In the 2021-2022 school year alone, over 1,600 books were banned in American school systems. Throughout the years, administrations have become stricter with what students can and cannot learn about in schools. Not only have school administrators added rules, but parents have tried to implement their own rules in schools as well. Censorship and book banning are built on the idea that banning lessons and ideas is better than selecting proper material to teach in schools. Although censorship and book banning can protect many students from inappropriate subject matter and school lessons, ultimately banning and censoring books suppresses students' opinions and ideas on subjects important to their education.
Censorship is the act of suppressing ideas
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Students should be able to learn about cultures other than their own in an educational space where there are no biased ideas or negative messages. Bailey Chiesa with The Maryville Pawprint wrote “The Negative Effects of Book Banning in the Classroom,” an article telling of the adverse effects of censoring books that can help students' education, opinions, and world views. Chiesa states that “[s]tudents will not be able to understand different cultures, worldviews, religions, etc., if individuals keep banning books that have these elements” (Chiesa). Without access to cultures and ideas from other cultures, children will struggle to understand the differences in the world around them. Not only will they have trouble understanding the world around them, but students may also run the risk of having negative opinions about other cultures that they know nothing about. “Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children” is another article that suggests that schools banning books may be running risks with their students’ education. In the article, it states that schools run the risk that, “[students] will react with hostility to those same ideas years later when they are exposed to other opinions” (“Censorship In Schools”). In addition to having a lack of knowledge about the world around them, students could become close-minded and focus on differences between cultures instead of similarities. The more books regarding other cultures and ideas that schools and states censor, the more it creates ideas of xenophobia and ignorance within schools, negatively affecting educational standards (Chiesa). Book banning can stunt students' thoughts about new ideas as a whole, not only about school subjects. When children learn that one can censor ideas that they do not agree with, it teaches them that they can just ignore or try to stop any