Book bans have risen in prevalence over the past few years. With the pandemic in 2020, parents began to want more control over their child’s education. These bans have divided parents and students; one group supports the increased censure of literature, while the other petitions for freedom of literature. Book bans can prevent young children from seeing potentially harmful information, but they also allow some groups to push the envelope, banning books based on their beliefs rather than facts. Many of these books include LGBTQ+ topics, abuse, violence, and racism. The number of banned books in the U.S. is over 3,500 and has increased by over 2,500 in the 2020-21 school year alone. This raises some questions. For instance, to what extent should …show more content…
Schools can restrict inappropriate books and literature, but not to a point where the curriculum is drastically changed. These sources are in contradiction to what’s currently happening in the U.S. education system. Even with this precedent, there are many cases of books and whole classes being banned, even if it drastically changes the curriculum. Book bans in schools create a segregated education between liberal and conservative states. A possible solution to this could be the standardization of education across the nation, eliminating discrepancies in the material taught in schools. Book bans are prevalent in schools across the country. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for freedom of literature, published a detailed report on book bans. In this report, many topics surrounding book bans are argued, as PEN America’s beliefs sit in contradiction to the idea of banning literature in schools, which could cause bias. The increasing frequency of book bans not only negatively affects students’ ability to read freely, but also restricts their access to information useful for their future …show more content…
The survey showed that students weren’t made aware if a book was challenged. However, when they were, “students’ interest in those titles went up, 33 percent of respondents said” (Pendharkar). Education Week is a major source for K-12 non-partisan journalism and research, which is peer-reviewed. Additionally, librarians reported an 8% increase in library usage. Surprisingly often it seems book bans increase the attention given to certain books. Because of this, book bans may prove to be ineffective in restricting access to certain books. The process of banning a book from school has drawn interest as to why it’s being banned. One caveat to this takeaway is that about 67% of the time, there is little reaction to the censure of literature in school libraries. Additionally, younger children may not apply to these studies, as they may not be able to Book Bans have their place on a small scale with graphic or inappropriate literature but are impractical on a large
Banning Books in Schools Recently, school administers have been banning books from the library. Books are an important part of a student’s life because they help them explore and learn new things. They open a student’s mind to infinite possibilities and imaginations. Schools shouldn’t be able to ban certain books from students as it takes away their freedom to choose. Other people say schools are responsible for banning and protecting inappropriate books from their students. Banning books from students
The practice of the censorship of books in schools has been prevalent due to the explicit content of them. Parents have been complaining to schools about books that count as required reading because they disapprove with the points made in the book. If a book consists of offensive or sexually explicit material, then parents would challenge the schools about them in order to prevent their children from reading them. Censorship in general has been an intensely debated issue because it is considered
Research Essay Book Bans in the U.S. Banning books in schools is an action that is becoming more common in the states across America. People who believe that banning books will not affect students exist as well as those who believe all bans on books should be lifted. Many valid and different reasons have been brought up by people that debate over the topic of banning books, two of the main reasons being, banning books is unconstitutional and some believe it can be beneficial. To ban a book, the person
that certain content in the books at a school library can be harmful for students, it is also possible that it could prevent trauma by removing those books. However, the truth of the matter is that having books in school libraries with potentially “graphic and/or sensitive content” can be beneficial for students that may have a bias towards a topic that is “graphic” or “sensitive” because it can give those students a different perspective on the topic. Having such books available to those students
up a book and being transported to another world is a type of magic. Being able to read what you want is a right that book banning in schools and public libraries is facing in today’s world. Books are an amazing source of information, whether fiction or non-fiction. They can be the building blocks to understanding different aspects of the world around them. Books have the ability to shine a light on topics that are hard to talk about, or topics that are controversial in the world. Banning books should
Schools across the country are banning books. Some parents say that there a few books that are just too obscene for their children to read, and have decided to stand up against the school boards and take action to have these books removed from the curriculum. Although they may contain some vulgarity, it is important to keep these books in schools. Removing them is not only a violation of every student’s first amendment rights, but these books are also just trying to remain realistic by using language
School boards and teachers have a responsibility for protecting the minds of their students and covering age appropriate material. However, does this responsibility cover the extreme act of banning books from school classrooms? Does not the teacher have a duty to introduce to their students world issues in order to better the students ability to cope with problems in the world? How does a school decide which books should be banned from the classroom, and should it be left up to the teacher to decide
Reading literature in schools is unavoidable, whether it be in kindergarten or twelfth grade. Most children will have a book they read in class or an assigned book they must do a report over. Parents may discover their child bringing a book home from a school library they dislike because of the content. When parents feel like a book is not suitable for a classroom or the library, they may challenge it. Challenging a book is an attempt to remove the materials based on objections to the material within
School systems have to filter what they teach to students, not only to meet standards, but to also protect the students from certain things. Schools try to make the books that they choose censored, but there are still people who go against certain books being banned from the students or even being allowed to be taught. “Challenges to material in school curricula, according to Censorship of Curriculum Materials, by Jean Marie Aurnague-DeSpain and Alan Bass, generally arise in the following areas:
“I believe that books challenge and interrogate. They give us windows into the lives of others and give us mirrors so that we can better see ourselves. Ultimately if you have a worldview that can be undone by a novel, let me submit that the problem is not with the novel.” This quote was said by John Greene, and everything he said is completely true. By banning books, schools are teaching young children that there is no diversity in the world and that the world they know is the world everyone knows
have something in common; these books, although great literary classics, have been banned in schools throughout various points in history. These and other classics are vital for young adolescents to be exposed to since they instill important values and introduce wholly different eras with dated and unconventional ideas. Unfortunately, the government has decided that such improper books should be forbidden from schools due to parental concern for their children’s school reading. Even though this government
Should schools be allowed to ban books from their libraries? Nowadays, parents are concerned that inappropriate topics in books are contaminating the children's mindset (Powell 9). In reality, are the contents in the reserves indeed playing hide and seek with librarians, teachers, and parents resembling the famous quote “Don’t judge a book by its cover” by George Eliot? This raises concern about inappropriate content like disturbing, racist, and, sexually explicit in books leading to books getting
English 10.3 22 February 2024 Schools should not ban books from their libraries. The debate over whether schools should ban books is not a new issue. Many articles, studies, and surveys have taken this issue as their subject. From my point of view, schools should not ban books for the following three reasons: some issues are brutal but necessary in children's development, book censorship takes away personal choices from the majority in the community, and banning books is a discriminatory action. As
Book bans have risen in prevalence in the past few years. With the pandemic in 2020, parents began to want more control over their child’s education. These bans have divided parents and students; one group supports the increased censure of literature, while the other petitions for freedom of literature. Book bans can prevent young children from seeing potentially harmful information, but they also allow some groups to push the envelope, banning books based on their beliefs rather than facts. Many
Stephen King a famous author who has written many famous books like, Carrie, The Stand, It, and several others. He once had said, “ Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.” In the current, society countless people believe that the content books contain such as violence, disobedience, law breaking kids will lead their own kids to follow that example. However, these books are based on numerous real life situations. They should