Censorship in Schools Essay - 3746 Words

Censorship in Schools There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read. This burden often falls on teachers. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss†¦show more content†¦Censorship can take different shapes depending on the public school system: Schools can give teachers a list of acceptable books to teach, just provide guidelines, or leave it up to the teachers to judge which books are appropriate (Agee, 1999). Teachers are often very nervous about including texts that are not traditional or specifically approved by the school, especially because of the highly publicized cases of teachers whose careers have been ruined because of censorship debates in courts and school systems (Agee, 1999). First Amendment Rights Relating to the Censorship of Books Censorship cases often bring about debates over students’ first amendment rights. Students’ first amendment rights are important to preserve so that students can not be excluded from meaningful works or literature. It is understandable for the government to design educational plans as a way to get its voice into classrooms, but â€Å"the truth-promoting function of the First Amendment provides no reason, however, to question the right of students to explore a variety of ideas and perspectives, and to form and express ideas of their own† (Brown, 1994, p. 30). Schools already place a restriction on religious material or material addressing current political controversy (Brown, 1994). Censors typically feel as though the subject material of controversial books in the high school English curriculum is too much for teenagers to handle (Shen, 2002).Show MoreRelatedCensorship in Schools Today788 Words   |  3 PagesThe word censorship is from the Latin word root of censere, which means to give an opinion or expression to be judged upon. Censorship is the restriction of certain material, and due to its expression it is seen offensive to someone else. The origin of expression of censorship can be tracked back to the Roman Empire when Roman officials assessed the conduct and attitudes of other Roman citizens. The Roman government viewed that in order to have a strong government, the behavior and conduct of theRead MoreThe Importance Of Censorship In Schools1085 Words   |  5 PagesCensorship is a threat to our intellectual freedom. However, many support the idea that books should be banned from schools. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and press. The freedom of speech includes the freedom to have unrestricted access to information. Yet throughout history, the movement against banning books usually falls into three categories: political, moral, and religious. With these disputes in mind, we will discuss the reasons we needRead MoreEssay on Censorship in Schools2179 Words   |  9 PagesCensorship in Schools According to â€Å"Freedom of Speech† by Gerald Leinwand, Abraham Lincoln once asked, â€Å"Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its people, or too weak to maintain its own existence (7)?† This question is particularly appropriate when considering what is perhaps the most sacred of all our Constitutionally guaranteed rights, freedom of expression. Lincoln knew well the potential dangers of expression, having steered the Union through the bitterly divisiveRead MoreEssay on Censorship in Schools is not Justifiable959 Words   |  4 PagesCensorship in School is Not Justifiable Walt Whitman once said, â€Å"The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.† Between the years 2000 and 2009 a total of 3200 books were challenged in school libraries in an attempt to expurgate, or censor, the content in books provided to students. Today the trend of censorship continues as popular novels such as The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and Captain Underpants are censored from schools across the nation (Challenges by Reason).Censorship in regardsRead More Censorship in American Schools Essay1156 Words   |  5 PagesCensorship in American Schools You may not realize this but our government plays a large role in governing what sort of information America’s children are exposed to. The average American child receives the majority of their knowledge and education from school, so the information that is allowed to be taught is a very delicate and controversial issue. Literature is often altered or banned from public schools and libraries because they contain of vulgar language, excessive violence, or connotationsRead More Censorship in Public Schools Essay1625 Words   |  7 Pages(Berger 59). -A Vermont high school librarian is forced to resign because she fought the school boards decision to remove Richard Prices The Wanderers, and to quot;restrictquot; the use of Stephen Kings Carrie and Patrick Manns Dog Day Afternoon (Jones 33). -An Indiana school board takes action that leads to the burning of many copies of a textbook that deals with drugs and the sexual behavior of teenagers (Berger 61). These cases of censorship in public schools are not unusual and there isRead MorePros and Cons of Censorship in Schools801 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Censorship is the process of suppressing something that is considered objectionable or offensive† (Emert 1). In order for a work to become censored, some authority figure imposes restrictions that establish what would be and would not be allowed to be put in front of the public for people to read. The standards those in authority base their restrictions off of are the standards set by the publishers, producers, and agencies of that work. Censorship is something that affects many people especiallyRead MoreEssay on Censorship in Libraries and Schools1074 Words   |  5 PagesCensorship in Libraries and Schools What would you do if you went to your childs school and saw that they were looking at inappropriate material on the internet? Would you react the same way if they were in a public library? Who decides what is okay for your children to view? Who decides where they can view it? What can you do about them being able to view these things? Are there any laws that can prevent this from happening? What are some schools and libraries doing to help prevent childrenRead MoreCensorship For Middle School Students Essay1111 Words   |  5 PagesCensorship by definition is the suppression of speech or removal of communicative material which may be considered objectionable or repulsive. Censorship is nothing new and its effects are constantly felt throughout society. Many societies use censorship to protect the established moral and social order. Book censorship in western cultures can be traced to the earliest years of Christianity, when the church began to suppress opposing views as unorthodox. In ancient times, before the printing pressRead More High School Internet Censorship Essay1019 Words   |  5 PagesHigh School Internet Censorship       The common image that comes to mind on the topic of censorship is that of book burning. Dating back to ancient times, the easiest way to deal with unwanted writings has been to get rid of them, usually by heaping them into a blazing pyre. In his most famous science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns of a futuristic society where all literature is destroyed under a kerosene flame and the citizens freedoms are kept in check by the lack of written