Ban on Books

1. Ban on Books Censorship in American Schools

2. What is being challenged restricted or banned? • Mostly novels, but also included are plays, short stories, journal articles, films, videos, instructional programs and school newspapers • Most challenged in 2009 – some classics and also new material • To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee), Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger) • Twilight series (Stephanie Meyer), My Sister’s Keeper (Jodi Picoult)

3. Reasons for Censorship • Self-censorship as a product of teachers’ fear of challenge • Teachers fear losing their job due to teacher certain material or fighting for the right to teach the material • May not be conscious or intentional decision • Censorship incidents induce fear in teachers and influence literature decisions (as shown in Tucson, AZ example) • In author’s study of middle school, junior high and high school teachers from 7 states, nearly all were questioned, challenged or censored for use of certain literature

4. Reasons for Censorship (cont.) • Self-censorship due to fear (cont.) • Fear of censorship has negative effect – chills teachers’ and students’ spirits, and puts some books in “‘deep freeze’” • Some teachers offer alternative reading choices to students to avoid conflict • Other teachers feel obligated to limit all reading, writing, and discussion topics

5. Reasons for Censorship (cont.) • Inappropriateness of material • Material could be frightening to, or corrupt students • Material fails to represent dominant social values or myths • Material identifies racism or sexism as a social problem • Material involves sex, unacceptable words, unacceptable sex, discrimination, or anti-American values • “Religion, politics or morality, making the offense one of heresy, treason or obscenity” • Fosters intolerance

6. Teachers’ Reactions to Censorship • Agree with restrictions • Teachers want to protect students from certain topics and non-mainstream values • Wrong to make kids think about certain topics • “children need much protection from the real world in school, not a reflection of it” • “abusive” to read books with certain topics, even if they’re central to students’ home lives • Object to texts that call attention to racism and sexism as social problems • Fear that students will believe they feel as characters in the book do (racist, sexist, immoral, etc.)

7. Teachers’ Reactions (cont.) • Agree with restrictions (cont.) • By introducing students to social problems teachers are expecting them to improve society • Expecting children to fix social problems is unfair burden to place on them • By doing so teachers are “‘contributing to suicide, depression, young pregnancy, truancy, etc.’”

8. Teachers’ Reactions (cont.) • Disagree with restrictions • Students will respond to material according to their own experience – may not be what adults expect • Instead of fearing homelessness in Fly Away Home (Bunting) students envy homeless boy “because his father spends do much time with him, he lives in the exciting environment of an airport, and he eats doughnuts for breakfast” • Rejecting material because it could frighten or corrupt implies school is separate from society rather than a place “children are taught to act responsibly and equitably within their world”

9. Teachers’ Reactions (cont.) • Disagree with restrictions (cont.) • Material with certain issues lets students see it’s ok to discuss and write about the issues • “The more we do ignore [the issues] we do a disservice to children” • If students are going to improve their future society them must be aware of its problems • To protect students they should be made aware of issues and allowed to discuss them in a safe environment (school) • Solution to issues is to face them “head on together” with students

10. Teachers’ Reactions (cont.) • Disagree with restrictions (cont.) • In this case ignorance and stupidity are dangerous, not knowledge • Some teachers do not get as far as agreeing or disagreeing, they simply abide by restrictions to avoid challenges and conflict

11. Students’ Reactions to Censorship • Dislike Censorship • Students find it liberating to talk about their own experiences with racism, sexism, discrimination, etc. in response to texts • Believe that if parents restrict books they should also prevent their children from leaving their homes because the issues are part of every day life • Believe that if every parent was able to get the books they don’t like removed, there would be no books left – every book offends someone • Students think that people have the right to read/write whatever they want

12. Students’ Reactions (cont.) • Dislike continued • By restricting books, parents are keeping their children from knowing what the outside world is like • Decision should be up to the students • Knowledge of these topics could help students make future decisions • Like censorship • “There should be rules on letting people take out books according to age” • Some books should be restricted for certain issues (they include inappropriate words, racism, etc.)

13. Where does censorship pressure come from? • District, local, state laws • Some districts do have obscenity standards – even if material is approved by principal, problems can arise if there are standards from higher offices • In the past certain cities (Boston, Buffalo, Manchester, etc.) banned materials in all city schools for various reasons • Certain state legislatures (Georgia, Alabama, Illinois) got involved in censorship • Parents – may or may not have read material • “Censorship within my district comes primarily from the Religious Right and from administrators afraid of that Right” – Arizona teacher

14. Where pressure comes from (cont.) • People who identify themselves as fundamentalists • “‘On the local level, well-intentioned people continue to challenge or ban books, believing they are preserving community values or perhaps protecting others from dangerous or threatening ideas.’” – American Library Association • Circles of people identified only as pressure groups