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The importance of teaching literature
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The Scarlet Letter, The Diary of Anne Frank, and To Kill a Mockingbird all 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 interference protects what students read, such as the unconcealed use of profanity, racial slurs, and sexual references, books should not be banned in schools because this act goes against the First Amendment and hinders students’ ability to learn and develop as human beings. When debating whether banning books is of serious …show more content…
The child is able to develop his/her their own opinion of the book and, from there, aspire to become the best at anything they wish to accomplish. It is because of these books, students will become educated and expand their thought process allowing them to excel in school. Clearly, banning these books in school does not only hinder the child’s ability to learn, but also their ability to see what is actually happening in the world around them. History class itself does not meet the requirements these students need in order to fully grasp what was happening in that era. With the help of these books, students are able understand other eras and recognize the transition of time and ideas. These books do not provoke the child to think a certain way, but, instead, lets the child experience the novel the way they choose to. Instead of banning books, parents should know what their child is exposed to at their schools library or classroom
Banning books from public schools and public libraries is wrong. It’s irrational to have a parent or school board member’s opinion determine what a school district should be reading. Books including and not limited to, The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Flies, and Animal Farm all have one thing in common. They have all at one time or another been subject to banishment. These literary classics have been around for a long time and proved to be vital to the education of many, especially children and adolescents. These novels teach values and educate children about world affairs that can not come from an everyday experience. These controversial novels encompass the materials that ultimately boost our educational wealth. Banning books infringe
Why should this novel be banned from use in schools? Students should be able to hear these words and talk about them and not use them offensively. Racial content, tension, and slurs are used in people’s everyday lives. If people can use these words outside of school why would they not be allowed to be talked about in school? It is important for everyone to be informed about these racial tensions. This book also shows the reader what is was like to be growing up in this time period. Although this book uses the n-word, it uses it in a historical way. Using these racist words explains the way of thinking of the south in the 1930s. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is appropriate to use and read in school.
...d middle schools is understandable. The students at those schools are not yet ready mentally to read about anything vulgar or unjust for children. But today I argue that the young adults at high schools should be able to read this classic novel. It is no more in depth than the things they hear daily from other students or are possible doing themselves, so I do not think it is right to ban a classic book to keep them from reading about things that he or she already hears every single day as the walk down the long hallways of his or her schools. A great read should not be taken away from these students because the parents of these children or the teachers of these students think they have not heard anything like this before. Trust the young adults. It is only a book.
As it is inevitable that children will grow up to be exposed to the world's evils, which are shown in novels like Fahrenheit 451, teaching the context and meaning of those evils in a learning environment allows for more of a educated understanding and a fuller grasp on the issues within. By reading controversial novels in schools, students in middle and high school will benefit tremendously by being exposed to them in a learning environment. Although teachers and parents have control as to what the students are exposed to at a young age, Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned from middle and high schools as it depicts the effects of censorship on a dystopian society through use of controversial material which doubles as
In order to understand how banning books in schools affect student learning, it is important to understand why books are banned in the first place. If parents describe a book as inappropriate or offensive for children, they can complain about it to the school district to have it banned. If the school district agrees with the parents, they will ban the book from the school curriculum and forbid teachers from teaching the book to students. Parents might think that the book goes against religious or moral...
Kids love freedom. They thrive on it. It’s a part of growing up. The older and more responsible you are the more freedoms you will get. Parents at a variety of schools are restricting the one freedom of children that they should always have. The freedom to chose a book. A number of schools have banned the classic, award winning book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. This book is about a little girl who’s father is defending an African American man in court in the south during the 1930’s. Sounds harmless? Many don’t think so! “To Kill A Mockingbird” should not be be banned because it tells an important fictional story about America's past.
Books teach people everything they need to know about a certain subject, historical event, or how to deal with certain situations in life. Students in school need these books in particular to develop, but it is occasionally difficult to acquire education books when parents are censoring books for their children. “That parent in Connecticut also declared the she is the best judge of what is acceptable for her children to read” (Gallo). Censorship over a child is hard because depending on the age, there could be multiple reasons. This mother dictating over a child that is fairly young then it is understandable. Younger children as they...
