Why The Banning Books Should Be Banned In Schools

Providentially, committed teachers, students, parents, librarians, among other individuals have evolved to challenge the existing ideologies on book banning (Niccolini & Alyssa 22). According to the American Library Association (ALA), a good percentage of these challenges are steered by parents. Public libraries, school and university libraries, businesses as well as classrooms across the world have made great attempts of trying to ban literature on quite a regular basis. According to the executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, attempts steered towards book-banning or censorship are encountered on a weekly basis. Banned books and articles range from centuries-old classics to contemporary bestsellers, from historical and biographical nonfiction to fictional narratives and finally from adults’ erotica to children fairy tales. This paper therefore seeks to highlight circumstances that a book should be banned or challenges and the considerations to be put into account in such decisions.

First, the author argues, “When engaging in critical literacy, readers question reality and entertain multiple perspectives about particular topics, attitudes, and behaviors” (Graff). Challenged and banned books are beneficial to readers. These banned books help students evaluate more difficult pieces of literature, which could be used in the future. Jennifer Graff states, “...Book censorship helps us think critically about the power of the written word as well as the relationships between individuals, texts, and contexts, to paraphrase Lawrence Sipe (1999)” (Graff). Banned and challenged books allow readers to see the truth--from the past, future, or present--written by the author. Readers can apply these ideas to real-life situations successfully. In the article, On Reading and Sharing Banned Books, the topic of “...heightened sensitivity about what and how we say things,” and needing, “ongoing conversations about how literature can be part of our lives without undue stress and controversy” is exposed (Graff). Books are written for many reasons, to inform persuade, entertain, and relax; however, with books censorship, finding relaxing or entertaining books is extremely difficult. Without censorship, readers could easily discuss these now controversial topics without worry. The purpose of the book, good moral, and potentially

I believe that books play a key role in school so they shouldn’t be banned.

It is often argued that schools should be able to ban books Nevertheless, it is absolutely imperative that schools not be allowed to ban books because books help people understand other ways of life, books help people gain empathy, and books help

In the future,books in libraries and schools should be judged on the story in it and not just the content. New ideas are needed to develop different points of view and learn about the world. Books should not be banned because it shows disrespect to the rights of the children and restricts their ability to learn new

Renowned author Oscar Wilde once said, “the books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame” (Oscar). Wilde’s remark opposes the numerous efforts of many current governments to censor threatening texts. A multitude of books are banned because they showcase offensive themes; however, this depicts America’s appreciation of literature, or rather lack thereof. Books should not be banned because they reveal ideals and conflicts that many people can relate to. A literary classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, for example, should not be banned for its depiction of the moral internal struggle that age groups reading this novel endure.

Book banning first became prevalent in America in the early to mid-nineteenth century. It was a way to stop content that had been labeled sensitive or harmful from reaching its intended audience. The first noted public challenge was Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species which included a description of his theory that humans and other creatures could have evolved without the guiding hand of a divine power, threatening many religious beliefs at that time. This led to the book being banned in several states, including Connecticut and Tennessee. Over the next few decades, many books would be challenged and banned; there would be protests and several court cases that make it to a national level. Today, very few books are actually banned, however a great many are challenged for their content that adults find too explicit or sensitive for their children. This past week was Banned Books Week, a time where many Americans come together to read and discuss the topic of banned books, why they were banned, and if it was really necessary. Banning books only started because adults wanted to keep young, impressionable minds away from opinions that did not match theirs. On the Origin of the Species was only banned because it questioned the possibility of a God in a mostly Catholic society. To Kill A Mockingbird was originally banned because it addressed racial problems in a society that was fighting for equality for all races. Literature like these works have come to the people in

Before Jennifer’s presentation, I did not know much about banned and challenged books. I am extremely happy that we got to listen to Jennifer talk about the things that she did. I learned a lot of new things such as what a challenged book is, and what a banned book is. Challenged books are when someone is trying to remove or restrict materials in the library. Banned books are simply the removing of that book off the shelf. The most interesting thing that I learned was that parents are the most frequent people who challenge books.

