The Banning Of Books Within The Modern Educational World

Within the modern educational world, parents have more influence on classroom curriculum than some think. Dictating what’s on classroom shelves, and dismissing lesson plans simply because the material isn’t something they want the child to be exposed to. I believe that books shouldn’t be challenged and or banned in the school library setting because they can provide windows into their own stories (as in lives), parents don’t have a right to restrict a child from reading a book that will benefit them in the terms of curriculum and books allow students to learn empathy and social-emotional development. As an individual who struggled with finding my own sense of identity due to a school life being nothing but sheltered, I can confirm the importance

For instance, take my own life. I saw firsthand how much disconnect I was having with the other children, which ultimately discouraged me from seeking out meaningful friendships. However, when the time came for me to get out of my shell, with my head full of stories and adventures of friendship, it was quickly discovered that I was able to empathize with almost anyone. It all started with picking up a book that has been challenged for multiple reasons. A quote that puts more meaning behind my prattle is from “Banned Book- Top 3”, “You learn that everyone else out there is me, as well. You’re being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you’re going to be slightly changed. Empathy is a tool for building people into groups, for allowing us to function as more than self-obsessed individuals.” This quote exemplifies the need for empathy taught through reading. If a child learns how to empathize on their own, they are most likely going to be able to continue to use those skills outside of just the

Critics of censorship argue that parents have the authority and right to censor whatever they see fit. Yet, there is a quote within Banning Books Won’t Make Students Safer- Plotinsky, which reads, “Examining texts for their appropriateness is not a job that noneducators are trained to do. Anyone without classroom experience, which requires a deep-seated knowledge of how teaching a text helps students accomplish a specific learning outcome, cannot speak to its instructional purpose. Instead, community members or school board officials who evaluate texts resort to guesswork to figure out if what they are reading (or skimming, in many cases) seems problematic. Their conclusions are based on intuition, not information. This inexact process leads to widespread and inappropriate censorship and explains why teachers usually vehemently oppose banning books.” This supports the fact that parents shouldn’t have a say in banning books considering that they aren’t qualified to examine them and occasionally are depriving the students of key educational