Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 Be Banned?

A society where books are burned and reading is banned, seems like a far off dystopian land, but it's happening in America, and it's happening now. Books such as Ray Bradbury's ""Fahrenheit 451"" are being banned daily. The book, ironically, is about a fireman who runs away from society because he refuses to burn books and submit to a life without meaning. Although "Fahrenheit 451" brings up issues pertaining to controversial beliefs, it should not be banned because of it's educational value. By reading this book students are exposed to life lessons and experiences all within the confines of a book. Some parents may dislike the books provided at their child's school, but the books are there for the children, not the parents. According to Webster

If not in a safe classroom environment, where is a better setting to expose children to real world issues and behaviors. While there is heavy emphasis placed on the importance of breaking the status quo and the law in particular, such behaviors demonstrated in "Fahrenheit 451" encourage problem solving and individual thinking in the minds of students. As stated by Grace Chen, "The attempt to expose students to challenging topics and issues, as many teachers support, is not intended to force students into a certain mode of thought; moreover, the books are to serve as opportunities for students to think, theorize, question, and explore(8)." Books like "Fahrenheit 451" truly foreshadow this future of complete censorship and lack of individual thinking. Huckleberry Fin demonstrates critical thinking, and promotes the understanding of the time period it is set it. Just as Anne Frank's Book, exposes students to the situation she was in. All of these books are being censored in schools today, taking away from the reality of the past. Chen asserts that, "By exposing students to a myriad of confusing and troubling topics, teachers are guiding students into the reality of the complex adult and social world. Each text is chosen for a specific grade and age group; therefore, the books serve as a scaffold to slowly guide students to build upon more complicated ideas and realities(7)." Having students read these books allows for safe discussions on not just the literature, but also these topics. Students will be enriched when assessing the information attained from these