NCTE’s Intellectual Freedom Center website will soon have a new feature: an active database of book rationales. While NCTE has long had rationales available to members, this is the first time rationales will be available digitally on our website. We are pleased to recognize new support in the form of a $10,000 grant from Penguin Random House Education to support the digitization effort.
Book rationales are a strong way to document why a book is selected for use in the classroom. NCTE recommends that teachers rely on book rationales as they create their units and lesson plans. When teacher expertise is questioned or when censorship claims are filed, having book rationales confirms the methodology and planning used in selecting books for the classroom and libraries.
NCTE has hundreds of rationales created by teachers that will be made available to NCTE members later this spring in digitized, searchable versions. Over the last year, the NCTE Standing Committee on Censorship has been updating the common rationale formats. The database will allow members access to this form and allow them to submit new rationales to add to our database.
Emily Kirkpatrick, Executive Director, NCTE, said of the grant, “We thank our partner Penguin Random House Education for demonstrating their ongoing commitment to educators and for their support of freedom of expression for writers, creators, and artists.”
Further details will be announced in the next month.