrueTexasTea

Erin Anderson

5 months

BREAKING… @DentonISD trustees vote 6-1 to keep two books that promote “transgender” ideology in an elementary school library for K-3 students, upholding a Level 2 grievance decision. Trustee Amy Bundgus cast the lone vote to remove the books. Details in 🧵⤵️

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 month

Here is actual research on the effects of reading the books you’re trying to remove (which are not pornographic):

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@Bentley4Texas

Christin Bentley SD-1 SREC

1 month

Give me a break! This group advocates in favor of giving children access to pornographic/ s€xually explicit content in their school libraries. Giving children pornographic content doesn't make them kinder or more empathetic. It does the opposite!

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frank strong

2 years

Now imagine you’re an AP English teacher in Keller ISD, or Conroe in Texas, in Escambia County, Florida, or Washington County, Utah. How would you prepare your students to succeed on this test? How would you create your syllabus?

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

@Kismatt Exactly. I’ve watched L*bs of Tik Tok take things out of context, use distorted framing, or outright misrepresent teachers’ social media posts all year. This is an extension of that.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

6 months

When people post out-of-context passages to support censorship, they count on their audience not having read the book. So we have to provide the context they leave out. Here’s a resource I made to do that. Thx for the opportunity to share, Sarah.

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@SarahisCensored

Sarah Fields

@SarahisCensored

6 months

Thanks for the shout out in the thread Frank! Happy to be one of the folks you mention as a protector of children! BTW, here are a few excerpts from the books you have in your box. And the book “Beloved” contains sexual activities and commentary on beastiality.

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frank strong

2 years

The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November School Board Elections drops later this week!! The first races I’m profiling: Round Rock, Leander, Conroe, Austin. If you have info on those or any other races, send it to booklovingtexanvotes @gmail .com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Honestly, Moms for Liberty could save us all a lot of time by just listing the books they *will* allow us to read in schools.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

As the Senate prepares to vote on HB900, which could remove hundreds of books from schools, a reminder that most Texas parents oppose book bans and respect students' right to read. This good news is from rural Fredericksburg:

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FISD Book List Aug. 9, 2022.docx

Fredericksburg ISD Instructional Materials Requested for Reconsideration Title: Campus: Review Committee Meeting Date: Outcome: Water for Elephants - Gruen ★ FMS 5/15/23 * Removed from FMS and moved...

docs.google.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 months

Not quite the way the book banners present the book, right? But it does raise the questions: Who benefits when books about the dangers of grooming are banned from schools? Who is harmed?

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Who benefits when books about the dangers of grooming are banned?

And who is harmed?

franklinstrong.substack.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

11 months

Today's the last day to file for candidacy in the handful of school board races that will take place across Texas this November. I've been researching candidates as they've announced all summer. Will have a new edition of my Guide to School Board Elections out soon!

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@frankstrong

frank strong

11 months

"This is censorship, and it creates inequity among students. If the concern is about parents who might lodge a complaint, then opt-out is the appropriate solution. With opt-in, the message is that all of the books within a whole category are inappropriate for all students."

@veronikellymars

Buttered Jorts (fka kelly jensen) 🐱🐰

@veronikellymars

11 months

Middle school students cannot borrow Fahrenheit 451 or any YA books without parental permission in Dripping Springs ISD, Texas:

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

The 1st image below is Q3 from last year’s AP Lit exam; the 2nd is the same list w/o the books that would be banned from schools under HB 900 (books in blue would require parental permission). The bill goes to the House floor TODAY. Texans, please tell your rep to oppose HB900

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Good news! Casey McQuiston’s novel Red, White, and Royal Blue survives a challenge in Willis ISD (Tx)!

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@frankstrong

frank strong

4 years

@Nate_Cohn In TX25, Democrats outvoted Republicans in the by the primary for the first time in years. No wonder, since @JulieOliverTX is a great candidate running a phenomenal campaign:

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 month

This is how the anti-book movement works: All personal attacks and shouting to drum up fear & outrage. In reality, I’m a teacher & one of many parents fighting back when, for example, Conroe ISD just banned Brave New World from classrooms because of their efforts.

@Bentley4Texas

Christin Bentley SD-1 SREC

1 month

Texas teacher and advocate for filthy books in schools, Frank Strong, can't see the difference between vulgar books like All Boys Aren't Blue and Huck Finn. Scary. The fact of the matter is that America has a long history of protecting children from indecent and profane

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Early voting for Texas school board elections starts TOMORROW! I wanted to do an information blast before voting starts, so I added a Quick Hits section for districts many people have been asking about:

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Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the May 2023 School Board Elections

The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the May 2023 School Board Elections (This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community.) Contact: booklovingtexanvotes@gmail....

docs.google.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

1 year

Powerful testimony from a parent of a transgender high school student in Keller ISD. To the board: "You have the chance to choose to be her bully or not be her bully. She just wants to get along. She is so quiet. She doesn't want to raise a ruckus."

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Keller ISD Board Meeting | June 20, 2023

www.youtube.com

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Good book news out of Willis ISD in Texas, where All Boys Aren’t Blue was kept on library shelves after the completion of the reconsideration process.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

7 months

I’d love it if we could get 500 followers for @TXFreedomRead by the end of 2023! Any takers?

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

Pumping a little bit of Texas sunshine for y'all: If you were hoping to see pro-censorship, anti-LGBTQ politics lose at the school board level, things are looking *good* right now. Fingers crossed this all holds.

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@frankstrong

frank strong

2 years

So: on one hand you’ve got the College Board telling you these are the type of books your students should read to be prepared for the end-of-course exam. On the other hand, your district is saying, “Don’t you dare!”

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