Sunday, September 24, 2017

Banned Book Week: On Banning Books


Banned Book Week came into being in 1982 because of a influx in banned and challenged books in our schools, public libraries and bookstores. The list of books challenged each year is likely under-reported, but even so it is extensive. With the number of challenges made to books continuing to this day, it is still a problem worth paying attention to. One might argue a challenge is not a ban, but if no one opposes a challenge, the chance of a book being banned goes up. And then where does it stop?

Growing up, whenever I had a question, my father would point me to our home library and tell me to look it up. I grew up in a family that valued books, ideas, and education, and encouraged my reading. I feel very lucky that my parents let me read what I wanted, helping to foster my love for reading. They were always there if I had questions or needed to discuss something. My dad and I had numerous discussions about some pretty deep issues I encountered in books. He and I may not have had the best relationship all around, but that was one of the things I most loved about him. 

I had not intended to write this post, but I was inspired by the comments of a fellow blogger who feels that banning books on a school level is not bad, but, in fact, is a good idea. I think her heart is in the right place, but I could not disagree with her more. The argument made to ban books from schools is often, if not always, that it is to protect children from harmful content, whether that be offensive material or beliefs and ideas that go against the parents' or guardians' personal beliefs. 

I was really drawn to Charlie of Girl of 1000 Words comments about how fear is at the root of those who wish to ban books. Fear of what they do not know or the unfamiliar. Fear that their own beliefs are possibly being questioned. Fear of change. Fear their children will be tainted or harmed, fear of not being in control. Ideas can be frightening. Especially ideas that aren't our own. 

One concern  that often arises is that children may have access to books in schools and the school libraries which their parents won't be aware of or be able to control. I don't know about your school library, but my daughter is only six. And I'm pretty sure all her library time is well supervised. They spend an hour once a week in the school library, and while they are allowed to check out books, much of their time in the library is spent under instruction by the librarian. Even as she gets older, I am not sure just how much time she will have in the library on her own to roam the stacks. Even if she does, if she chooses to hang out in the library and read books like Speak,  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,  Looking  for Alaska, or Catcher in the Rye, I will be happy. It means she isn't behind a bush smoking weed or sexting a stranger. And let's face it. If you tell a child, however nicely, that they cannot read a particular book, it only raises the appeal of that book more. If a child or youth really wants to read a book, they'll find a way. 

What of the argument that some books should be banned but not others? Where do we draw the line? For example, let's say you like Harry Potter and see nothing wrong with it; does that make the parents' who want it out of the schools and libraries opinions are less valid than your concern over Catcher in the Rye or Lord of the Flies, books you might not have liked and you yourself find offensive?  What makes your opinion more valid than someone else's? It doesn't work like that. It shouldn't work like that. Then do we ban every book that is challenged? How many books will be left in the schools and libraries?  

In today's day and age, with the internet and social media, television and movies, children and youth are exposed to much more than they ever were when I or my husband were children. As a parent, you can limit your child's access, but unless you forbid the child from going to school, to a friend's house, or really, anywhere public, you will not be able to control everything your child is exposed to. It's scary, I know. I worry about outside influences on my daughter too. We only have so much control.

Keeping our kids in the dark is not the way to help them grow up into productive and insightful adults. Study after study shows that in areas where abstinence only programs are in place and sex education in schools is prohibited, the teen pregnancy rate actually goes up. There is a reason abortion rates go up when alternative sources of birth control are forbidden or not accessible to teens (and adults). By trying to "protect" our children by keeping information away from them, we are in fact causing more harm.  Teens are having sex. As young as 12, and sometimes even younger. Not educating them as to the consequences, thinking they are too young and can't handle it . . . It doesn't work. Books that deal with topics of teen sex, rape, masturbation even, drug use, and all those topics we want to protect our kids from are realities kids face today. Saying they cannot read books that discuss those matters is not going to keep them from trying them. In fact, they probably are more likely to try them. Ideally, there is an involved parent or adult in the kid's life that the youth can turn to to discuss the book. That isn't always the case. 

Suicide rates show a decline when books about GLBQT children and youth are available. And yet there are those who want to keep  books featuring characters who are gay or transgender off the shelves--including, and especially in our schools. Do you know how many kids come forward about being abused because they read about it in a novel? Quite a few. Even if it was just one kid though, it would be worth it.

