The Importance Of Banning Books In Education

Banning Books Throughout Education Parents everywhere are concerned about what their child is doing, playing, listening to, and now learning about. Parents are causing uproars at schools about books that they feel need not be in the school curriculum or even in the school library. Parents are causing censorship—restrictions on books and education over controversial books and topics. In the United States, censorship has challenged education by impacting educators and students, thus forcing teachers to be cautious about what they are teaching, therefore, causing students to lose their first amendment rights, and forcing students to lose control of their personal world views. Teaching, like many other professions, requires the knowledge of

Stories about Halloween, witches, and devils are all suspect for promoting Satanism. Romeo and Juliet is under fire for promoting suicide; Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, for promoting New Age-ism. If the censors had their way it would be good-bye to Shakespeare as well as science fiction. There's not an ism you can think of that's not bringing some book to the battlefield (Blume 5-6).

Blume also fears for the ”loss to the young people” when it comes to intellectual knowledge about written stories. Judy Blume has been called a “communist" after expressing her feelings in Are you There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Many other authors have spoken out about censorship from their books, Banned in the U.S.A. discusses with the authors about their intent for their banned books and how their personal views impact their

This education style limits their own thoughts and opinions until they are no longer there. Amongst education systems that are banning books, students are losing their freedom to think for themselves. They are not allowed to read controversial books as it might offend someone. Children should be able to read and learn about any controversial topic, even though teachers and staff members are “adhering to the traditional”—believing that “children’s literature should avoid controversial topics” (Ringel 3). With educators banning books, the “message of tolerance, compassion, and affirmation” are lost from literature and education (Ringel 5). With the loss of these important books and messages, future generations will lose educational opportunities that were provided in the