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Censorship In Schools Essay

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Should literary works be censored in the school systems and in public libraries?

Imagine the great literary works of J.D. Salinger, Mark Twain and J.K. Rowling being banned at your town’s elementary, middle, high school and public library. This day in age it should be impossible to censor great works of literature seeing as the first amendment guarantees “freedom of speech and of expression in print media”; however, this is a common issue that Americans face today (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2013, p.89). “Books, magazines, and digital publications” are being censored due to what librarians and parents feel are inappropriate themes, topics, language and other nuances (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2013, p.89). In Media Now, it is stated that librarians are attempting to protect children, as well as others from what is considered to be inappropriate literature (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2013, p. 89).
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The “urge to censor” comes from a “hostility” towards groups that may challenge regular social norms (Schools and Censorship: Banned Books, 2014). For example, The Great Gatsby was censored at a college in the south due to mentions of sex and inappropriate language (Banned Books That Shaped America). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was banned due to racist undertones. While these are valid points for possibly wanting your children or fellow peers to not read these novels, what people don’t seem to understand is that as Americans we deserve the fundamental right to read whatever we would like and should be allowed to by

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“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me,” Judy Blume. The issue is there are both pros and cons upon banning and challenging books. Some people may be all for it and believe their children should not be exposed to realism that comes from books ‘trying to protect them.’ What ever happened to the freedom of speech? Books are constantly challenged or even banned.

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Books are an essential way to gain knowledge whether they are controversial or not. Thousands of books have been banned from public libraries and schools due to being deemed ‘inappropriate’ by parents, administrators, or religious leaders. Whether Americans should ban books in public libraries and schools is an often debated topic. This censorship of books is dangerous, as it restricts the American people's’ ability to access information, leaving Americans ignorant. Historically, banning books is not a new practice.

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“Censoring books that deal with difficult, adolescent issues does not protect anybody. Quite the opposite. It leaves kids in the darkness and makes them vulnerable. Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance .

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One of the key principles that make the country great is our freedom to say, write, and read whatever we want. Despite this, countless public figures and schools have chosen to restrict access to certain books, whether it’s in order to protect political correctness or explicit sexual content and violence. Rarely do these people stop and consider the dire effects book banning might have on both students and society as a whole. An author does not write because they are looking to offend someone, they right because they have a story to share. The First Amendment of the Constitution not only works to protect this right to the fullest extent possible, but also serves to protect the rights of the people that choose to be offended by these stories.

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Censorship is another word for banning, the government/libraries/schools are keeping these books away from the public. Students should be able to read what they please, and they should not be stopped from doing

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Children just like us have a mind of their own and should be able to make their own decisions by themselves to either pick up the book or to leave it alone. Censorship does not exist in public places such as stores even though children enter stores everyday these kids have learned the decency of what they should or should not do they learned what they want and what they do not want what they like and what they do not like that should be a reason that children should be able to make censorship their choice.

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