Some people would like to think that teenagers should not be allowed to read disturbing subject matter or that they can't handle it. Some cannot, it's true. What I've learned from my own experience and in my interactions with teens is that the are a lot more aware and capable than we adults give them credit for. I was reading Harlequin romances during my teen years as well as John Saul horror novels. I wasn't scarred or damaged from the experience. Most of the readers have similar stories.

This brings up another issue I have with the banning of books though. I get the whole age appropriate argument. There's a reason Fifty Shades of Gray will likely not be found in any high school and middle schools (it's been challenged in public libraries, but not schools, as a matter of fact). Children mature at different rates and what one child can handle, another can't. And just as adults vary in degree in what they can and cannot handle, so do kids. My daughter's friend is really into zombies and loves The Walking Dead. My daughter has no interest in it because she says it is "scary". This isn't something that came from me. Not that I watch it in front of her. She just knows it would be too scary for her.

When kids are my daughter's age, I have a lot more say in what she is exposed to, at least at home, and I have learned that, even at six, she already is able to say what is too much for her and what isn't. I do believe in letting my daughter make her own choices, but it doesn't mean I am not there to guide and discuss things with her. This goes for books or television shows and movies or what have you. For years she's been asking where babies come from and about death. I am one of those parents who believes in honesty--age appropriate honesty, but honesty nonetheless. And so, each time she asks, I answer her questions openly and honestly. 

While I do believe a parent has the right to limit what their own child reads or watches, I do not believe that denying all children, even in a school, access to a book is okay. It sets a bad precedent, especially here in the United States where freedom of speech and access to information in not only valued. Banning books teaches our children that if you are afraid of something, if something offends you, if you disagree with it, you can shut it down and pretend it doesn't exist. It discourages our children from thinking for and expressing themselves. It discourages open discourse about ideas that may be different from our own. It promotes isolation, ignorance, and raises the risk of history repeating itself. 

Banning books in schools may not seem like a big deal to some. It only impacts the children, right? However, often movements like this start at the grassroots level and gain in traction if allowed to go undeterred. If it is okay for a school to ban a book, then maybe  the next step is to ban it at the district level. Heck, let's keep going. Let's stir up enough animosity toward a book that respectable Christian churches are telling people not to read the book (think Harry Potter). If enough people get up in arms over a book, the local government might too. It's happened before. And from there . . . I live in a country where there is enough awareness about the dangers of book banning, and there are organizations and people who are willing to fight tooth and nail against it, that the chances of it turning into a national ban is very slim. Unfortunately, people continue to wish to take away our Constitutional rights, even if by targeting our children. 

Because really, isn't that what it comes down to? We want to protect our children because of our own fear of what our children might read or take away from what they read. It is not really about what the children actually do take away. It's that what they are reading goes against what the challenger believes or finds offense.

I personally believe that schools are one of the best places to read many of the books that come under fire. The classroom offers students an opportunity to discuss and grapple with controversial content, ask questions and practice critical thinking skills.

Do you read banned books? Do you think banning books in schools, libraries and bookstores is every acceptable? 



© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

15 comments:

  1. I think each parent can decide what they want their kids to read. I never stopped my son from reading a book but would try to dissuade him when I thought a book was too difficult for him - only because I didn't want him to become frustrated by it. The only good thing that comes from banning books is that it encourages kids to read it.

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    1. Kathy - I think so too. I believe we, as parents, know our own kids best and are better equipped to know what they can and cannot handle.

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  2. While I understand the reasoning behind banning books at the school level, like you, I do not agree with it. My son, who is 8, is currently super into Captain Underpants (a book that has come under quite a bit of fire at the school level for being inappropriate), and while I'm not super fond of the potty humor contained in the books myself, it's a series that has him wanting to read, so I buy the books for him when I find them. Because honestly, if a little bit of potty humor will foster a love of reading in him, I can get behind it. - Katie

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    1. Katie - I would likely do the same in your shoes. My daughter likes those terribly written TV/movie tie-in books (some of them are okay, but many aren't) right now and as much as I want to tell her no every time she picks one up, I also know it's something she enjoys reading, if I want her to love reading, I need to give her some freedom to make her own reading choices.

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  3. Although I limited the number of Sweet Valley High books that my girls could order from Scholastic unless they ordered other titles as well, the only book I ever "banned" was when I was reading Silence of the Lambs. Both my girls were reading some of my books by the time they were about 12, but that one I hid. Definitely not what I wanted them to read.

    Most librarians are great about guiding kids to books they will enjoy. Ultimately, responsibility belongs to the parents to supervise the reading of young children. By high school age, I think the supervision should involve just being aware of what they are reading and being able to discuss the content.

