Why Huckleberry Finn Should Be Banned In Schools

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“Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” “The Great Gatsby.” “The Catcher in the Rye.” All of these titles may ring a familiar bell to many high school readers across the country. Despite their popularity, many schools have once challenged or banned these books due to their offensive nature in this generation. However, Los Osos High School and several other high schools have not banned these books because they are important pieces of literature and their offensive content originates from the time period they were writing about. However, that freedom doesn’t seem to extend to all books.
On August 5, 2016, Jennifer Teresi, a Los Osos High School English teacher for freshmen and sophomores, attempted to get several books authorized in order to broaden the amount of modern literature at our school. However, the school administration quickly rejected these books without a clear explanation, leading to many questions and speculation as to the reasons why the books were rejected.
Teresi has done a program for her freshmen class called literary circles in which several students, usually 5 to 6, are divided into groups and decide on which young adult book they would like to read and discuss. After the students finish reading the book, the author of these books is invited to either physically come to …show more content…

She said that she tries to look for “quality” and “universal themes” in the modern books she reads before deciding whether or not the book is worthy of being on the approved list. The main aspect of the two she looks for is the “universal themes” because it is the same themes of older books that are just put into a more “modern” setting. However, she must first get the school board to approve of the book before it can be adopted by Los Osos High

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