Book Banning

Book banning is an issue that has been debated extensively. For me the issue is two-sided. On the one hand, banning books is a good, and I would say, essential practice. Banning books like 50 Shades of Grey, Catchier In The Rye, etc. I think is completely justified. Students can and should be allowed to read what they like. However, as a school you need to consider what it is you want to foster in young minds. By allowing explicit sex scenes and rape to be described in detail, you're certainly not discouraging the acts. Mandy parents present the argument that if your child doesn't want to read, or they don't want them to read that content, then they should just not check it out. In this case, why isn't it ok for teachers to show adult films in sex education class? An extreme example, but when compared to the content in these books, not unreasonable.

On the other hand however, I don't think every little dislike should be accommodated. For example, I don't let my daughter read Harry Potter for religious reasons. That's my preference and right. However, I don't expect those with other beliefs to conform to mine. Some people like Harry Potter and that's ok. Others still, don't like To Kill A Mockingbird. My personal belief is it's a classic and excellent story of our history. Each is entitled to his/her own beliefs. Honestly there isn't a simple solution. The only one that seems to make some sense is if you plan to use these in your class, then you need would use permission forms for each child. Have alternates ready for those students to read if they, or their parents are not comfortable.

As for libraries, I think those are a little more lenient. If an adult wants to read a book, he/she should be allowed to. I think Stephen King novels are inappropriate for children up through at least sophomores in high school. However, if a library decides to have them, I don't have to check them out. I guess it all depends on what the library wants to portray. Do they want those books on the shelves? A tricky issue to say the least, and one without an easy solution.