    On an off note, I remember being appalled that a parent of a junior in high school would not let him read The Scarlet Letter. If they had only known a little more about their own child, they might have reconsidered!

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    1. Jenclair - I can see why you would want to hide your copy of Silence of the Lambs from twelve year olds. My daughter is really into the TV and movie tie-in books right now, and while I want to encourage her joy in reading, I also want to expose her to a broader range of books. So, I occasionally steer her in certain directions. She's generally amenable and picks up on my enthusiasm.

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  4. An excellent post! I agree with you pretty much all around.

    The few times I did try to limit my daughter's reading (based on what I knew of her sensitivities at that particular age), she circumvented me and read the book or section anyway, though I often didn't know until years later. It doesn't seem to have harmed her any! But for the most part I didn't censor her reading choices beyond what I made available in our home. Did she ever read anything that affected her negatively? Of course - and didn't we all at some point? Heck, I've read things as an adult that I wish I could unread. But I'm pretty sure they aren't the same things that would bother someone else, just as the book that "freaked out" my daughter in middle school (to use her term) didn't contain anything likely to trigger a challenge.

    Books widen our horizons in ways that aren't always comfortable but can be salutory nonetheless. I had to read The Outsiders in middle school. I was from a sheltered, white, middle-class background—sheltered not due to parental conservatism, but because I'd grown up in small towns since I was 7. (Before that I lived in NYC, but in a fairly safe lower-middle-class neighborhood.) The world depicted in The Outsiders was a shock, and I hated the book. But frankly, it was important for me to be exposed to the idea that not everyone in my country was able to live my safe, comfortable existence.

    Child or adult, books help us put ourselves in someone else's shoes, share their experience, and see the ways in which we are similar. For children and adults who are in the minority in one or more ways, books that depict characters like themselves in positive ways are also very affirming. That's why I agree it's so important that school libraries do include books with diverse characters&mdashdiverse in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and ability.

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    1. Lark - When I think back on the books I read in middle school and high school in particular, I sometimes find myself wondering, "My parents let me read that?!" I wasn't damaged or scarred for life for reading horror novels or Harlequin romance novels as a teen.

      The quote about no one book being the same for two people is so true. What I take away from a book might be completely different than what you get out of it. Any book can offend someone or get uncomfortable but have a totally different effect on someone else.

      You raise very good points about books broadening our horizons, helping us step outside what we are comfortable with and also for encompassing diversity both to highlight similarities between different types of people (which encourages empathy) and brings home that there are others out there who might be in the same situation. I agree those are vital reasons to oppose banning books. Especially in today's day and age when diversity in one for or another is the main target by those who challenge books.

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    2. Your last paragraph here (in particular) makes an excellent point. Sadly, I think many who challenge books feel threatened by some form of diversity.

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  5. I basically just shook my head and agreed with every single thing you said here. LOL! I do not agree with banning books and will always be the parent that talks to my kids about everything - even if it is uncomfortable. They are going to learn about it one way or another (just like they are going to read it in the same way) so I would rather that they learn it from me. What a wonderful post Wendy! Well said!

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    1. Samantha - Thank you! I could probably have gone further with my thoughts on The subject, but the post was already so long. :-)

      I hope my daughter, as she gets older, and I will have the kind of relationship where she continues to feel comfortable coming to me with questions and concerns,including in what she reads.

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  6. I'm almost always more inclined to read a book as soon as I hear that it has been banned or challenged. My son is just approaching the age where he will probably become more aware of banned books, and I felt the subject matter was just not age-appropriate for him, I can't see myself telling him not to read a book just because it has been banned. Depending on the subject matter, I'd probably read it with him so that he and I could then discuss it. He's a curious kid and I know he would want to know exactly why it was banned.

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    1. Suzanne - Finding out a book is challenged or banned definitely increases my curiosity. As our kids get older, I imagine the same will be true for them as well. I am with you in that I might want to read a book alongside my child, depending on the subject matter so we can discuss it together.

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  7. Very well said and a great post, Wendy! Although I don't agree with the book banning issue I can understand why some people are concerned and bothered by some of the topics mentioned. As a parent I feel it's our responsibility to teach and guide our children in general, not only on the taboo issues. In fact I think honesty and offering explanations are usually a better option than saying "No" or "Don't do this", which I think will heighten their curiosity more.

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    1. Melody - Thank you! Yes, I agree with you. I think, as parents, we serve our children better by being open and honest with them (as appropriate to their age and maturity, of course), rather than outright telling them no.

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