A student goes into the library and decides to look for the book he needs to get for his class. He looks for hours trying to find it. He finally goes and asks the librarian where it is, but she gives him his worst nightmare. The book was banned by one of his classmates' parents as they thought it was inappropriate for their kid. This is happening all over the world because people are banning books that they think are unsuitable for their kids to read. There is so much information that a book can give, and if kids want to read it and gain more knowledge, they can’t as it is unavailable to them. Books should not be banned because it restricts kids from obtaining new knowledge and doesn’t allow them to see other perspectives and ideas. First, …show more content…
But if books are being banned, these choices are being taken away so kids can’t learn (“Book Bans: What to Know 4”). If you ban books, children cannot learn new topics that have not been introduced to them. Kids need to be open-minded about these things. They should be able to read about what they want to read and if a parent does not like that, they can restrict their child from reading it, not everyone else. These choices are a big deal in these children's and teens' lives. It can affect their mindset by not letting them learn more interesting subjects. Because of these things I mentioned, kids should be able to learn new knowledge and not be restricted from it. Banning books doesn’t allow children or teens to see other perspectives and ideas. On the contrary, opponents contend that some content is inappropriate for kids so they should not read it, but this is not always true. Experts say, “Parents may control what their own children read, but they don't have a right to restrict what books are available to other people. Parents who don’t like specific books can have their kids opt out of an assignment without infringing on the rights of others. ” (“ProCon.org
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.
Number one, as I said: quality of information. Number two: leisure to digest. And number three: the right to carry out actions based on what we learned from the interaction of the first two”(84-85). Books are where people get their information from, banning books basically means the censorship of information.
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.
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 first amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Buchanan).” With the banning and the challenging of books all over the U.S. I believe that our first amendment is being jeopardized. We should be allowed to read whatever we want to read it is our right according to the first amendment in the U.S. Constitution with freedom of speech.
“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?
Book banning denies readers access to different viewpoints and experiences. When certain books are removed from circulation, readers are denied the opportunity to engage with different cultures, beliefs, and viewpoints. This bias involves ignorance and reinforces stereotypes, blocking social progress and understanding. In educational settings, book banning challenges the pursuit of knowledge and critical thinking. By restricting access to certain books, teachers are forced to limit their ability to provide students with a well-rounded education.
It is an overlooked topic that should be considered by everyone because, in turn, this will hurt a child's education. It also goes to show how kids will lack their creative side of learning because they are lacking the opportunity to explore the different perspectives being explored in books and how to incorporate them into their own creative endeavor. Also seen through Text 4: Book Bans Are Really About Oppression of Diverse Ideas,” it conveys, “As a parent, I know that books should be viewed as tools of enlightenment, not tools of oppression.” This quotation also demonstrates how, despite the fact that not all parents are against book banning, one that is against it is aware of the bigger picture book banning may have on their children as well for children in general. This parent takes into consideration the way books should be used, rather than the way they should be
Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.” Books are being outlawed for trying to spread knowledge to young and impressionable minds. Several states have begun the process of censoring books, also referred to as burning books. The censorship of these books stems from concerned parents and politicians who believe that the messages shared on the pages of certain books are unfit for the eyes of growing children and young adults. The process of banning books needs to be stopped because it limits freedom of speech, restricts self-discovery and representation, and creates less exposure to different perspectives.
Nowadays, books are being banned from schools, left and right. It is understandable that some situations may be tough to read about, but they are daily occurrences in some places. People are banning books because of the discomfort that comes from them, not thinking about the potential consequences of their actions. There are many reasons to read painful literature, and by banning books, we are restricting our future generations from potentially crucial knowledge. Although uncomfortable, the topics talked about in these books are very real and reading about them is beneficial in many ways.
Throughout society, many people fight over whether or not books should be banned. Books have been debated in different school districts for a very long time due to the topics involved in some of the books written. Some people believe that many books are classics and should be kept since they are a part of our history. They believe books can help guide people on how to act and teach a student many things. On the other hand, other people believe that books should be banned due to the many topics that aren’t suitable for children and students to learn about.
If students want to learn new information, then they need to step outside of their comfort zone, which includes exposing themselves to harsh topics and if books are banned, that is unlikely to happen. Some banned books "are viewed to have 'inappropriate' themes for the age level at which they are written for" (“New First Book Study Tackles National Issue of Banned Books”). Most themes in banned books are inappropriate, being way higher than the recommended age shows that students can read higher than what they are supposed to and banning these books limits
Banned books can be a threat to children and teenagers. There are many reasons parents and guardians agree with this. Some parents or guardians want to be able to control what their child reads and what they are exposed to. Children or teenagers should not be exposed to inappropriate content that is not appropriate for their age group. Some other religious authorities want to control the spread of dangerous ideas and the information available to their followers.
Most teens don’t believe it can happen to them. In this case, teen father often abandon their child’s mom in fear that they can’t provide for their child. This leaves the teen mom with less social and financial support. It is believed that single family households results in their child becoming a teen mother as well, especially if their mom didn’t finish high school and lack giving her child the education and support talk on how to prevent repeating her mother’s actions.