Banning Books In Schools Essay

Once upon a time, in a world not far from here, there are students who are forced to miss their annual train ride to Hogwarts, lock the wardrobe to the magical land of Narnia, and walk through the English countryside themselves instead of upon the back of Black Beauty. Why are these students deprived of those occurrences? They live in America, the land of the free- except when it comes to the books they can read. In fact, many schools across America exercise the practice of banning books. Since 1982, libraries, parents, and schools have attempted to ban 11,300 novels, according to the American Library Association. The essentially innoxious books are challenged for an assortment of reasons, including use of malapropos language, graphic or explicit

The idea to ban certain books from schools and libraries is preposterous due to the manner in which the people trying to enforce these bans try to do so in. Banning books doesn’t help with the already present problem that our youth’s intelligence levels are already declining, and neither does allowing the freedom to all books. Banning certain books due to their constant use of inappropriate language, sexually explicit nature, and all around mature content has a respectfully reasonable reason to be inaccessible to younger audiences such as minors and teens; not young adults. The banning of books in libraries is outright inexcusable, unless the material is directly racist, subjective religious content, and all around hatred for a certain race or ethnicity; not if it’s used for fictional writing, in a softer manner mid you, to express the conflict in a story and/or to show real world problems, same go for non-fictional writing that expresses ideals in a manner of which isn’t disrespectful to other ideals and that do so in a manner of which isn’t so subjectively and deliberately showing hate for a certain race or ethnicity, especially

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 times are changing and society is learning to adapt to the free minds of the younger generations, much is still restricted from the public eye. For example, a list of “banned books” exists containing hundreds of novels that have been removed from libraries and classrooms. Before the books become banned, they are challenged by a group of people who feel strongly that the book is not appropriate for today’s curriculum. Among these books is Looking for Alaska by John Green, which should not be banned because it implements the use of upper-level vocabulary, involves real-life problems and solutions, and causes readers to look at life from a new perspective.

Books have always been dark, so why is it becoming a problem now? Books always had a certain darkness to them that people enjoyed, many dark books have now been named classics such as Dracula by Bram Stoker, or Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Many authors have become famous for their dark stories such as Edgar Allen Poe or Stephen King, if this wasn’t a problem in the past, then it shouldn’t be a problem now. Many believe that young adult literature is getting too dark for teen readers, that books are diving into disturbing topics that will dangerously influence teenagers who are very impressionable, some say that these gloomy books should be censored or removed from libraries (Is Current). The opposing side believes that these books are showing challenges that teenagers face in honest ways and that the characters that the teenagers read about are

Isn't banning books disobeying the freedom of speech, and infringing on the freedom of the press? First Amendment, states that "citizens must be free to seek out any media, regardless of content, that they deem appropriate for entertainment, information, or education. With said, banning books stunts the extension of education. In addition, Books containing “Racial Issues, Blasphemous Dialogue, and Sexual Situations” parents' supervision is indicated. So, if read by children; banning books will not be an antidote for bad parenting. But, Most opponents of book banning understand parental preferences regarding their own child’s reading material, but they refuse to grant them the right to make a decision on behalf of all parents about what is or isn’t appropriate. The disadvantages, books can teach you a negative habits and that’s why some books should be banned. Literature will fully-develop children for the real-world.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been banned and/or challenged over thirty times since its publication in 1960. Effectively preventing many students from enjoying the novel and benefitting from its message. To ignore racism is no different than denying it ever existed. To Kill a Mockingbird is appropriate for mature adolescence/students and should not be banned from schools. Despite its sexual related content, or profanity, a valuable lesson remains that should be taught to students.

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?

One counterpoint of the argument of the topic is that banning books hinders students from discovering new things and obtaining knowledge. According to the article, “Banning Books: An Overview”, Michael Aliprandini and Carolyn Sprague state, “The core arguments against the banning of books have been based on protecting the rights of individuals to free speech as well as to promote intellectual freedom – the rights protected by the First Amendment.” They are basically explaining how arguments of book banning connect to the idea of intellectual freedom and protecting individual rights, which are implied in the First Amendment. Censorship of books can be expressed as violating the rights and freedom of the individuals. Boyd and Bailey support this idea of intellectual freedom by presenting how banning books in schools with the quote from their journal, “Censors evoke barriers to free thought and speech when they block knowledge acquisition, intellectual development, as well as creative and critical thinking…” (Boyd and Bailey, 655). In other words, students will not be able to develop the academic skills they need in order to succeed in school if books are banned for them. Previously, there have been books banned from the school curriculum because of the

"Banned Books Week."Banned Books Week : Celebrating The Freedom to Read. American Library Assoication, 21stSteptember 2005. Web. 02 April 2014.

Banning books has been happening for a very long time within the education system. Parents and other adults are demanding that specific books stay out of the grasp of their innocent children, even high school students. This paper will be covering three reasons why certain books shouldn’t be banned just because parents don’t agree with the material inside the pages. The main points I will cover are, first: knowledge shouldn't be kept from one age group just because some people don’t agree with the subject matter. Second:

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.

“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. The children are the real losers because they are the ones that are not able to read the classic works of literature which are the backbone of classroom discussions all across the United States.

“Something will be offensive to someone in every book, so you’ve got to fight it.” This quote is from Judy Blume referring to the censorship and the practice of banning books in school libraries and classrooms. Blume, like many authors has been under scrutiny for her progressive literary works. Banning books and other literary works is a subject of great debate, whether or not to allow as some see it as needed, or whether it violates the first Amendment, Freedom of Speech.

Did you know that banning Most challenged titles include the popular "Harry Potter" series of fantasy books for children by J.K. Rowling.That’s crazy, right? One the most beloved books is being challenged. They should not be banning books, and here is why. Banning books is unconstitutional and do not benefit schools. Banning books can take away some kids’ freedom. It deprives children of learning about the world around them. Parent/teachers should not ban books for what they appear to be.