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The importance of censorship in education
Essay on literature and censorship
Essay on literature and censorship
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Sugar coating the past is the biggest sin a teacher can commit. It is doing the exact opposite of which their job is to do. A teacher’s job, especially a history teacher’s job, is to teach students about the past. If it is sugar coated, it is not teaching the truth. It is teaching a work a fiction. Even though that teacher is trying to help their students, trying to protect their students, the students are learning nothing. One of the best pieces of works dealing with censorship is “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins. “Trying to protect his students’ innocence/ he told them the Ice Age was really just/ the Chilly Age, a period of a million years/ when everyone had to wear sweaters./ And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age,/ named after the
They continue to “torment the weak/ and the smart,/ mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses,” (Collins 14-16). The teacher’s protection has backfired. He taught the students a work of fiction and they did not believe him or his stories. They continue to do their worst as the teacher continues to live in his fantasy world where he makes up the history in which he wants to teach. He continues to live in a world in which he makes up so he can pretend that he is helping them. “The History Teacher” shows why sugar coating the past is wrong. Doing so to a work such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, will have students going around, believing that slavery was not so bad, that whites just referred to slaves as slaves and nothing more or less, and that racism was never
It takes away the discussion of how the word is used. Smith says that they censored the book so that readers would not “engage in provocative discussions about the role of racism in American History” (183). Students could learn so much from questions such as; “Why did Twain use that word? What kind of country must this have been that it was so ubiquitous? And how hardy is the weed of self-loathing that many black people rationalize and justify its use, even now?” (Pitts). How would students have discussions such as this with a censored edition? Without the use of it in the book, how could there be questions about the use of it? The discussion about the book and the word are just as vital to the students as the uncensored version of the book itself. They both go hand in hand in the student’s progression as an educated person. Without the original book and the discussion to follow, students will not be able to completely understand Mark Twain’s message and purpose of his work of
The people who are trying to ban The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are only trying to block out a part of American history that they would just as soon be forgotten, but every part of American history needs to be dealt with and accepted by everyone at a young age. Trying to shield students from any important part of history is a crime within itself. Hannibal, Missouri is a prime example of this type of crime. Every year they have a citywide celebration of Mark Twain, but they do not celebrate The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson nor do they teach it in their schools. Best stated by Shelly Fisher Fishkin, the theater company in Hannibal “was upholding a long American tradition of making slavery and its legacy and blacks themselves invisible”(Zwick, Jim.
The reform of history textbook has always been a growing concern. In her “America Revised: A History of Schoolbooks in the twentieth century,” Frances Fitzgerald reveals that history books are updated but modified substantially to comply with the national interest at the time. Fitzgerald’s argument is slightly biased and some pieces of evidence are not sufficient or might even be far-fetched. However, she successfully conveys her argument through comprehensively contrasting the current history books for children with histories of the fifties using various rhetorical devices and plentiful examples.
Since the Civil War, racism has been a very delicate issue with the American public. Whereas some people have tried to transgress this issue, pretending that race no longer plays a significant role in our country, other people still believe that there are serious racial dilemmas in the United States. I am one these people. However, unlike some, I do not believe this problem can be solved by avoiding or sugarcoating the issue of race, as James L. Kilpatrick and several schools appear to be doing. In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain presents an adventure story filled with deeper meanings and controversial topics, two in particular being slavery and racism. Despite the usage of the word "nigger" and the stereotypical portrayal of African Americans, I do not think schools have any justification in banning this book from reading lists.
For many years schools have banned books from being taught to their students because of parent complaints. These books have been shunned from the criteria, which may or may not affect the student’s understanding on a specific subject. People have been fighting to have these books banned because of excessive use of profanity, violence, sex, drugs and many other reasons. They do not look further in the books to see exactly what the author is trying to portray. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is banned in various places in the United States. This book should not be banned because, this book shows an important part in our history, it is not pro-racism, and it shows how far along we have come since then.
The classic American novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain has been a source of controversy since it was published. The controversy is centered around Twain’s use of the N word. It is a very heinous, powerful word that is almost always offensive. Mark Twain is well known as a satirist, in laymen's terms he makes light of social issues through his use of language. The story takes place in pre-civil war America so in order to effectively show the racism of the decade he had to use their vernacular. He did not intend to offend. He actually meant to make you feel uncomfortable with the racism. Huck Finn should not be censored because literary decisions should be left to the authors to make (5 Kathleen Parker), we need examples of ignorance to provide contrast to how far we have come, and because The powerful language Twain uses is necessary for the story and the story would be worse off for it.
