Why Schools Should Not Ban Books

“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” ― George R.R. Martin. Throughout history, schools have books banned books for a host of reasons, from politically controversial content to profane language or violence. Book banning should no longer be allowed in schools because parents should the ones deciding what their child can or cannot read, it violates the First Amendment, and it does not teach children and teens to think for themselves.

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 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

As a teen, students should not be exposed to the inappropriateness that are put in books at such a young age.There are several reasons that banned books should be kept out of the classrooms. A few specifically are, racial issues, inappropriate language and sexual profanity. Some people believe books should be banned in schools/libraries because it is putting inappropriate knowledge in at such a young age.

Should individuals, organizations, and governments censure books? Banning books is a common practice around the world. Books, such as those in the Harry Potter sires and The Diary of Anne Frank were banned or challenged for reasons like promoting witchcraft or being “too depressing”. I want to apply the four-way test to this action. Is it the truth?

Opponents claim that some books contain content that should not be read, and they want it to be censored for “the good of society.” Books have been banned in libraries and schools everywhere because people thought they included encouragement of “damaging” lifestyles, blasphemous language, sexual topics, violence, negativity, witchcraft, religious affiliations, political bias, or because they were not appropriate for the intended audience (Banned Books: Reasons for Banning Books). However, while certain people may not want to read about certain topics, it does not justify restricting access to information and banning the book from everyone who visits the library. Furthermore, some books are banned because parents want to be able to control and protect what their children see, and they ask

I strongly believe teachers should pick our books for our school year. I believe this because 3 simple reason s 1st, teachers aren’t bias to what we read. 2nd, teachers literally went to college for this. 3rd teachers (mostly) read a lot of books so they are more experienced in the book world and know what’s best for us.

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”, Of Mice and Men”, The Scarlet Letter” (courtesy of The American Library Association. “Banned Books Week”, and Jamie Frater. “Top 15 Banned Literary Classics Listverse.com) recognize any of these famous titles? Would you believe these classic books have been Taken out of schools and libraries to keep people from reading them?

Books play an important role in the everyday education of students around the U.S. The Banning and challenging of books in certain states is very popular. People have their reasons as to why they choose to challenge them. Most reason have been because of sexual contents the book have, or that they go against a certain religious group. Books are what help people understand more about the subject. They tell obviously a story, but also the lives of others in a more entertaining way you might say. Parents don't take into consideration that, the moment a book is banned they're taking their child a privilege of learning more about a certain event. Not only are they disrupting their own child's education but taking other students privileges as well. In kurt vonnegut's case, the banning of book has been a constant issue since most of his books are considered “anti-christian” and unappropriate for students. One of the most famous banned books of his is Slaughterhouse-five. Causing major polemic on college

Throughout the course of education, certain books are an informative resource to develop and learn new knowledge in progressing the brain ability to understand fundamental issue. The United States educational school boards and professors have the responsibility for protecting their student’s mind and cover the appropriate material for their students’ decision. However, does this responsibility cover the extreme act of no dignity from challenging certain books in the school library or public library? The repetition of censoring books in school has been widespread due to the explicit content of inappropriateness. Oftentimes books are challenged without literally understand the content by judging the author’s covers. When a book consists of offensive or sexual material, then parents would challenge the schools to prevent their children from reading them. Certain kinds of books are being challenged, challenge or banned books infringed upon the student’s freedom to read what they want in school which leads to ignorance on controversial topics.

I think they shouldn't ban Candy and Soda from schools. When someone takes something from you, you want it more then usual you need to have it back. The government shouldn't ban these types of foods in school because we need some energy in us, we learn for like seven hours straight we need sugar. Students don't just wake up and have energy, they need sugar or whatever they can get to keep them educated. If you ban candy and soda kids will just hide them in their backpack and be low key about them. Some could even sell candy, chips, and soda and have the hook up. Phones are banned from some schools yet kids still bring them and use them teachers don't notice because they keep it low key.

What would you do if a person sitting next to you had a gun? This question arose since 2015 when the Texas Senate Bill 11 was passed. Starting August 1st, 2016 for Texan universities any student over 21 y/o with a permit to handle handguns could carry one to school. Classrooms should be denoted as gun-free zones because guns represent a sense of fear, hard to obtain for equal defense, and they increase classroom tension.

Imagine that you are in school and you see someone stabbing or hacking into his computer. Your first reaction is to tell a teacher or to ignore it. Students say is right to do all of this things but is not. I say we fight for what’s right and tell the Principal of each school their is on the world to react and start checking the students things so the students who are responsible enough don’t get hurt. Student’s processions may be searched at any time because it keep kids safe, it keeps kids from being harm, and it keeps kids from getting hurt online.

Books are an essential to both school and after school life. They are the messages that have shaped our country. Unfortunately, many books have been banned from school libraries all across the United States for their messages or the themes they possess. While these books could be read out of school hours, they have been banned from school libraries or reading centers. While there are some aspects I do not agree with, I do, however, believe this is a good policy because it preserves the innocent minds of readers from inappropriate or unsuitable content.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, ”If we encounter a man or woman of rare intellect, we should ask him/her what books he/she reads.” Our teachers are people of rare intellect, we should attempt to discover what books they read, not what books we read. The decision to let the teachers choose what 7th graders will read in class next year is the best decision out of the options we have. First of all, teachers have a higher understanding of what is mandatory for the content within these books. Furthermore, teachers have read a far greater amount books than us so they have a larger repertoire of books. Lastly, if teachers choose the books it will prevent unnecessary conflicts occurring amongst the class that would have occurred if the students had chosen the books. The following paragraphs will further elaborate on the points above.