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Book banning in schools
Book banning in schools
Consequences of banning books
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Education was always thought to be a vital tool to all people, but in today’s world many consider it a way for the evils of the world to tant the young. This of course is known as the “Banned Books” debate. One side that believes books should be limited to prevent the children to be exposed to information that they believe to be inappropriate. And the other that believes in the total opposite and continues to point out the importance of the primary focus of literature, in which is education. Overall what makes this debate so difficult is the fact of what makes literature so valuable to the future generations, in being: at the end of the day education is a natural right given to every American citizen, they provide valuable lessons, and of course …show more content…
In other words this isn’t a simple public safety issue it’s more of a public educational issue. The balance of protecting the young from educating the young is very unbalanced, and maybe actually damaging. Fear seems to be the driving force in the pro-book banning group and that isn’t always a bad thing but in this case it is. The population cannot continuous allow fear to control their decisions, especially when it comes to the younger group, the future. There isn’t a better way to teach a child an extremely valuable life lesson than through a small sweet story of literature. And there isn’t a better example than “The Three Little Pigs” by Joseph Jacobs. As everyone knows, the premise of the story is about three little pigs trying to survive from a wolf who is trying to eat them. As Carol, from Carol’s Notebook states,
“So, out of the four characters, only one makes it to the happily ever after. In this fairy tale, we have the weaker, smaller creature winning by outwitting the stronger, more powerful one, a common theme in fairy
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
The government believes it is much easier to control a society full of dumb people, so they put up an law to restrict books from the public. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal... A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind”. Books are dangerous, not because they physically are, but because of the knowledge they contain can bring about any opponent. Ideas and knowledge makes people question how things are, and allows them to see all the problems within this corrupted
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
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
Ever since pen was first put to paper there has been some form of censorship surrounding it. The most current form of censorship is to ban the books which are viewed as inappropriate. Such an act not only violates the rights of American citizens, but it also violates the rights of the students to learn. Even if the government could manage to ban all of the books that it feels are inappropriate, the thirst to read such books would only grow. Too often is it forgotten that before the banning of books was an “at home issue,” (Book Banning 1) the federal government tried to cut the flow of inappropriate information off at the source
As the American Library Association notes, books are usually banned "with the best intention…to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information." (Brunner). If a book has frightening or controversial ideas in them, adults willing often censor that book from children. From 2000 to 2009, of the 5,099 challenges that were reported, 1,639 of these challenges were in school libraries and 30 challenges in academic libraries. (Frequently Challenged Books). At various times in American history, even some of the tamest books have been banned. Harriet the Spy, was banned because it supposedly taught children to "lie, spy, back-talk, and curse." Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was banned for being too depressing. A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein, was banned because it might encourage kids to break dishes so they won't have to dry them. (Frequently Challenged Books). While some of these excuses are more reasonable than other excuses, the banning of these books prevents the children from empathizing...
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...
We live in an overprotective society, where people try to control other people’s lives from things that they find explicit. Many parents believe that by sheltering their kids from offensive things it will keep them safe. But, trying to live life as if there is always sunshine and no rain turns out to be a big disappointment. The banning of books has a negative effect on children and adults alike, as it can shelter children from real life situations, and revokes the rights of the people. Although people believe in banning books that contain vulgar language and profanity to help their children, it can actually hurt the child and can be considered unconstitutional.
...parents. Most people don’t know how bad book-banning has become; I for one thought book-banning was a thing of the past. But even as our society changes and people become more open to ideas, it is still a big problem. Unfortunately, those very people (teachers and librarians) who should be fighting against book-banning passively let it happen for fear that they will get in trouble and lose their job. As Judy Blume also said, “The real danger is not in the books, but in laughing off those who would ban them.” Unless someone fights against book-banning, eventually kids won’t have anything to read.
In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” (1999), Francine Prose argues that literature is not being exposed to and taught to high school students in the way that it should be and that students learn to “loathe” it due to this. Prose provides her audience with her personal experience as both a mother and a college professor along with her own research on the books and suggested purposed of them. She continues to expand on this topic in order to help illuminate the importance of literature itself, not being associated with personal experiences or morals. Prose’s position is valid and she makes her essay directed towards school boards, teachers, and students and continues to maintain a critical tone throughout her essay.
“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. 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.
Every year in the United States we have books being banned and challenged by many people who do not like the contents of books. When researching for this argument essay I found an article written by Rebecca Hagelin. Rebecca Hagelin is the author of Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That’s Gone Stark Raving Mad and the vice president of communications and marketing at the Heritage Foundation (Lankford).
The Houston Chronicle, pp. C14. Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database. This article emphasizes the point that censors go too far when they attempt to not only ban a book for their own children but want to remove it altogether from a school library, so that other students cannot read it.
At first glance, what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale may seem obvious—some kind of magic, hidden symbols, repetition, and of course it’s evident it’s fiction—but fables are more than that. As Arthur Schelesinger puts it, it’s about “[expanding] imagination” and gaining understanding of mysterious places (618). While doing this, it also helps children to escape this world, yet teach a lesson that the reader may not be conscious of. A wonderful story that achieves all of this is Cinderella, but not the traditional tale many American’s have heard. Oochigeaskw, or The Rough-Faced Girl, and Ashputtle would be fitting for a seven-year-old because they get the gears of the mind turning, allowing for an escape on the surface, with an underlying enlightenment for children of the ways of the world.
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.