Is The Golden Compass pointed in the wrong direction?

699 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the controversy of censorship

Every single day books are challenged and banned by schools and parent organizations. These organizations and schools are taking away children’s intellectual freedom. The American Library Association defines intellectual freedom as “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction” (Ross, Caplan 1). When schools restrict their student’s intellectual freedom that is censorship, ALA defines censorship as “the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons, individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable or dangerous” (1). Books are banned for a variety of reasons such as sexual themes, profanity, violence or anti-religious themes. In one case a librarian in Ortega Middle School challenged the book because she believed it was innapropiate for children (“Censorship Watch” 1). The Golden Compass has been challenged because the author is an atheist and many some religions believe it has anti-religious themes (Taylor 1). Anti-religious content and an author’s religious preference are not justifiable reas...

Show More
Related

  • How Banning Books Marginalizes Children By Paul Ringel

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article How Banning Books Marginalizes Children, the author, Paul Ringel, states that approximately fifty-two percent of the books banned in the last ten years illustrate “diverse content”, such as race, religion, gender identity, etc. Ringel believes that attitudes about which books are “appropriate” for kids to read have too often suppressed stories about different cultures and life experiences. He basis his argument around the pretext that when libraries stop the banning it will allow kids to learn how to navigate imaginary worlds filled with differences and apply those lessons to their own lives.

    Read More

  • Board Of Education V Pico Summary

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    The respondents, including Steven Pico, Jacqueline Gold, Glenn Yarris, Russell Rieger (students at Island Trees High School), and Paul Sochinski (student at Island Trees Memorial), argued that banning the books from school libraries violated their first amendment rights. Therefore, the respondents took the case to court (I...

    Read More

  • The Tyranny of Banned Books

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    Foerstel, Herbert N. Banned in the U.S.A.: a Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994. Print.

    Read More

  • The Banning of Books in American Schools

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trelease, Jim. "Book Banning Violates Children and Young Adult Freedoms." Book Banning. Ed. Ronnie D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Rpt. from "Censorship and Children's Books." Trelease-on-Reading.com. 2006.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Censorship and Book Banning

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Banning Books Essay

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Books are banned for many reasons but more times than not it is because of the sensitive information found within the novel that agitates the reader. As long as people have been able to develop their own opinions, others have sought to prevent them from sharing. At some point in time, every idea has ultimately become objectionable to someone. The most frequently challenged and most visible targets of such objection are the very books found in classrooms and public libraries. These controversial novels teach lessons that sometimes can be very sensitive to some but there is much more to challenged books than a controversial topic. What lies within these pages is a wealth of knowledge, such as new perspectives for readers, twisting plots, and expressions that are found nowhere else. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird, contains references to rape, racial content, and profanity that have caused many to challenge the novel in the first place. The book was banned from countless

    Read More

  • Banning Books in Schools

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 an infringement to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution while others argue it is used to conceal inappropriate things (Aliprandini and Sprague). The banning of books in school curriculum has also been debated since parents see certain books as inappropriate while others argue that banning them hinders student learning. Against the censorship of books in schools, Fenice Boyd and Nancy Bailey, authors of Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, believe that banning books creates a barrier between students and intellectual development (Boyd and Bailey, 655). Banning books from schools and removing them from the curriculum prevents students from exploring different ideas and developing creativity and critical thinking skills.

    Read More

  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Censorship is a shroud for the intolerable, a withdrawal from the cold truths of humanity, and ultimately, the suppression of expression. When a book such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is banned in classrooms, students are not only stripped of an enriching work of literature, but also consequently stripped of the cultural and moral awareness required to survive in a world stained with imperfection and strewn with atrocity.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay Of Banning Books

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Censorship in Schools

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Banning Books

    4607 Words  | 10 Pages

    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. Lastly, there is censorship that involves someone who is part of an organized campaign, whether of a local or national group, and who goes in ready for a fight and wants to make a broader political point” (Miner 1998). Although there are many others ways that a piece of literature could get censored, most censored works are asked to be removed from classrooms and school libraries.

    Read More

  • To Ban or Not to Ban books: The Color Purple

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    Objectionable content found in challenged books across the country can range from some vulgar language, to rape and incest, and even to explicit sex scenes. However objectionable these topics may be, high schoolers are already exposed to them in some way, whether it be through listening to popular music on the radio, watching television, or browsing the internet. Many parents, and even board members of some schools, object certain books for a variety of reasons. What they have failed to realize is this: if they are so concerned about what their children read in school, are they as concerned about monitoring what they hear on the radio, see on television, and search online? Many schools across the country are now taking the technological route when it comes to teaching. This often means students can have access to the internet while in their classroom. This point goes back to the prior statement of ...

    Read More

  • Censorship in Schools

    3744 Words  | 8 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Book Censorship: Good or Bad?

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of modern civilization, books have been an important and revolutionary source of human knowledge. Unfortunately, it has become a growing trend to censor books for a variety of reasons. Several of these reasons, which include protecting children and omitting offensive material, are not only arbitrary but are without merit. This is because sheltering children is not beneficial to the children, and also it is impossible to shelter kids without resorting to isolation. Also, it’s not possible to screen out offensive material in books because all material is potentially offensive. The escalating trend of censoring information in books is not only an impossible task, but it contributes to the declination in the population’s intelligence.

    Read More

  • Censorship In Schools Essay

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional. Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. In some cases, a minority ends up dictating the majority in censorship cases. To be told what is permissible reading material and what is not is a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

    Read More

More about Is The Golden Compass pointed in the wrong direction?

Open Document