Censorship of Textbooks in Public Schools - Essay Example

?Censorship of Textbooks in Public Schools The act of censoring is done with the best interests of society, especially children, in mind. When a bookis censored, it is because it contains information that should not be readily accessible to people in the fear that young children might be subjected to it. Topics that are commonly censored include sex, drug and alcohol usage, explicit violence, or more taboo subjects, like occult or New Age religion, or sexual orientation (Steffens 86). There are many sides to the argument of whether or not books should be censored to protect children, which will be looked at in-depth, but many people feel that the line has been crossed when textbook publishers and schools began to censor the textbooks used in classrooms. Indeed, while it is perhaps a precaution to protect a child from violent images, it becomes counterproductive to protect students from educational facts that exist only to enhance their learning experiences. The greatest argument for book censorship is the fact that children should not be subjected to certain topics. Some people even go as far as to say that there are some topics that a person of any age should not be aware of (Edwards 29). School and public libraries, and even many bookstores and distributors, do not carry certain books, or else put them in a section that warns potential buyers that the books contain material that is considered censor-worthy. Books ranging from The Catcher in the Rye to the beloved Harry Potter series have found themselves victims of censorship; J.D. Salinger’s acclaimed novel for its adult subject matter, and J.K. Rowling’s masterpiece due to its magical, imaginative content. In response to this argument, those against censorship feel that it should be up to a parent to decide what their children should or should not be reading. For older children and teenagers, the choice should be their own. People on the outside of a family, like school teachers or librarians, should not be influencing a child’s taste in reading because it prevents them from exploring the world through books. In regard to the censoring of textbooks, parents find it ridiculous that facts should be considered horrid enough that others have found a need to censor them at all (Sherrow 15). Information provided to students in a school setting, controlled by a teacher and a textbook, can hardly be considered dangerous to the students. When a subject is being taught in schools, it is due to the fact that the subject serves a purpose, whether as simply knowledge or to help further a child’s education. If certain information is being censored, children are being denied vital intelligence; in many cases, children are given false information to make up for the lack of truth (Kravitz 147). This causes students to be misinformed, which can bring about negative impacts years down the road, like when the students are preparing for higher education. If the information they learned during their time in public schools is incorrect or else missing, these students risk falling further behind in their later studies. It should not be up to a teacher or school administration if a topic should not be covered by the school. Textbooks are written based on grade and age level, providing information that specific age groups should be taught (Brown 82). If these books pass approval as textbooks for public schools, then, upon being bought, they should be entirely implemented into the classroom. Unless the information presented in the textbook is inaccurate, there is no reason that the textbooks should be censored. They are not providing students with dangerous information or ideas, nor are they presenting students with lies or false facts. They serve the purpose of teaching children vital information. Censoring school textbooks has more negative effects than positive. In fact, many textbook writers and teachers alike are unable to find any positive effects of censoring textbooks (Simmons & Dresang 36), claiming that by censoring students in the classroom, they become censored to the real world. This is also a stance taken on by many parents and students who feel that trying to protect someone from information they learn from school is only going to protect them from reality (Pipkin & Lent 41). When students are being censored, they are essentially being blinded to what is going on, or what has gone on, in the world around them. Students grow when they learn new and different things, and this growth cannot take place if their studies are being censored. However, there are some parents that do not want their children learning certain things in school, such as sexual education or the history of evolution (Noble 221). While this can be harmful to a student’s intelligence, especially in later years, parents have a right to control what their underage children are subjected to. If they do not agree to a certain topic, they are allowed to speak up about it. Nevertheless, their concerns should not influence other parents to question the material, and it should not make a teacher change their mind about whether or not the provide course material is appropriate for students. The writers, editors, and publishers of the textbooks have already seen to that. Furthermore, while parents may have different responses in regard to some topics, like evolution, it is still important for their children, as students, to understand that their are alternatives or arguments that must be taught (Heins 9). One neutral method that allows teachers to teach what they want and to provide the appropriate course textbooks while adhering to any worries that parents may have is to inform the parents beforehand of the lessons taking place. If a parent disapproves of their child learning that specific topic, or learning a topic from a specific source, they are allowed to petition to allow their child to skip the lesson. However, an alternative must be supplied so that the student is still able to gain vital understanding of the topic. The purpose of a child being in school is that they learn; to get in the way of them learning only takes away the opportunity for them to grow intellectually (Barbour 68). Simply put, students should be allowed to learn everything that they can while they are in school. If there is some information that they do not agree with, they may shunt it into the deepest parts of their brain, but they still need to acknowledge its existence. Parents have the right to decide what their children should or should not read, but they do not have the right to get in the way of their children’s education or intellectual growth. The same thing can be said for teachers, who exist to make sure that students are being taught information that they can benefit from. Censoring textbooks takes away many opportunities for students to learn and to expand their knowledge of the world around them. Works Cited Barbour, Scott. Censorship. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Print. Brown, Jean E. Preserving Intellectual Freedom: Fighting Censorship in Our Schools. Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1994. Print. Edwards, June. Opposing Censorship in the Public Schools. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1998. Print. Heins, Marjorie. Not in Front of the Children: "Indecency," Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2007. Print. Kravitz, Nancy. Censorship and the School Library Media Center. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2002. Print. Noble, William. Bookbanning in America. Middlebury, VT: Eriksson, 1990. Print. Pipkin, Gloria, and ReLeah Cossett Lent. At the Schoolhouse Gate: Lessons in Intellectual Freedom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002. Print. Sherrow, Victoria. Censorship in Schools. Springfield, NJ: Enslow , 1996. Print. Simmons, John S., and Eliza T. Dresang. School Censorship in the 21st Century. Newark, Del.: International Reading Association, 2001. Print. Steffens, Bradley. Censorship. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2004. Print. Read More