Banning Books in Schools

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Recommended: A essay on censorship

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.
In order to understand how banning books in schools affect student learning, it is important to understand why books are banned in the first place. If parents describe a book as inappropriate or offensive for children, they can complain about it to the school district to have it banned. If the school district agrees with the parents, they will ban the book from the school curriculum and forbid teachers from teaching the book to students. Parents might think that the book goes against religious or moral...

... middle of paper ...

...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.

Works Cited

Aliprandini, Michael Sprague, Carolyn. "Banning Books: An Overview." Points Of View: Banning Books (2013): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Boyd, Fenice B., and Nancy M. Bailey. "Censorship In Three Metaphors." Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52.8 (2009): 653-661. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
McNamee, Gregory. "Absolutely True Tales Of Censorship." Kirkus Reviews 79.17 (2011): 1508. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Healey, Christina DiLascio, Tracey M. "Counterpoint: Book Censorship Can Be Justified In Some Cases." Points Of View: Banning Books (2013): 3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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