Banning Books In Schools

Supporters of banning say profanity can negatively influence the actions and thoughts of readers, especially younger readers that may not have heard or read many corrupt words. Huckleberry Finn, a book commonly inveighed for its use of contentious racial language, is commonly challenged for that reason. For USA Today, Martha Moore wrote, “When the younger reader is staring at that word five times on a given page and the instructor is saying, 'Mark Twain didn't mean this and you have to read it with an appreciation of irony,' you're asking a lot of a younger reader”. Granted, foul vocabulary is a challenge that academies need to address, but not through barring novels. Besides, if the reader is sufficiently mature for the book, they can still learn from it. For instance, some racial characterizations do not intentionally persecute people, but show the contrasting tensions between them, conforming to the time period. Again, the article “Huck Finn Navigating Choppy Waters Again” revealed, “The word is there for a reason… The word is terrible, it's hurtful, but it's there for a reason” (Moore). The racial epithets used in that book convey the attitude of Missouri in the 1840s when friction between African Americans and white people was rising. Additionally, banning a book due to concerns about the language is not beneficial to pupils because it prevents them from learning from other components of the book. “Often the organizations or schools that ban these books fail to see the book as a whole; they often center on the one page, the one scene or even the one word containing the offensive language or meaning and judge the whole book based on that one aspect,” according to an article by Adriana Lopez. She makes a sound point. A book contains a whole plot with themes that

All around the world, certain books are being banned or challenged in school districts often because the material is considered sexually explicit, unsuited for the age group, or includes offensive language or actions.

Many school districts do not have “manga”or “anime” banned (Debate.org). This style of literature is often considered non educational. Books should at least have censorship when profanity or have sexually explicit content are used. Reading this content as a student is 100% unnecessary. In a study done in 2000-09 by the American Library Association, about 1,250 books were challenged because of offensive language. Around 1,600 books were challenged in that same study for being sexually explicit (Butler.edu). During this, almost all books that were banned were either in school libraries or schools. A common example of a banned book is Harry Potter by J.Kk. Rowling. This book has a “presence of witchcraft”’(Butler.edu). In many people's’ minds, witchcraft is extremely bad, and completely unnecessary to discuss those topics. Since many people are against witchcraft, if that was to be discussed in schools, awful consequences for teacher as well as student could result.

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

Although it is ridiculous to ban books, it is somewhat understandable. Some books are extremely heavy on the controversial side, and include a boat load of inappropriate content. “My corduroys. My boxers. Two layers. I could feel the warmth of her cheek on my thigh. There are times when it is appropriate, even preferable, to get an erection when someone’s face is in close proximity to your penis” (Green). It is easy to see why someone with a closed mind would take offense to this kind of content being in a book for young

Books are like people, there is a wide variety and range of them, they can range from different types of vernacular to age appropriateness. Due to the wide range some books are eligible to be banned from a school district for any array of reasons. Books can be banned because of, profanity, societal issues or anything else that could possibly be thought of. The Secret Life of Bees should be taught in high school curriculum because it allows for readers to see how someone can overcome oppression of racism and various categories of abuse.

School boards, principals, and teachers have a responsibility for protecting the minds of their students by covering grade and age appropriate material in the classroom. However, does this given responsibility cover the act of banning books from their classrooms? As an advocate for each student, does the teacher not have a duty to introduce the students to a these words issues in order to help the student cope with the different problems in the world? How does a school decide which books should be banned and how much say does the teacher have what should be left up to the teacher? Some say that banning books from the classroom, we prevent them from learning about different controversial topics in a safe and secure environment. In this paper I reflect on my research question: Why do schools ban books in the classroom?

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

The ALA says a banned or challenged books are usually put in this position because of, “the best intentions in mind- to protect others, Frequently children, from difficult ideas and information.” “Often challages are made to protect children from “inappropret” sextual content or “offencive” language.” The following list is also found on the same link, and is a list of the three most common reasons that books

Every year, hundreds of books are challenged, banned, and/or removed. According to American Library Association, more than 11, 300 books have been challenged, banned, or removed in schools and libraries across the country since 1982. The reasons why books are banned were discussed during an interview between Time For Kids and the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, James LaRue. "Books are banned because they fall under one of these categories of controversy: Religion, Sexual Content, Profanity, or Race." (LaRue, 2016). Many books that have been banned, at one point in time, fall under one these categories. Some more well-known books included: The Holy Bible, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill

For example, when the author describes the scene of Mrs. Shears finding Christopher holding her dead dog, she says, "What in fuck's name have you done to my dog" on page 4. Mrs. Shears was so shocked about finding that her dog was dead that she expressed herself in an untasteful manner. Students do not need to have that kind of language when there are different words people can use to express themselves just as well. Christopher's father has many in the book when he swears like on page 81 when he says, "Holy fucking Jesus, Christopher". His father gets upset and starts to yell at him, using inappropriate language that isn't meant to be for children to read.

It is my belief that since by the time the child is required to read such literature in school, they are at an age where they can distinguish between things that should and should not be said and it is the job of the parents to educate the child that just because they say it in a book does not mean he or she should.Another subject common to banned and censored books is sexuality.

Author of the book Judy Blume argues that, “students are the losers if teachers are afraid to cause controversy” (cited in Aronson, 2013, p.11). I agree with this statement, by discussing topics that are controversial creates great discussions that children can gain insight and knowledge from an alternative view that they may not have otherwise. By using literature to discuss controversial topics allow students to have natural conversations that they may value for the rest of their life. Tunnel and Jacobs (2016) states, “Avoiding the harsh and often unsavory realities of life does not make them go away. In fact, a child may be more susceptible to the effects of controversial material by being totally unprepared” (2016, pg. 217). I also agree with this statement, as I mentioned previously that discussion topics related to sex, drugs (peer pressure), and death are all topics that are apart of life that every individual will go through or experience. By not discussing these topics can leave a child unprepared for when these experiences happen to them in real life. Discussing these topics in literature first, is not only informative, but also will better prepare a child for when they may face this reality. Therefore, I believe that children should be reading books that are controversial (but appropriate to their age group) because

Censorship cracks down on books that have inappropriate content in them. Bad photos or even foul language may sometimes be in any book so you should always check. Children shouldn't listen see or hear foul language, It can

People in our community should have the right to choose what book the students will read because some books are inappropriate. But the parents should trust the English teachers and the school board because they are going to read certain books for a reason and maybe it is a good book to learn about.