The Banning of Certain Books in School Libraries/ Classrooms

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

“A word to the unwise. Torch every book. Char every page. Burn every word to ash. Ideas are incombustible. And therein lies your real fear.” Ellen Hopkins. The government in this society is burning all of the knowledge. The books may be burnt but ideas and your imagination are unretrievable, that can be passed down through generations. The government has the real fear. Censorship is bad and takes away from your imagination and creativity.

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.

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

Throughout time, countless great children’s books have been published and then loved by many. To name a few, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What do these three books have in common? They were all published as children’s books, then kept out of their hands for numerous reasons. Parents and teachers claimed these books were unfit for children’s reading. They either introduced topics that were not open to them yet or went against their lifestyle. All around the world, great books are being kept from children for doltish reasons. They are being censored, then banned from their eyes. Taking this literature from them is ruining their childhood; it is preventing children from learning about the world and being ready for it. Censoring in children’s books needs to become less harsh or else they are going to grow up in a sealed world.

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.

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 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

At the present time, at least seventy-five books are being banned. This is hurting our culture more than it is helping. This has to be stopped; books cannot be taken off of the shelves at the rate that they are today. The books that are being taken off of the shelves are, for the most part, considered classics. The act of book banning puts limitations on what authors can say, and what readers can read (Dorshemer p.1). The banning of books in America is a violation of our first amendment rights. Amendment 1 of the United States Constitution states as follows:

Books allow the mind to flourish, to wonder, to become the escape from reality that is desperately needed from time to time. Books can make no social comment, such as Dr. Seuss’s “Hop on Pop”, where the reader is just allowed to escape and go into an alternate reality. Books can also make a statement about social occurrences at the time, such as Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. Orson Scott Card‘s “Ender’s Game” falls into a category in between where it allows the reader into an escape from reality while making comments about the society of the time, as well a look into an exceptional child’s mind. All three of these books have something in common; they have all been at some point have had an individual or several individuals try to ban the book. Most often those who try to get a book banned do so due to violent or offensive content. However in some cases the reasons the book gets banned is completely ludicrous, as it is in the case of “Ender’s Game”. Card’s novel “Ender’s Game” was banned in Utah due to the efforts of a Mormon, who got a hold of a Baptist ban list, unaware of one way to get on that list is to be Mormon (Card Student). This shows that not all efforts to ban a book stem from the reader being offended by the content; in cases like this the person banning the book has not even read the book.

Book bannings is censorship. It prevents the spread of ideas among the student populace. And while one can understand keeping more mature books away from middle schoolers and younger, since they have years before they have to be an adult, there is no valid argument for banning books for high schoolers. They have between 0 and 4 years until they have to start being an adult, outside of school, and if we keep new and more mature ideas away from them, that keeps them from being the best adult they can be. New concepts in books may be scary, but we still can’t keep them from it, they have their right to read what they wish. Even if alternate solutions have to be used on certain students, humanity is not going to become savage, and immature from

Every day well meaning parents, concerned members of society, and Christian activist groups across the country fight to censor the literature that is being taught in high school classrooms. The word censorship carries all types of implications and angles; it involve s a denial of an author's right to guaranteed freedoms of expression. However, as it relates to education, this issue goes a great deal deeper than the standard First Amendment argument. In attempting to ban certain types of literature from the classroom, censors are taking away the rights of teachers to prepare students for a reality that their parents do not seem to think will ever affect them. They likewise deny students the

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

All books have a central idea that can be taught so that we as a society can have a debate over morals of everyday life. What good does banning books from a school do to the student and society as a whole? By banning books there is less of a risk for young children being exposed to the mature content and stifles intellectual growth. Between World War I and II, Nazi Germany censored speech. This includes destroying books and burning them, which was a de facto ban.

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.