Why The Book Should Be Banned In Schools

As high school students begin to mature into adults, they start to broaden their taste in literature by reading more about the world around them, but there’s a problem with that. Since the 1970s, book banning has been steadily increasing as the number of these so-called “challenged” books has been disputed over the years. Banning books has always been disputed for their introduction of racism, gender identity, and its overall history with society wanting to suppress these educational books. Books such as “Maus” have been known to be one of America’s most “challenged books” for their graphic stories about the Holocaust. The American Library Association has gone as far as to create a “Ban Books Week” to go against book banning in schools for

Many high school students in the U.S. are prohibited to read these banned books by school administrators or parents because of their influenced opinions and not for what they’re worth. Schools such as the McMinn County School Board state they banned the book “Maus” for its “unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide,” and claimed the book was “too adult-oriented for use in our schools.”(Smith, 2022). “Maus'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Holocaust using mice to represent Jewish people and cats as Nazis to recall stories during that time period. To ban such an informational book would be absurd because the book teaches students about Holocaust survivors' real-life experiences during such a brutal time in history. The majority of these students who read these books are teenagers that understand the material and are interested in the books themselves, but it’s their controlling parents that prohibit them from enhancing their education on such

As proof, the Circuit Courts in Miami-Dade and Virgil states “Exposing the nation's children to different and sometimes uncomfortable viewpoints is what stimulates them towards success. It encourages critical thinking instead of blind obedience. Without it, society would be in a far worse place”(Brenyo, 2011). Taking into consideration how in current times the majority of teenagers and children are playing graphics video games as well as watching graphics shows is a clear example of how children aren’t new to any graphic or violent subjects. It’s shown that the bar of inclusivity in most American schools is not as high as it should be. By banning books we only go backward in time instead of evolving into the future. It’s been proven that speaking about the problems we have in our community helps develop creative thinking skills and brings awareness to these issues. If schools decide to ban all uncomfortable books in school, we would only be left with white history and that’s discriminatory minority groups who fight to keep these books in school. Speaking and conversing with teachers, peers, and parents about harsh topics ultimately benefits students by letting students read books about our society’s issues, learning from professionals, and bringing awareness to