Office For Intellectual Freedom: The Four Challenges To Materials In Schools

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

During the September 1975 conference held by the Parents of New York United (PONYU), the members of the Board of Education of the Island Trees Union Free School District received a list of books that were considered to have objectionable contents. Having learned that 11 of the books were present in the libraries in their high school and junior high school, they created a Book Review Committee to determine the validity of the complaints and to submit recommendations as to the ultimate action regarding the books in question (Brenyo, 2011). Despite

Have you ever wanted The Hunger Games trilogy, but you couldn’t as a result of your state challenging or banning the book? Everyone in the world can read this book due to the fact that it was not banned it was only challenged. This challenge did affect some states though I have the opportunity to be able to read this book because I can read it at the school or public library anytime I want.The book was challenged for various reasons stated later in this essay. The writer can affect the reader's actions by the writer writing their thoughts on paper that is published and put into libraries which in turn leads to people who have information that can hurtful to our government.

The American Library Association, ALA, is an organization that, among other things, compiles a list every year of the most frequently challenged books. “The American Library Association actively defends the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment.” (ALA) Many times, the books on this list are challenged by parents with the want to protect their children from things they don’t believe to be appropriate. “Only parents have the right and responsibility to restrict the access of their children” (ALA) Even with these good intentions, by challenging a book, they are trying to challenge the authors’ thoughts and words, their First Amendment rights. These books usually contain

Over 11,300 books have been banned and/or challenged in the United States alone (Dankowski). Diverse groups of people choose to choose books for different reasons. The Outsiders displays some of these reasons, such as adult content, vulgar language, and encounters with the police. Nonetheless, different groups of people have chosen to petition against book banning, like The American Library Association. There are also reasons given for why books should not be banned; for example, good moral, future reference, and relaxing stories. Parents, educators, and others choose to ban books from libraries due to the controversial topics and material; however, others would like to argue that these same books have a good moral to follow, as well as beneficial

The First Amendment gives the citizens of the United States their most important rights: the right to freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, and the freedom of assembly. Over time these rights have worked themselves into the everyday lives of United States citizens. However, there are still places where our First Amendment rights may be compromised. In the school system, finding a balance of respect and freedom of speech and press is as difficult as learning out to tightrope walk. One wrong step and you could be compromising the learning environment of the entire student body.

The majority of books and other materials selected have been reviewed and recommended by professional librarians or reviewers. The selection is an process, in which librarians look for materials that will provide a broad range of viewpoints and topics. This means that while library collections have thousands of items families want, like and need, they also will have materials that some parents may find offensive to them or inappropriate for their children. Because an item is selected does not mean the librarian accepts or promotes it. He or she is simply helping the library to fulfill its mission of providing information from all points of view. The ALA organization provides a standard in which librarians follow. These standards are sometimes recognized as the librarian bill of rights. these ALA rights state that:

Since 1982, there have been 11,300 books challenged in the United States. As the number of challenged books continues to rise, society’s exposure to diversity in literature decreases. According to the American Library Association, 51% of the top ten challenged books between 2005 and 2014 featured “diverse content.” Diverse content is defined as works featuring either non-white, LGBT+, or disabled primary characters, or discussions of issues in relation to race, religion, LGBT+ matters, mental illness and/or disabilities, among many other defining characteristics. Censoring such books has the potential to fundamentally stunt the personal growth of society, though many may feel certain information and topics must be censored for the safety of

Banning or challenging books is an occurrence that has been taking place for years in America’s school systems, but often parents and teachers are not in agreement concerning censorship. The National Council of Teachers of English position statement is “We can safely make two statements about censorship: first, any work is potentially open to attack by someone, somewhere, sometime, for some reason; second, censorship is often arbitrary and irrational.” One such challenged book is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, which was “banned from an eighth-grade classroom in Arizona due to profanity, sexual content, and rape theme” (Lesesne and Chance 48). Even though it presents difficult topics, Speak could be a benefit to students in a

In 2014, 311 books were banned or challenged in schools and libraries across the United States (Banned Books: Reasons for Banning Books). Each year books are being banned or are unavailable at certain places for many different reasons. Some might say that all books should be accessible for anyone who wants to read them. However, some books have content that some may not understand clearly or might have an effect how they think afterwards. Therefore, books should only be available for the correct age group because some books may confuse those younger than the indented audience.

In Des Moines, Iowa in 1968, three students arrived at their schools wearing black armbands symbolizing their thoughts on the United States being involved in the Vietnam War. The principal of each school quickly created a policy banning the armbands. This soon led to the suspension of the students from school. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the students that eventually made its way all the way up to the Supreme Court. The fact that the schools were regulating the children’s freedom of speech is wrong and unconstitutional.

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

Freedom of speech is more than just words, it is posters, petitions, rallies, protests, and more. This lets opinions be shared and spread to make a difference in the world. The problem is that in schools there is a limit on the amount of freedom of speech students can have. How are students supposed to feel like they have a voice when they are being told that they can only speak of certain topics? By what means could student be educated on their rights like the First Amendment if they cannot have full access to that right at all times? Students are brought together by freedom of speech, schools should not be stopping that. It is essential that freedom of speech in schools should not be limited because it gives students a voice, it educates them on their rights, and it brings students together.

In recent discussion of the new liberty art education , a controversial issue has been weather it is efficient or not. On the one hand, some argue that liberty art education is only for those who can afford it. From this perspective, only wealthy blue blood can take such a frivolous major and waste time. On the other hand, however, other argued that it provide student with an excellent education and a demanding thinking skill. In the words of Sanford j. ungar, one of the view’s main proponents, employers are “look for more emphasis ‘on the ability to effectively communicate orally and writing’’(192). According to this view. Career major , as opposed to liberal art majors, are not fitting to bill for more as for most employers (ungar 192). In sum, then the issue is whether a liberal art degree is appropriate for all student seeking a higher education .

According to the American Library Association, a challenge occurs when a person or group objects to the contents of a book or other media and attempts to remove or restrict materials. A banning is the removal of those