Censorship is to conceal certain things from people, whether or not it is to learn and educate, including news, films, and books. Some will say that it is to prevent children from reading things inappropriate for their age, and if they are the guardians of the children, the parents or guardians should have a say in what their children are taught and what they read in school. People want their children to be raised with specific values, and the school has no right to change them or say they are incorrect. Some materials in schools and libraries go against religious beliefs and cultures. It should be maintained in and outside their homes, so they can do that by banning books. Others just want their children to focus purely on school and should …show more content…
But, when it leads to children not learning our history accurately and preventing them from seeing things from different perspectives, it leads to them being sheltered and uneducated. It will prevent the promotion of critical thinking and show that even though some people are different, whether it is their race, religion, gender, or sexuality, they should be treated like everybody else. Banning books is something that can damage children academically. If you only let students read things their parents want them to read, it will lead them to be close-minded and not have a range of thinking. Alex Hodges stated, “All learners need to develop and evolve their critical thinking abilities over time. These abilities are what enable learners to be information and critically literate,”. Without books, children would be unable to see things from a broader perspective. It allows the youth to grow up knowing only “appropriate” parts of history. It also holds people back from exploring different types of writing and learning new words and how to use …show more content…
Bigotry is the main driver for taking books out of schools and libraries. In the modern age, people in the LGBTQ+ community and the black community are being seen more. That is included in books, which is the main problem for people who want to ban books. Taking from the article “Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books.” Among the 1,648 unique banned book titles in the Index, 674 banned book titles (41 percent) explicitly address LGBTQ+ themes or have protagonists or prominent secondary characters who are LGBTQ+. 659 banned book titles (40 percent) contain protagonists or prominent secondary characters of color; The statistics highlight that most of the bans attack books that are written for marginalized groups in America. For many years, white male youth have been the main ones who see themselves in books (Alex Eble). Thankfully, now we have representation and discussion of racism and homophobia, but with book bans becoming more of a problem, society may be going backward. Black girls and boys should be able to see themselves in books without being radicalized; as we have seen for years, the black community was given close to nothing. More laws are being made against the queer community, and they are
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.
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.
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...
Ray Bradbury, one of America’s most renowned 20th century writers once said, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture, just get people to stop reading them” (Bradbury). In today’s society books are not burned, but some are being censored thus preventing people from enjoying the books they want to read. So what is censorship? Censorship is when an individual or an organization wants to restrict or limit access of a book to readers to avoid offending a group of people. Censorship has affected classrooms and public libraries across the nation due to people like parents, teachers and sometimes students themselves protesting against certain types of books. There is hardly a week that goes by that a book is challenged to be censored. The most common reason why a book is censored is for “violence, sex, race, Encouragement of "Damaging" Lifestyles, witchcraft, and political bias” (Butler University).
Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.
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
School boards and teachers have a responsibility for protecting the minds of their students and covering age appropriate material. However, does this responsibility cover the extreme act of banning books from school classrooms? Does not the teacher have a duty to introduce to their students world issues in order to better the students ability to cope with problems in the world? How does a school decide which books should be banned from the classroom, and should it be left up to the teacher to decide what is decided in his/her classroom. By banning books from the classroom, we prevent our students from learning about controversial topics in a safe environment, and we also encroach upon the student’s freedom of reading what they want in school.
According to the American Library Association (ALA), family values, religion, political views, and minority rights are four motivating factors of why people want to ban books although there are many others (Kennedy Kids’ Book Censorship). Racial issues are commonly a concern when it comes to banning books because people often mistake the content for encouragement rather than discussion (Kelly). Religious fundamentalists frequently find topics such as homosexuality and magic inappropriate because it seems to support damaging lifestyles and witchcraft when the writer could simply be using these topics to help a child expand their imagination to different ideas of life (Kelly). Family values are a big issue when it comes to what tea...
Books have been banned/censored throughout history. For example, the Catholic Church created the Index of Banned Books in the 1500s. The goal of the Index was to prevent the general population from reading books that went contrary to the Church’s teachings. Some of Galileo’s books were in this list. Anyone caught reading or selling these books was severely punished, tortured, or even killed. 500 years later, however, book banning still occurs. There are hundreds of books being challenged every year in the United States, for various reasons. Many of these reasons are understandable, such as preventing mature content (eg. profanity, violence, obscenity) from reaching young people. However, other reasons are quite irrational. For example, the Harry Potter series was removed from some school libraries because parents believed it promoted witchcraft. A single, precise reason behind book banning, however, is unclear. Furthermore, many important American classics are being banned, often for minor reasons such as profanity. Why is it that we ban books that teach valuable lessons? Is it because censors are simply trying to protect children from inappropriate content? Or are governments trying to suppress unwanted ideas? Books should not be banned because book censorship is unnecessary, limits knowledge, and violates the fundamental principles of this country.
Imagine you have a child. This child loves to read books on their own. They read so much you finally tell them to get their books from the library. Then, one day, your child asks you what does this word mean, you are horrified to see that the child is pointing to a curse word. From that point on the child gets in trouble with teachers and other adults for saying that word. This is why book banning is necessary to keep children from finding themselves in that situation and others. Book banning is required because a child may be taught bad habits, lose the magical innocence of childhood, and because children may not be mature enough to decide what materials to read.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.”-Dr. Seuss. What Dr. Seuss’s statement is telling us is that books have given us knowledge about ideas, life, and the world. One of the greatest inventions of mankind is a book. A book is a set of printed sheets that are put together fill with information that people read about. Books have been around with us since ages from generations to generations. It is all around the world with different cultures and languages, books have given people the joy of story, information, and knowledge. Everyone should have the right to read whatever book they are seem interested. Well, it is not the case; there are some people out there trying to challenge books from being ban. It is ridiculous that books are being taken away from readers. Today, books are still currently being challenged or banned. This type of doing is censorship. This is a problem that people need to look at and think about. Books are in school, library, in our homes yet they are too much for the people. Why are books so sensitive for readers to be challenged? There are two set of sides to this issue, one side are the people that wants to remove the books and challenged them to be ban, the other side are the one that oppose the banning of books, allowing to read whatever they want. Which side is right? This leads to the question as to why books are currently being challenged or banned. How does banning books relate to censorship and what are some solutions that can solve the problem of banning books?
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.
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.
All in all, throughout our society ideas, morals, and lessons are thought through books and if books are being banished from our schools, then we are all being deprived of our freedom as intellectuals that have the own opinions and ideas. In fact if books teach students lessons and if this books are abolished then lessons, ideas and real events of the real world are also banished from students. After all, who is the right person to censor book?
Britney Pham Mr. Stuart Maclean English 10.3 22 February 2024 Schools should not ban books from their libraries. The debate over whether schools should ban books is not a new issue. Many articles, studies, and surveys have taken this issue as their subject. From my point of view, schools should not ban books for the following three reasons: some issues are brutal but necessary in children's development, book censorship takes away personal choices from the majority in the community, and banning books is a discriminatory action.