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1884. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, 1951. Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925 (www.bannedbooksweek.org). All of the books mentioned in the last sentences were books that “shaped America,” and were in some way or another banned or expurgated by taking all of the explicit words, and content, out of them. In doing so, the people who made the decisions to ban the books, or otherwise take out the content, greatly decreased the viewpoints that the author was trying to conceive. I believe that, unless the reading is for children under the age of, say, 13, then books like the aforementioned ones above, should not be banned or censored at all. Sometimes you have a rare case, like mine, where kids skip a few grades, and are really ahead of their class, and still a little immature, but if they are in a certain grade, they should be allowed to read, and understand what the author was originally trying to portray before the “people who think they know best” go and censor the author’s initial intent.
As the book was published and the general public began to read it; different opinions on the book started to come to fruition. “ The controversy began in March 1976 when the chair of the Long Island School Board, Richard J Ahrens, … ordered 60 books to be removed form the Island Tress School District High School Library.”(Nicholas 48). This appears to have caused many individuals and groups great concern. Their concerns mostly appear to be from rights violations. In 1979 a U.S. district court judge ruled that school boards have the right to determine the “suitability” of the content of library materials. Ultimately the courts became involved due to continued disagreements between the school board and those against the banning of the book.
Is it shocking to know that many pieces of classic literature are banned from classrooms even public school classrooms and libraries? The books Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain each have a recorded history of banishment due to (respectively) "political theories" and “racist aspects”. (Karolides, Bald, and Sova, 15, 336). I read Animal Farm as a school assignment many years ago. I learned so much about due respect and equality among humans that I cannot imagine a school forbidding it in student curriculum. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides illustration of a friendship during a period in history to a child given the ...
The children are the real losers because they are the ones that are not able to read the classic works of literature, which are the backbone of classroom discussions all across the United States. The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) defines censorship as: “The removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational materials. of images, ideas, and information.on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of standards applied by the censor” (Miner 1998). In schools there are three types of censorship, one type is a “parent” who doesn’t want their child to read a particular book. Another is a parent, teacher, administrator, or school board member who argues that no one in the class, or school, should read the book in dispute.
From the years 2000 to 2009, 5,099 books were challenged in school libraries, classrooms, and public libraries. Most of the books on this list were banned because of objectionable content such as sexual references, profanity, violence, and the fact that the book was considered “unsuited to age group” (American Library Association). Even prior to the year 2000, censorship and banned books had become an issue for schools in particular all across the country for these very reasons. While the The Color Purple by Alice Walker does contain the objectionable content mentioned prior, it should not be banned because objectionable content found in the book is accessible through the internet and social media, one person’s complaint should not determine another’s choice, and high school students should be mature enough to handle the adult content.
Censorship in Schools There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read.
Colete Bancroft tells a story in her article Ban a Book, Draw Readers about how one of her college professors told her students not to read one chapter of a book. Due to natural curiosity, everyone read that chapter of the book, even people who had not read one other word of the book read that part just to see why she told them not too (Bancroft 2). Telling students not to read a book is more effective getting students to read it than telling them they have to read it. (Bancroft 2). Censorship is unnecessary because students will explore the bounds of life anyways (Lopez 2). Banning books is an ineffective solution to a nonexistent problem that is ultimately a waste of time because kids will read regardless of who tells them what (Lopez 3). Also, reading gives students a safe way to explore the world, instead of having to find out about these difficult topics the hard way (McNeil 2). After reading about these tough topics, students would be more prepared to deal with difficult events in their own life (Bancroft 3). Most students need to be exposed to these difficult topics so they can talk about them with others (McNeil 2). Depriving students from exploring life situations damages growth and worsens their impact on society (McNeil 2). Overall, the banishment of some books only causes more damage because it limits exposure to inevitable situations that ultimately shape a person. Students will be exposed to bad things eventually, so why ban a book about it with a theme and lesson from the
The subject of censorship is a very controversial one, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the "evils" of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed "indecent" in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable.