What book banning really does for students

Book banning is a very impactful topic that is a current issue in this country that is going on today. It has been causing a lot of problems in the school libraries, with teachers, and kids. Also there has been a big issue among parents as well whether it is parents who want to ban the book from the schools just because of its content or the way the character in the book has been acting. Book banning in schools can have many impacts on students because they are not able to read what they want to read and can cause major political issues as well such as discrimination, freedom of speech, and conflicts against parents. This has also been a major right versus left issue on the political spectrum as well. In the end though book banning really does have an important meaning and impact on many people in the United States currently whether you are for or against it. 

Many of the books that are being banned in schools a lot of the time are books that are featuring people who are  of Black or LGBTQIA+ people. When these books get banned from the school libraries, many of the people of those communities might possibly feel discriminated against or feel like they do not have a big representation in their community just because there are not  as many books in the library that are about them. An example of this is In the article When book bannings are unconstitutional a first amendment scholar explains, “State legislators have also targeted books that they believe make students feel guilt or anguish based on their race or imply that students of any race or gender are inherently bigoted.” This quote is stating that books that tend to get banned in the schools are targeted based on their race, religion or people of the LGBTQIA people. A lot of times, parents do not want their kids reading books about characters that are different from them, because they like to see things that are the same and prefer not their kids not to see the world in a different light. But that also could end up being a cause of kids not learning about different types of people whether about race, religion or sexuality. Kids should be learning about different groups of people in order to learn about what different ways of  living their lives are like. Also seeing and feeling how they live their lives as well. That way it is less likely to  lead to discrimination in schools in general when they have books that are more like different types of people then there are normally on the bookshelf at schools. Books cannot be taken away from the school libraries just because of their race, religion or sexuality. If  book banning of characters that are different from normal keeps happening in the schools then this is breaking the law of discrimination and schools will have consequences for their actions because of it.

 There are certain types of Books that have gotten banned in schools because of the dark or mature content in them. Many of the parents out there do not want their kids seeing content that happened just because the story is very dark. While that can be understandable in some ways, sometimes it can also cause a lot of kids to get sheltered from what happens in different parts of the world or places that they are used to. Reading books in school can help kids learn a lot about the world and what happens in parts of the world that kids are not exposed to at home or in their community. They can also learn about history, people with different types of lives that they are not normally used to or learning about serious issues by looking at it through another person’s eye. In the article The Logic Behind Banning Books, “Not being able to supervise their children’s reading translates to the parent’s realization that their children may read something the parent never wants their child exposed to.” This quote is stating that parents do not want their children to read something that they consider too mature for their own kid. While that is understandable, It can cause kids to have a lack of knowledge on what is out there in the real world and kids need to be exposed to a topic that might be something that they are not used to. Many parents get anxious if kids are to view something that they do not want their kid to view so banning books in schools makes them feel like that it is the best way to keep their kids safe from viewing something that they believe is too dangerous for their kids to view. However, if kids have a lack of knowledge on how different people live, Then they might believe that everyone lives just like them and kids will not have a full education either. Many times as well, parents and teachers are afraid of talking about topics that are more dark or sad, but they are the ones who should be bringing up these topics.It is okay and very important to bring up serious or dark topics to kids. Even if the topic is very sensitive to some kids, parents and teachers should be the ones talking about these kinds of topics to their children. They can talk about certain topics in a more censored way in order to have the kids learn after they read the books so that way the kids can learn the topic more appropriately at a younger age. Another thing is when characters make mistakes or do things that are not the best thing to do, if kids read about them they can learn from their mistakes and not do it once they learn. In the end when kids read books it teaches them a lot more than many people might think and schools should make sure that their kids are educated enough .Once they do that, It can help many kids learn about the world. 

Many times books have gotten banned in schools just because parents think the book is way too mature for their reading level. While parents have the right to make sure that their kids read what they want them to and they do have a right to keep their kids away from content that parents may consider way too mature for their kids, they do not have a right to take it away from other people’s kids. Taking books away from other kids might cause them to be upset just because now they cannot get the book anymore plus it is not fair to them because now they cannot get the book as easily now. Plus it might cause them to not want to read as much anymore because there are not as many books that are on their reading level or it is not something that they would want to read in the school library. In the article Does banning books really help kids? A childhood education expert weighs in, “each child will be different and she encourages parents to consider their child’s maturity level and be open to having conversations if their child reads something that confuses them or is beyond their maturity level.” This quote is stating that kids may mature at different ages then other kids. One kid could be the same age as another kid but one of them is viewing something that is more mature because they have a higher reading level. School libraries should have a range of books that are separated into different categories based on the different age ranges and what their parents think is appropriate for their kid to read. Another way of doing it is to make a list of what books kids can and cannot get so that the books that usually get banned will be less likely to be taken off of the shelf. Parents do not at all have the right to take something away from someone else kid because it is not fair to the kid who wants to read the book.  If that is done then there can be an easier way of keeping the books on the shelves and that way kids are able to read the books that they want to read in school without taking the books away from other people’s kids as well.  

