Melania Trump’s Donation To School Publicly Rejected
First Lady Melania Trump got a scathing rejection after making a donation to an elementary school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
According to CBS Boston, one of the state’s schools refused to accept a donation of books sent by Melania Trump that was intended to mark National Read a Book Day. One school from each state was selected by the White House to receive 10 Dr. Seuss books as a donation. In her letter to the school receiving the books, Melania wrote that getting an education is “perhaps the most important and wondrous opportunity of your young lives.”
Librarian, Liz Phipps Soeiro, of Cambridgeport Elementary School, wasn’t interested in Mrs. Trump’s donation and wrote an extensive editorial for the Horn Book’s Family Reading blog on why her school doesn’t want the books. She began by stating that students at the school have access to a large volume of books that number around 9,000, and also have a librarian with a graduate degree in library science. Phipps Soeiro cites multiple studies that illustrate having “professionally staffed libraries improve student performance.”
Melania Trump was criticized by the librarian for her Dr. Seuss book selections, calling it “a bit of a cliche” and that the chain of books is a “tired and worn out ambassador for children’s literature.”
Books sent to the elementary school were the Dr. Seuss classics The Cat in the Hat; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; The Foot Book; Green Eggs and Ham; and Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Melania was lectured by Phipps Soeiro in her editorial when she added that she should perhaps utilize her resources a bit better given all the materials and advancements in education they must possess.
“As First Lady of the United States, you have an incredible platform with world-class resources at your fingertips,” Phipps Soeiro wrote.
The Cambridgeport Elementary School librarian had strong support from several parents of the students. One father said it’s the librarian’s prerogative to reject the books and he backs her decision, and another dad thought Phipps Soeiro was constructive in her suggestions to Melania Trump.
Cambridge Librarian Rejects Books Donated By Melania Trump, Rips Dr. Seuss @MikeLaCrosseWBZ reportshttps://t.co/SzGBDmaPRu pic.twitter.com/2lxw6npNiM
— WBZ Boston News (@cbsboston) September 28, 2017
According to a statement released by the Cambridge School District, the opinions in the editorial aren’t representative of their views and pointed out that the librarian didn’t have the authority to “accept or reject donated books on behalf of the school or the school district.” Phipps Soeiro was also counseled for using public resources for “political purposes” when it came to expressing her thoughts.
Some outside the school district were asked how they felt about Melania Trump’s donation being rejected. One said she could see how the school not accepting the Dr. Seuss books would be viewed as an “insult” to the first lady. Someone else said the classic stories have been around for a long time and always had the books read to him as a child.
Do you think the librarian was out of line in rejecting Melania Trump’s donated Dr. Seuss books and writing what she did?
[Featured Image by Chris Jackson/Getty Images]
