The Banning of Harry Potter at Omaha Christian Academy
Imagine discovering that you’re not an ordinary person, but a wizard with magnificent, magical powers. Imagine attending a school where you’ll study transfiguration and charms instead of trigonometry and chem. Imagine the thrill of flying across the sky on a broomstick. These adventures and many others are waiting to be experienced in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by novelist J. K. Rowling. This fanciful and entertaining tale has taken the youth of the nation by storm, and its sales have only been surpassed by the book’s sequels, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Unfortunately, not all children are welcome to enjoy the magic of J.K. Rowling’s literature. Because the books discuss witchcraft and wizardry, some parents and teachers have assumed that the books do not reflect religious teachings and must, therefore, be banned. The Omaha Christian Academy in Omaha, Nebraska has recently banned the sale of Harry Potter books at its book fair and refuses to purchase copies for the classrooms or library. However, the administration at Omaha Christian Academy should not prohibit reading books in the Harry Potter series.
Potter Gets Cold Shoulder
On October 15, 1999 an article was published in the Omaha World-Herald that angered and agitated devoted fans of Harry Potter. Omahans already knew that the Harry Potter books had been challenged in South Carolina and a few other places across the nation. Now, the controversy over the fantasy stories by J. K. Rowling had hit their home town. Apparently, the administration at Omaha Christian Academy learned of the popularity of the books and...
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...The kids who read Harry Potter will not grow up to be antireligious witches and warlocks. They will develop into well-adjusted young adults who have a better understanding of how to be a hero. In order to act in the best interest of their students, the administration at Omaha Christian Academy needs to introduce the Harry Potter books into their school as soon as possible. It’s time that Christian schools be made a safe haven for Harry Potter.
Works Cited
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976.
Heuscher, Julius. A Psychiatric Study of Myths and Fairy Tales. Illinois: Charles
Thomas, 1974.
O’Connor, Michael. “Potter Gets Cold Shoulder.” Omaha World-Herald. 15 October
1999.
“Save Harry Potter!” About.com. 29 October 1999.
<http://yabooks.about.com/kidsteens/ktteens/yabooks/bl_potter.htm>
An account of the August, 1831 slave revolt led by a slave named Nathaniel “Nat” Turner and happened in Southampton County, Virginia. The event is now known as Nat Turner’s Rebellion and the book is a telling of Nat Turner’s life, the system of slavery that existed in Southampton County and the state of Virginia. The pivotal element of the book is Nat Turner, his life as a slave and why he became the leader of the bloodiest slave revolt in the history of the United States. The author also tells of the tragically brutal events occurring during its suppression.
The book fires of jubilee is a book by Stephen B. Oates about a man who the name Nat Turner who experienced quite enough freedom when he was a kid and learned valuing it very much. He use...
Nat Turner’s name throughout American history has a force all its own. Nat Turner was the leader of the most significant slave revolt in American history. The views on Nat Turner varied from a hero of oppressed people, murderer of innocent women and children, and a powerful religious leader. Although Nat Turner was a historical figure much about him and the revolt he led remains a mystery.
Countries worldwide actively call for the banning of books that are found to be politically inconvenient, religiously awkward, or embarrassing in one form or another. But for writers like Russia's Vasily Grossman, a book's ban means far more than just a dip in sales. In 1961, he pleaded with the Soviet censors, "I am physically free, but the book to which I have dedicated my life is in jail." (Merkelson). A book represents an idea, thus limiting access to a book is banning the representation of an idea. The banning of books in American schools should not be allowed, because banning books will prevent students from learning the reason for the controversy and alternate viewpoints they can come to on their own.
...etter than ignorance. Book censorship should not limit the amount of knowledge a child can receive, instead, books should be used to benefit children in their education and future career.
Oates, Stephen. The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. Print.
In 1903 Alois died, and Adolf took his mothers last name of Hitler. Adolf's mother Klara, died in 1907 from a long series of painful and expensive surgeries for terminal breast cancer. Hitler was permitted to visit Vienna where he was turned down for admission into a prestigous art school. He spent six years in Vienna, surviving on his father's orphanage pension. By 1909 Adolf was penniless and lived life as a transient, sleeping in the backs of bars, flophouses, and homeless shelters. It was during this perios that HItler gained his prejudices, his interest in politics, an...
Centuries later and the name Adolf Hitler still rings volumes till this present day: discussed in history books, talked about amongst intellects and commoners alike, and despised by many for years to come. Upon hearing his name many may think of all the negative things Hitler has done, but few fail to analyze just how one man created such controversy amongst a nation without being stopped. The question then lies how does a man reign over country and devastate it for years to come? Adolf Hitler, a man who excelled in persuasion and charisma was able to reign over Germany for years. Born in Austria April 20th 1889, Hitler grew up with many hardships in his life.
...y for the lunatic fringes of my own religion” (“'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery”).
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.
Kenneth S. Greenberg et al., Nat Turner: A slave Rebellion in History and Memory (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 46.
Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database. This article addresses some of the reasons that censors attempt to remove books from the curriculum: Many censors feel that works are not age appropriate for students. Staff, Wire Reports. (2002 October 3). Book banning spans the globe.
Hitler had a poor relationship with his father, who could not accept his son's lack of self-discipline and his interests in art, architecture and music. When his father died in 1903, his mother Klara had very little control over her son, and in 1905 he left school. In 1907 Hitler applied to enter the Vienna Academy of Art but his application was rejected. In that year his mother died from cancer. Hitler had been devoted to his mother and her death affected him deeply. He carried her portrait everywhere he went for the rest of his life.
...ave evolved about the subject matter of these books. The greatest controversy, though, centers on the series’ religious references, which have caused many parents to despise the “immoral” concepts of the stories and forbid their children from reading these books. Such people feel that Rowling promotes paganism through the magic performed by the characters, and promotes evil through various connections to Satan. Still, Harry Potter does not reflect the practices of Wicca and good always overpowers evil in the end; therefore, we should not be concerned with the effects of the series on children, or even adults. After all, readers have been enjoying stories containing magical references for centuries and humanity has not suffered because of it. Harry Potter is just another magical story and should be enjoyed, rather than judged because of its controversial references.
Adolf Hitler was born to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl in Braunau, Austria in 1889. Hitler's father Alois was an Austrian civil servant. He had a very short fuse and would often beat Adolf. His mother, Klara, had a warmer heart. She greatly encouraged Hitler to do what he wanted. She would often take her son's side when Alois would began a tantrum against Adolf. Hitler told his father he had a dream of becoming an artist. His father did not approve. Alois wanted his son to become a civil servant like himself. When Adolf hit the age of thirteen, his father passed away. Hitler gave up on school and his dream of being an artist when he applied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and was rejected entry. At the age of nineteen, Hitler's mom passed away. He never told her of the devastating news that the school declined him. Hitler soon after joined the military when World War I started. After becoming injured, Hitler began going to the German Workers Party. The party soon realized Hitler's great speaking gift. The German Workers Party changed their name to the Nazi's. They selected Hitler as their leader. Soon millions came to hear Hitler speak. Hitler's power hit an all time high. (Witherbee 1).