Censorship Should NOT be Placed on Books
"Censorship... a system under which official censors must give permission before communications of a specified type can lawfully be made" (Wilgoren, 1).
Recently censorship has become a major problem in our society. Censorship should not be banned on books. People should not be told they cannot read a book. Unfortunately history has shown that words can be used for ill as well as for good, to destroy lives as well as to enhance them? (Steffens, 9) Words and reading them gives us a better understanding of other peoples views. Censorship should not be placed on books. Every person can find a particular section in a book that they do not agree is appropriate. ?Many local
…show more content…
(Lueker, 18+). ?Protecting the freedom to learn is much easier if a school system had adopted formal selection policies to set academic standards and spell out goals...? (Fege, 10-12). Everyone has different views on different books, if every person listens and works together then the freedom of learning will no longer be harmed. Choice is one thing everyone is entitled to. ?The freedom to read or teach any publication is being threatened by well-organized community groups, state legislatures and the courts? (10-12). Members that decide wether a book should be censored or not are people of the school board, government officials or actual censors. The people of these boards meet and decide if the book meets certain standards that do not discriminate. ?The censors are moving against public schools when they teach anything that conflicts with their views? (10-12). ?Using their own criteria of acceptability, today?s censors are often more interested in teaching children what to think, than how to think? (Sipe, 2). Every person may not agree with what the censors views. That may lead to arguments. ?The freedom to read or teach any publication is being threatened by well-organized community groups, state legislatures and the courts? (Fege, 10-12). There is always an alternative.
?... A teacher at the Windsor Forest High School required seniors to obtain permission slips before they could read Hamlet, MacBeth, or King
Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.
that student or teachers may not use schools as a platform to exercise free speech and in the case
“Protecting one of our most fundamental rights- the freedom to read- means respecting each other’s differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves, what they and their families read.” So, how is it that boards of education are the ones making decisions on books? Which ones should be censored? What right do they have to do so? The boards are not the ones who should be held accountable for what books children and adolescents absorb; this is primarily the responsibility of parents.
The problems with banned books has been a controversial issue between parents as well as adults. The concerns that parents have are with the fact that these certain books are to be banned to keep their kids from being exposed to some of the ways of the world. Some of the concerns that these parents have are with usage of some derrogatory words or lanuguage not preferrred by some parents. The things that parents fail to realize is that by law, a librarian has the responsibility that they must uphold; including their responsibilty to the stocking of books on their shelves. I would take the side of the librarian because their position would be worthless because their rights would be useless, and their job would
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
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
On the other hand, some people argue that book censorship is a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of speech, and the right to self expression. One article puts its effects this way, “Permitting restraints on literature sets the stage for attacks on all expression that is artistically or politically controversial or that portray unpleasant realities of life.” This,
For instance, “Rocklin High School, in Sacramento, California, is considering banning a book from its library due to a graphic scene” (“Banned Books Awareness:”). Many schools have the right to ban or censor the books they provide their students, but that right also infringes on the student's’ ability to learn and earn an education. The students, as well as other readers, would not get to learn about the lessons that Carrie
Knowledge is power. Using knowledge, people can reshape society and the world as a whole, changing it for the better. However, gaining access to the necessary wealth of information requires a full education: people should be taught multiple ideologies and topics from an unbiased perspective. They must receive access to various viewpoints in their entirety. Teaching only one worldview strips students of their ability to truly analyze the world and its issues, because they cannot look beyond the one restrictive narrative they learned and therefore cannot develop their own perspective. Censorship hinders schools, institutions with the purpose of informing students and helping them develop their beliefs. Therefore, schools should not practice censorship when selecting literature for students because censorship obscures the purpose of literature, because censorship fails to expose students to a variety of ideas, and because censorship removes students’ ability to develop unique opinions and worldviews; education should provide an unbiased view of the world and many ideologies, so students can take their own stance on various issues rather than blindly following what they learn.
Censorship based on religion views sexual works as attacks on the religious faith itself. Also, anti-religious works are damaging to the religious beliefs. Themes that are viewed as communistic, un-American, or ungodly would be censored based on their changes in the political structure. Obscenity is used by these censors to cover up the objections on political groups and beliefs. Lastly, minority rights censors often want their own special group values recognized. This category is mainly censored by ethnic minorities and women who are struggling against established stereotypes that have been the norm for a long time.
The subject of censorship is a very controversial one, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the "evils" of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed "indecent" in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable. The censorship of books is a division of censorship that, apart from Internet censorship, receives the most publicity. Banning books is the most popular form of such censorship. Many banned books are literary classics, such as The Catcher in
The censorship of books is a division of censorship that, apart from Internet censorship, receives the most publicity. Banning books is the most popular form of such censorship. Many banned books are literary classics,
Censorship is defined by Caso as the suppression of speech or any other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive politically incorrect as determined by the government or any other control body (3). Censorship may be justified from the conservative view whereby the free speech can be maltreated where it undermines the customary principles and communal solidity as withheld by a particular community.
Censorship cases often bring about debates over students’ first amendment rights. Students’ first amendment rights are important to preserve so that students can not be excluded from meaningful works or literature. It is understandable for the government to design educational plans as a way to get its voice into classrooms, but “the truth-promoting function of the First Amendment provides no reason, however, to question the right of students to explore a variety of ideas and perspectives, and to form and express ideas of their own” (Brown, 1994, p. 30). Schools already place a restriction on religious material or material addressing current political controversy (Brown, 1994).
For example, some people can find certain works offensive, usually due to reasons such as language, violence, sexual content, or the lifestyles portrayed in the pages. However, I would like to point out that if someone does not agree with something, or if they find it offensive, they can exercise their freedom of choice and choose not to read the book. It should not be up to a portion of the public to decide what is acceptable for others. If we start denying this freedom of choice as it related to books that are available in our libraries, what will the next step in denying our freedom of choice? If one stops to think of why we love to live in the United States, freedom has to be at the top of this