When books get taken away from school libraries, they are particularly taking away people’s freedom of speech. Books are a form of freedom of speech because books state how others feel and it shows their viewpoints on the world and what their opinions are about it. If that gets taken away from schools then many kids in the schools might feel like their opinions are not being heard of in schools and that is not the way schools should be at all no matter where the school is. Schools cannot take freedom of speech away from kids no matter where they are even if their freedom of speech is limited at their school. Taking away freedom of speech is breaking the law from the first amendment and everyone has freedom of speech. Even though in school people may have a bit of a restricted way of speech on what they can say, They still cannot make the students keep their speech to themselves. Schools should be making sure that every single student’s voice is heard in their school. An example of this is, In the article When are book bans unconstitutional? A First Amendment scholar explains, “if the government does try to restrict speech in these ways, it likely constitutes unconstitutional censorship.” This quote is saying that words based on what people say of their speech cannot be censored from anyone. Even though schools do have the right to censor certain topics, it does not mean they can ban the book from the school library. Instead of reading it out loud to the class, if they feel like the book is not appropriate at all for the school, a student can still take the book out from the library and read it. If books are banned then many students will feel like the school is taking away their freedom of speech and they will feel like they are not being heard at all. Schools do not have any right under any circumstances to take away people’s views or opinions at all .Schools are supposed to encourage students to learn about what they want to even if it is not a topic or a view that they agree with because that makes students more engaging and educated out there in the world in general. 

Many of the students are also not happy when the books get banned from the school libraries. A lot of students feel that the options are very limited now that the books are taken away from the school library and they are not able to read the books they want now anymore. A lot of times now in certain schools the school board has to read the book all the way through to make sure that the parents and the schools will approve of them in order to prevent parents or teachers from complaining about the book. Since this has been happening in the schools, many students do not even want to read as much anymore or are less likely to read books in the school library,  just because there are not as many books in the library now as there used to be. In one school, The librarians have not been able to purchase new books in a while and because of this, less kids in the school are reading the books which is not good for kids because they will not be learning as much. In another school, they have to put books under parental review just because the parents might not approve of the book that is in the schools. In the article Students want new books. Thanks to restrictions, librarians can’t buy them., it states that, “3,000 titles between August and December 2021, but just 1,800 between August and December 2022.” This is explaining that the amount of readers are decreasing now since there are less books available in the school library because kids want to see more and new books in the library and because of this, less kids in schools now are reading books which is not a good thing. Another important example is, In the article, Students want new books. Thanks to restrictions, librarians can’t buy them. It mentions that, “But this year, the student, a huge manga fan, ran into a problem. He finished all of the school’s manga books, and Miller, constrained by her district’s interpretation of state law, was unable to order more. At first, the 10th-grader tried rereading his favorite titles, but that soon grew stale.” This example is stating that because  there are not as many new books in the school library, less people are inspired to read books at all and many people do not want to reread the books that are already there because they want to read something new that is not in their library and the want to see a range of books not something in there that they already read. When books are taken away in the school library then it will disencourage students from reading books from the library and schools do not want that to happen to their students.

While many parents, teachers and others want to ban books from the schools, many people can still access it online, or in a bookstore. Kids cannot get completely shielded from accessing information even though the book may not be in the school library anymore. In the articleYou can ban a book, but can you stop teens from finding it online? It shows that, A book about sexuality or racism might not be allowed in your school, your local library or even your own home. But online, it can be found as an e-book in another library. As the quote is stating, Since books are being banned in many schools, People will have less access to read the book. But since there are other places where there are books, kids can still get the books somewhere else. From this example, taking away the books from the school library does not really do much to other kids if they can somehow get the books somewhere else. While parents are trying to shield their kids from viewing certain content, it may not fully work in the end because of the access to the internet, seeing them in bookstores, or looking at the book from someone else who could be a friend or a teacher. As these examples show, books no one can fully block out information that is being blocked. And this causes book bannings to be useless in many ways. When parents think they are trying to protect their kids, Because of the technology nowadays, kids will not be completely shielded from the books in general.    

