Book bans have risen in prevalence over the past few years. With the pandemic in 2020, parents began to want more control over their child’s education. These bans have divided parents and students; one group supports the increased censure of literature, while the other petitions for freedom of literature. Book bans can prevent young children from seeing potentially harmful information, but they also allow some groups to push the envelope, banning books based on their beliefs rather than facts. Many of these books include LGBTQ+ topics, abuse, violence, and racism. The number of banned books in the U.S. is over 3,500 and has increased by over 2,500 in the 2020-21 school year alone. This raises some questions. For instance, to what extent should …show more content…
Schools can restrict inappropriate books and literature, but not to a point where the curriculum is drastically changed. These sources are in contradiction to what’s currently happening in the U.S. education system. Even with this precedent, there are many cases of books and whole classes being banned, even if it drastically changes the curriculum. Book bans in schools create a segregated education between liberal and conservative states. A possible solution to this could be the standardization of education across the nation, eliminating discrepancies in the material taught in schools. Book bans are prevalent in schools across the country. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for freedom of literature, published a detailed report on book bans. In this report, many topics surrounding book bans are argued, as PEN America’s beliefs sit in contradiction to the idea of banning literature in schools, which could cause bias. The increasing frequency of book bans not only negatively affects students’ ability to read freely, but also restricts their access to information useful for their future …show more content…
The survey showed that students weren’t made aware if a book was challenged. However, when they were, “students’ interest in those titles went up, 33 percent of respondents said” (Pendharkar). Education Week is a major source for K-12 non-partisan journalism and research, which is peer-reviewed. Additionally, librarians reported an 8% increase in library usage. Surprisingly often it seems book bans increase the attention given to certain books. Because of this, book bans may prove to be ineffective in restricting access to certain books. The process of banning a book from school has drawn interest as to why it’s being banned. One caveat to this takeaway is that about 67% of the time, there is little reaction to the censure of literature in school libraries. Additionally, younger children may not apply to these studies, as they may not be able to Book Bans have their place on a small scale with graphic or inappropriate literature but are impractical on a large
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.
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.
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.
Banning Books “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer.
Something else that must be mentioned in order to understand the evils of school censorship are facts censors ignore; the first being literary quality. When they chose to censor a book they do not take into account the educational value of the book. How can one say a book does not belong in schools if they do not know what lessons it teaches? The second key element ignored is the manner in which teachers lead students to interact with texts. They g...
The Dangers of Censorship in High School Every day, well-meaning parents, concerned members of society, and Christian activist groups across the country fight to censor the literature that is being taught in high school classrooms. The word censorship carries all types of implications and angles; it involves a denial of an author's right to guaranteed freedom of expression. However, as it relates to education, this issue goes a great deal deeper than the standard First Amendment argument. In attempting to ban certain types of literature from the classroom, censors are taking away the rights of teachers to prepare students for a reality that their parents do not seem to think will ever affect them. They likewise deny students the chance to learn how to rationally make their own decisions and instead try to keep that control for themselves.
Censorship in American Schools You may not realize this, but our government plays a large role in governing what sort of information America’s children are exposed to. The average American child receives the majority of their knowledge and education from school, so the information that is allowed to be taught is a very delicate and controversial issue. Literature is often altered or banned from public schools and libraries because they contain vulgar language, excessive violence, or connotations of drugs and sex. The reasoning behind this is that these are potentially dangerous ideas, and if children were to be exposed to them, they would be corrupted and manipulated by them.
Censorship in School Libraries 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.
Walt Whitman once said, “The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.” Between the years 2000 and 2009 a total of 3200 books were challenged in school libraries in an attempt to expurgate, or censor, the content in books provided to students. Today the trend of censorship continues as popular novels such as The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and Captain Underpants are censored from schools across the nation (Challenges by Reason).Censorship in regards to literature refers to the examination and suppressing of a book because of objectionable material. The process of censorship in school libraries often begins with an outspoken parent, teacher, student, or administrator and ends in the banning or abridgement of a novel deemed inadmissible. Censorship is protecting many students from controversial, immoral, and potentially unsuitable content; however, this is not always the case. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators with different backgrounds, beliefs, and morals are not creating a library pleasing to everyone because of the variety of opinion. Censorship in school is not justifiable, because it restricts discussion and knowledge of new, controversial, and necessary ideas, allows a handful of people to make decisions for a larger group based on opinion, and undermines democratic ideals.
The Houston Chronicle, pp. C14. Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database. 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.
Our system for banning books is flawed. Classic books are important to readers. The religion you in believe will play a factor on what people think about books. Therefore, the law will limit parents ability on banning books. Banning books is outrageous and should not be accepted.
Moreover, they see the act of banning books as a downward slope that can lead to greater suppression of free speech and expression. In contrast, proponents of book banning believe that some materials can be harmful, especially to young readers, and that communities have the right to determine what is accessible to their members. The controversy around book banning continues as society grapples with evolving standards of what is considered acceptable, and who gets to make those decisions. Opposing book banning is essential to upholding the freedom of thought and expression that is fundamental to a democratic society. It allows individuals to access a diverse range of ideas and perspectives, exploring critical thinking and empathy.
Over a third of banned books contain themes or instances of violence and physical abuse. This is, sadly, a reality for many people. People may turn to books like these for help, for someone to relate to, only to realize they’ve been banned. Governments and religious institutions have had the power to ban books they deem to be inappropriate for children for a long time. This can result in people thinking they are alone in their experiences and not being able to seek help due to isolation.
The growing trend of censorship and banned books has amplified over the last 3 years. Controversy on whether certain books that espouse opinions on divisive topics should be banned from the learning curriculum or banned altogether from districts but banning them contradicts freedom of expression through literature guaranteed in the 1st Amendment. Furthermore, it has affected thousands of individual titles across the US in grades K-12, one of many being the book Speak by Laurie Anderson. While Speak does address divisive topics like rape, xenophobia, and self-harm, along with many other mature topics, it should be age-restricted to middle schoolers and below for a lack of maturity but allowed in grades 9-12 due to its educational value to promote
Book bans have risen in prevalence in the past few years. With the pandemic in 2020, parents began to want more control over their child’s education. These bans have divided parents and students; one group supports the increased censure of literature, while the other petitions for freedom of literature. Book bans can prevent young children from seeing potentially harmful information, but they also allow some groups to push the envelope, banning books based on their beliefs rather than facts. Many of these books include LGBTQ+ topics, abuse, violence, and racism.