Censorship is “the restriction or removal of information, or the prevention of free expression” (Taylor 8). There are many things that can be censored such as books, movies, TV shows, newspapers, and the way people dress. People censor things for a number of reasons- they do not agree with it, find it offensive, or think that it is just inappropriate in general. Different people consider different things inappropriate, so the content of what is censored varies. Anyone can censor, including parents, teachers, school officials, and board members (Taylor 8-10) Many things are censored in schools and places where children are present because parents do not want their kids to be exposed to inappropriate content (Taylor 10). Students are entitled to their First Amendment rights just as much as adults are, but schools still censor things like newspapers, books, and clothing.
...feels the material is appropriate and what lessons can be taught from the materials in the book. Secondly, the teacher needs to have a deep understanding of the content they are presenting so that it can be presented in the best possible way that will promote positive discussions. Last, the school should stand behind any teacher that is willing to take on such controversial topics and help that teacher build a positive base for such literary exploration. We cannot change history instead we must embrace it and learn from it. Removing controversial novels from the curriculum that depict realism limits that student and their ability to learn from the past. The discussions that the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn promote will create valuable life lessons that almost any student can relate to and will likely leave an impression that will last a lifetime.
In Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, talks about the real point of view of textbooks in the classroom. Many textbooks create this idea of Heroification, were people from the past are perfect creatures without conflicts and pain. The idea is to influence the students to strive for great things and become like these people. However, by showing only the good side of people or events is misleading. We need to show both sides- the good and the bad in order to show a complete picture of the past. Another, thing textbooks do is hid events or makes them more simplistic. Many textbooks show the idea that racism is over, and hid the fact that society is still dealing with racism. The textbook companies do this because they want not to have students have the tough conversations. The la...
Issues of censorship in public schools are contests between the exercise of discretion and the exercise of a Constitutional right. The law must reconcile conflicting claims of liberty and authority, as expressed by Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 1940 in “Banned in the U.S.A.: A Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries” by Herbert N. Foerstel (23).
Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.
If people’s mistakes and, reasons causing said mistakes in history aren’t portrayed completely for educational purposes then is history doomed to eventually repeat itself? The lower class is growing, middle class is shrinking and the upper class is making more money, which has been a pattern over the time frame the America’s existence. “Land of Opportunity” and “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong”, both written by James W. Loewen contain brilliant insight to why some textbooks may be feeding students not necessarily false information but information irrelevant to the real issues most Americans face every day like unfair living conditions and opportunities due to social class. Mistakes, such as unfair distribution of wealth somewhat due to moving jobs overseas, make it hard for one to move up in ranks regarding social class. The social class issue in America goes much deeper than a deteriorating economy because, like Loewen says “opportunity is not equal in America”, which tends to be true due to factors like race, community, pay checks, and even inherent wealth of ones’ parents.
...and walked home.” Collins contrasts the students’ misbehavior with the teacher’s ignorance, thus implying a relationship between the history teacher’s inability to teach his students and their ensuing misbehavior.
...ime of the author rather then accurate historical facts. (Lies?293) Textbooks are being written this way and history is being taught this way to show people how they should act and strive to be. This relays to the student what is deemed acceptable to everyone and what is not. When it comes to a student remembering historical lessons they normally do not remember what is being taught to them unless they are moved by it. (Lies?301) So what is the result to a society where our students are being taught this way? The number one result is that students do not know the true history of their country nor do they remember what they were taught in class. This is a sad conclusion but Mr. Loewen feels it is an accurate one given responses to questions he has asked his students throughout the years. What can we do to change this and reeducate the people out there? Sadly I feel nothing can be done for those of us out there who are not truly aware of this misinformed way of teaching. But, our children need not be sheltered from our true history, rather they should learn all that has happened so we can prevent the atrocities from reoccurring again.
It is a book that my child may never be able to read. It seems that the only logical reasoning to aid in what offends people is to completely eliminate the book from the library. A better approach is to understand that this book may help them examine other beliefs, attitudes, values, and traditions and to accept, tolerate, or even reject these ideas without prejudices against people who hold particular views. In the democracy In which we live, where regularly all ideas are debatable. A wide range on all points of view should be available to the public.
Collins employs strong examples of euphemism to establish the inner beliefs of the teacher. The teacher transitions many history lessons from grim and harsh realities into lighthearted, fictional stories. This example of euphony allows the reader to make the conclusion that the teacher would rather the children learn false information then learn the truth about the world, instating a sudden diminish of hope for each child. The teacher’s alterations to historical moments in