Books have enormous power, and are essential to society. They allow for the reader to enter new worlds, and view divergent ideas. Each story informs the reader of new ideas and beliefs, and transport them into a world that the author has either experience, or created. It’s because of the great power of books that certain books are looked upon with caution. Books explore things that can either relate to the reader, or confront the beliefs of the reader. A person might finish a book, and feel like their eyes have been opened to a new idea, or they might finish and feel offended by the material in the book. If the book offend a person, they might feel so strongly that they challenge the book by asking for it to be banned.

Because of the nature of "stealth censorship," it is difficult to document and impossible to quantify. These quiet book bannings affect every aspect of the book world. Librarians, who buy at least half of hardcover literary trade books published for children and young adults, have ever-tightening budgets and face a constricted job market. Under pressure from administrators not to land their schools in the midst of controversy, many librarians have become increasingly cautious about the kind of books they order (Weiss).

Censorship has followed creative men and women like a dark depressing cloud throughout history. For every creative piece of literature, there is someone out there that sees it as a threat. Censorship begins when one of the four following ideals are threatened; family values, religion, political views, and minority rights. (The Censor Motives and Tactics par 3.) The earliest and most famous case of censorship can be found when Socrates was forced to drink poison for his writings in 399 BC for corrupting the minds of the youth. (On Censorship par 1-3) As a result, this begins the struggle between freedom of expression and the need for censorship. Throughout history up to now, new advances and new ideas

Every year, an event called Banned Book Week calls to attention the list of books removed, or ‘banned’ from school libraries and classrooms. An organization known as the American Library Association, or the ALA, holds this event to “celebrate the constitutional right to access reading material”(Censorship). These books, many times, are called to attention for their sexual content, explicit language use, or controversial topics discussed. Books should never be restricted for children by anyone but their own parents, and no school board, PTA board, or community should be able to stop a child from learning and pursuing knowledge. Banning books, instead of protecting a child from harmful content, would marginalize their way of thought and restrict them from new ways of thinking or ideas.

In spite of well-meaning adults’ screams to the contrary, books by popular authors should not be banned in order to protect children from them. This is just as true now as it was when Judy Blume penned her op-ed piece in 1999. When she wrote that article, the subject was one of the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling, but she described the same phenomenon being associated with books by Madeleine L’Engle and Mark Twain: adults, trying to protect children from assorted evils, use loud, passionate arguments to try to dissuade libraries, schools and bookstores from providing the books to kids. I agree with Blume’s premise that to allow children to be exposed to books of all kinds is simply a good thing, because of the worlds it opens in a child’s

Book banning is an issue that is seen as archaic in today’s society. Between New Zealand’s right to the freedom of the media, and a generally liberal government, the idea of banning a book due to its content is unheard of. So, it is understandable that there was a massive uproar when conservative lobby group Family First managed to get the first book banned in New Zealand in 22 years in an attempt to “promote a culture that values the family” . In relation to this, recent statistics performed by the American Library Association show that the vast majority of those who challenge books are parents . We can infer from these statistics that this is most likely to “protect” their children from the harsh realities of the world today. As many of

Banning a book is a testament to any human being's ignorance and selfishness. Books cover wide ranges of topics, from fictional adventures to medical textbooks, so when a topic is addressed that some individuals might find distasteful a book is subject to harsh criticism. Appeals to ban a book are swiftly forged in order to seal away a text and any of it's radical ideas like homosexuality, the perspective of an African-American in our past, or too inappropriate to be placed on a shelf where anyone could reach for it. Even being banned doesn't stop the onslaught of clashing opinions like for Huckleberry Finn or How to Kill a Mockingbird. Censorship debates have raised with the notion they would erase the word “nigger” from these texts in order to make them less offensive, while others advocate due to their historical perspectives that these words are fundamental in making a difference in how a book is read. Constantly tomes are placed against odds that threaten to engulf them and their intergrity, their value weighed without end in fear that the negative influences might hurt someone.