Deakin’s Dr Al Fricker on why some books should be removed from school libraries
A Deakin lecturer is seeking to remove inaccurate history books from school libraries to better reflect First Nations’ experiences.
Geelong
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A Geelong lecturer wants to ensure students learn accurate accounts of history by removing some books from libraries.
National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research Innovation (NIKERI) Institute lecturer at Deakin University Dr Al Fricker recently consulted with Northcote High School to remove books with inaccurate depictions of First Nations’ people.
The process looked at language, content and authenticity of books in the school’s library.
A Dja Dja Wurrung man, Dr Fricker said it was an important process that all schools should go through.
“The reason why this work is important is because we discover new things about the past all the time,” he said.
“In the non-fiction section of school libraries, we need to make sure that students are accessing the most up-to-date, accurate and appropriate information.
“We wouldn’t expect our students to learn science from a book that was 50 years old, so why do we expect them to learn history from one that’s old?”
However, educational consultant Dr Mark Lopez said he viewed removal of any books as “100 per cent wrong”.
He said changes to Roald Dahl’s novels and Ian Fleming’s James Bond books, where publishers have edited the works to exclude offensive phrases, was “depressing”.
“It’s not justifiable under any circumstances,” he said.
“We’re now in the politically correct era … it’s a force with enormous momentum and no brakes.”
Dr Lopez said the “mentality to purge” meant some important work would get lost.
He said education should introduce people to “our enormous cultural heritage”.
“It’s interesting and important,” he said.
“It enriches your knowledge … (removing the books) is heartbreaking.”
Dr Fricker said the response to his work was “overwhelmingly positive”.
But, he said some people found it quite controversial.
“However, that has indicated a lack of understanding around how school libraries work, because they’re not archival libraries,” he said.
“They’re not designed to hang on to everything, for all time.
“They’re constantly updating their collections in order to allow students to access the latest in nonfiction publishing that is accurate and appropriate for what they need to use them for.”
Dr Fricker said the driving factor of the project was student learning.
“It’s about ensuring students get information that is as accurate as possible,” he said.
He said when he worked with Northcote High School, out of thousands of books, only about 50 were removed, and a further 15 were flagged in the system as containing inaccuracies but other information that was not available elsewhere.
He said many of the books removed had not been borrowed in years, signalling students weren’t using them as learning resources.
“(Because of the process) First Nations students especially will have realistic and accurate representations and reflections of themselves in their classrooms,” he said.
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Originally published as Deakin’s Dr Al Fricker on why some books should be removed from school libraries
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