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Censorship versus freedom of expression
Negative impacts of book banning
Censorship versus freedom of expression
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“Many books have been banned or censored in one or more of these categories due to a misjudgment or misunderstanding about the books content and message.” Even though many books have been controversial to whether they have a positive influence on the reader, banning books would be limiting what society could read and violating our rights. Many of people’s interests would be limited by book banning. Not only would it be limiting interests but it would be violating our First Amendment. In many cases this could also hurt a child’s education. Book banning would limit many of society’s interests. Children would be limited to what a certain number of people think is bad for the child, which should overall be the parent’s decision. According to the passage Common Reasons for Banning Books, “Although a book may have been banned or labeled a certain way, it is important that the reader makes his/her own judgments on the book.” Banning books limits what the reader wants to read and what the reader also wants to learn about. Book banning would limit our first amendment which is freedom of speech and free exercise thereof. Limiting our rights is considered illegal. According to Schools and Censorship: Banned Book, “Every day someone tries to control or otherwise restrict …show more content…
When you ban books you can’t only think about the bad, sometimes there is a special thing the author wants the kid to learn in the story, also known as the moral. As said in Schools and Censorship: Banned Book, “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.” As I said before, banning books could have a huge impact on many peoples learning and
The Constitution states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Even though books may influence young minds with negative thinking, society shouldn’t ban books because it prohibits learning and it violates the First Amendment in the Constitution. Banning books takes away the author’s right, some books can be very educational, and it takes away the children’s choice of what they get to read.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowlings, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hossenini, what do these books have in common? They are books on the American Library Association’s list of top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009. For various reasons, these books were found unsuitable for public audiences, and an attempt was made to ban them. From profanity to sexual content to homosexuality, groups have found reasons to challenge the books. Banning books that some people deem inappropriate from high school libraries underrates youthful intelligence, clouds history and dilutes our culture to fit a mold of conformity. Schools, even religiously affiliated ones, should focus on education and actually encouraging their students to read rather than inhibiting them from using their
First off, banning a book violates the Freedom of Speech, which is a part of the First Amendment. The First Amendment allows the people to have their thoughts and speech to be protected. If a book is banned, you are essentially prohibiting the exercise of free speech, which strangely contradicts the First Amendment. In The Catcher in the Rye, we the readers can see that J.D. Salinger supports the idea of Freedom of Speech with the statement, "And if the boy digresses at all, you 're supposed to yell 'Digression! ' at him as fast as you can. It just about drove me crazy. I got an F in it" (98). Utilizing the Freedom of Speech, the boy can say no to the teacher that forced him to read out loud in class. By banning the book, you are also violating the ideals for Freedom of Expression, which is also a part of the First Amendment. According to the Bill of Rights, the main concept of Freedom of Expression is that we individuals have the right to hold our own opinions without the consent of others (Bill Of Rights of the United States of America). J.D. Salinger also supports the ideals for Freedom of Expression with the quote, "In the first place, I
"Book Banning." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
Number one, as I said: quality of information. Number two: leisure to digest. And number three: the right to carry out actions based on what we learned from the interaction of the first two”(84-85). Books are where people get their information from, banning books basically means the censorship of information.
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...
Book banning is a prime target for censorship. Censorship in print media, notably book banning, occurs across homes, schools, stores, and other facilities daily. Censorship in the schools is the most widespread and exposed place for book banning. Do administrators and school boards have the right to ban books? Are we taking away the rights of children to read? In case of Island Trees Schools District V. Pico in New York, the Supreme Court gave the school board broad discretion to frame curriculum and teach civic and moral values. This case resulted in the school board removing ten books from the school library for being "anti-american, anti-christian, anti-semitic, and just plain filthy." Another case involving book banning was Hazelwood School District V. Kuhlmeier. In this case the Supreme Court again gave school officials the broad discretion to control curriculum. This time the court left open the question if this affects the school libraries. In Olathe, Kansas, the district's superintendent made the decision to remove all copies of Nancy Gardner's Annie On My Mind because of it imposing views for gay actions. This standpoint resulted in a public book burning by a homophobic community group. At Hempfield High School in Western Penn...
People should be allowed to read whatever they want to read, even if it is a touchy subject to someone else. Although some people mainly believe in the banning of books due to explicit content, it actually causes a negative effect on people and children. Not only does it take away the people’s first amendment rights, but it also shelters children from real life situations that might affect their future. Banning books is unconstitutional and shelters children.
Every year more and more books are demanded to be removed from school, and most of the time it happens. The books that are being banned are ones which were classics back in the day. If a parent doesn’t like a book and does not want their kid reading it, they can demand to have it removed but that can be a process. So, in other words, parents just take them off the shelf themselves. Librarians have been known to do this too, because if someone does complain then it could lead to them possibly losing their jobs. With so many people complaining about books, schools and librarians have to be extra careful with which books they purchase and out on
People ban or challenge books because they don't want other to read them because of their content, even thought we see most of it in our everyday life. To stop book banning and to keep books on the shelves; if a book has inappropriate content and someone wants to buy it or get it from the library or store they have to get the parents consent. This will also keep parents informed on what their child is reading.
Banning Books “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer.
Banned Books are books that have been taken off of library shelves because they have been found to have inappropriate content. Books are often challenged by parents who do not want their kids to read them and be exposed to this material. However, Taking books off of shelves is unfair to people mature enough to process the content and hinders the learning of those who would be able to gain something from reading the books. What children are or are not allowed to read should be the parents responsibility. Books should not be banned and made unavailable to those who wish to read them and are capable of gaining something from them.
Religious books could talk about things they shouldn’t know about but it still helps with their culture. Also banning books is affected by “freedom of speech and choice which is blocked by the 1st amendment” (Source 5). The author can’t get their opinion on their book. Freedom of choice is also blocking banning books because, people get to choose which book to read. For example a 13 year-old should be reading a 16 year-old book if they want to learn something that will help them succeed in life.
How would it feel to be told a certain book can’t be read? Believe it or not, book banning is a real thing. A real, horrible thing. There are many reasons why this censorship should not be allowed. Banning books interferes with constitutional rights, children’s education, and parental control.
On the other hand having books chosen for kids could be good, but the books picked could blindsight kids of the actual world. One example of this is the nationally banned book Night written by Elie Weisel. According to U.S News, over “Half of the people in the world have never heard of the Holocaust, ADL found.” The book tells the first hand story of the Holocaust, and if children aren’t permitted to read it and taught that this horrific incident was wrong, something like the Holocaust could happen all over again! So it’s imperative that kids are given the opportunity to read and learn, no matter how terrible the subject.