A lot of people want to ban books from schools, but many of those people who do do not think about the bible at all. The bible does contain a lot of information in it that is way more mature in many ways then a lot of the books that are being banned in the schools. Most of the people who are banning the books in the schools are religious people and come from conservative backgrounds and therefore do not think that the bible is a thing that should not be taken away in schools because they usually view it as something that is very important to education and they feel like they cannot take it away at all. In the article Books are being banned in public schools. The Bible is rarely one of them. It states that, “banning was done by the Supreme Court in 1963, when officially mandated Bible reading, this book, [was] banned from all of us,.”  This quote is saying that the bible was taken away from schools in the supreme court and they do claim that the bible is not allowed in schools anymore. But, It also is just a claim so it may not be fully true if the bible is banned from all of the schools in the United States. While the bible does have some importance, it should not be taught in schools unless the school is a Christian school because the law was passed not to have bibles or religious things taught deeply in public schools.    

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 In conclusion, book banning really does not help kids that much at all as these examples state. Book banning does more harm than good to kids and schools, and parents should not be doing that to their kids at all. Books are supposed to encourage kids to learn, grow and develop over time and if books are taken away from the school’s, there will not be a large offer of books and schools should make sure that they have a large offer to help kids learn because every kid learns in a different way and they also do prefer to learn in a different way and the all like to read different types of books as well. Books are one of kids first ways of learning especially when they are young. Books help kids learn a different point of view that is not of their own and teaches them about many other things. Kids do learn at a different pace so that is why school libraries will have books at different levels for kids. Book banning will also make many kids feel like they are taking away their freedom of speech since books are a form of speech and schools cannot do that to anyone at all. In the end schools want to make sure that their students are happy, successful and they want to make sure that their students succeed. So, if we keep books in school, it will be a much better place for students in general.  

reference

Kayata, Erin. “Does Banning Books Really Help Children?” Northeastern Global News, 18 Sept. 2023, news.northeastern.edu/2023/09/14/banning-books-harm-children/. 

Erica Goldberg                    Associate Professor of Law. “When Are Book Bans Unconstitutional? A First Amendment Scholar Explains.” The Conversation, 12 Sept. 2023, theconversation.com/when-are-book-bans-unconstitutional-a-first-amendment-scholar-explains-176225. 

“Students Want New Books. Thanks to Restrictions, Librarians Can’t Buy Them.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Apr. 2023, http://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/01/22/students-want-new-books-thanks-restrictions-librarians-cant-buy-them/. 

Snyder, Nancy. “Parental Fear and Cultural Erasure: The Logic behind Banning Books.” BOOK RIOT, 24 June 2020, bookriot.com/logic-behind-banning-books/. 

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Proposal +5—chich →

Proposal+5-by RebelPilot64

Posted on October 17, 2023 by rebelpilot64

What I will be doing for my topic is talking about why removing books from schools is not a good idea. This is a really big topic that is going on today that is happening all over the country. This can be a big problem for kids because they don’t have enough information on what is going on in the world. When kids don’t have enough information on what’s happening around them, this can cause them to be living in a bubble since they haven’t been taught enough. People learn a lot from books and what’s going on in the world because the book teaches them about important topics. 

Sources:

Kayata, Erin. “Does Banning Books Really Help Children?” Northeastern Global News, 18 Sept. 2023, news.northeastern.edu/2023/09/14/banning-books-harm-children/. 

Background: This source shows that book banning is not a good thing for kids. It’s also explaining that just because something has a sensitive topic in it, does not mean kids should not be learning about it. 

How I will use it- I will use this source  that books that have certain topics can help children learn the difficult things that can happen in the world. Books that get banned can have information that is good for them to learn about when they grow and develop. 

V=Rascoe, Ayesha, et al. “What People Miss in the Conversation about Banned Books.” NPR, NPR, 31 Jan. 2022, http://www.npr.org/2021/11/22/1058107484/banned-books-list-talk-to-kids. 

School Book Bans Can’t Stop Online Access to … – The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/22/books-banned-libraries/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

“Books Are Being Banned in Public Schools. the Bible Is Rarely One of Them.” Americans United, 24 Oct. 2023, http://www.au.org/the-latest/articles/bible-not-bannedut/#.

School Libraries Banned More Books than Ever before in 2021 – The …, http://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/04/07/book-bans-congress-student-library/.