Marissa Bradshaw

English 2010
Professor AlvA
The Right to Read

When it comes to banning books, the busiest time of year is fall, the most

obvious reason being students are heading back to school. Where they start their

new classes and get handed out their reading lists for the year, some people do not

approve of the books on student reading lists. Even though a book has been

deemed a classic, certain people still feel the material is too inappropriate to

discuss in the classroom. Which, in turn makes them feel they need to go to the

school and get the book removed from the list of readings or take a more drastic

stance by having the book banned. I believe there are certain books in which the

content would not be beneficial in a classroom setting, such as gory hacksaw

novels, romance novels verging on pornographic and so on. However, there are

many prestigious books that get challenged every year on whether students should

be reading them in school. I believe even though some books talk about drugs,

violence, rape, starvation camps, war, teen pregnancy etc. does not mean they are

evil or inappropriate. These specific types of books can be vital to a students

learning.

What does it mean to ban a book? Banning a book is when reading material

gets removed from the library or teaching curriculum. There are many reasons why

books get removed from schools or libraries every year. The top reasons being the

books content is too explicit, offensive language within the text, or violence. One

book pulled from a sixth-grade reading list was A Study in Scarlet a Sherlock Holmes

mystery. The parents reason for complaint to the district was because it portrays
Mormons in a bad light. There is intense debate over whether those challenges

involve censorship or are just parents seeking age-appropriate material (DiBlasio).

In this specific example, the parents were censoring what the child was reading.

There are times when a book will slip through the districts radar which may not be

appropriate for a certain age group.

When I read how the district had pulled the book I thought it was unnecessary

because now other children will not have the book available to them. I went onto

the county libraries website to see what the suggested reading age is for Sherlock

Holmes novels. To my surprise I saw that it has the rating of T+, which means for

teens and up. After doing more research I realized the district did have a legitimate

reason for pulling it out of the elementary library, considering none of those kids are

teenagers.

I believe a lot of parents tend to shield and filter more of what their kids are

seeing, hearing, and even reading when they are at a younger age. They still

consider their children to be innocent and do not want them to learn about certain

things from books at such a young age. This is probably the reason why we see and

hear more about books being removed from elementary schools. I thought it was

more common, until I started diving deeper into the articles I was reading and found

a similar story to the one above but this time about kids in high school.

There is a book called The Song of Solomon which is read in advanced high

school English classes. A lot of parents find the book disturbing because of the

graphic descriptions of sex and violence. The decision on whether or not to ban the

book has been taken to a district level because of many complaints from parents

(Penner). Scott Veerkamp, a board member for the district, said, I think if we give
them a book with that smut in it, it legitimizes it. Like the story in the previous

paragraph the district is trying to censor what students are reading. I came to an

understanding that banning books does not just affect young children, it is an issue

for all students regardless of their age.

In the first story the child might have been a little young for the material

being talked about. The reason for removing the book from the library was

justifiable, but is it the same with the high school students? Even though the stories

are very similar, they are actually very different. In the second story the parents

were warned during the summer about the material that would be read and

discussed in the class (Penner). If the parents had an issue with what was on the

list, then they should have pulled their student from the class. Now because of one

parents opinion, the whole class loses out on material that could have been

beneficial to them. Not to mention the teacher has to change the curriculum in the

middle of the year which is a rigorous process they do not have time for on top of all

the other things they have to do.

After reading these articles I was starting to notice a trend. A line can be

drawn to separate books with material whose content should not be read among

certain age groups, and the other side of the line where there are books that have

concepts in them that may differ from our own but are not necessarily unsuitable to

talk about in school with the right age group. The views might be different from our

own, but does that mean we should not talk about them? It is important to see and

discuss the opposing side of our own thoughts and opinions. Books give us so much

good insight into things we might never witness or experience for ourselves, and

some of the things talked about in books are better talked about then experienced

firsthand.
 If a book is banned there are repercussions that we may not even know might

occur. What would happen if a book is banned? Would it make kids want to read it

more now that it is forbidden fruit or would they just forget about it all together? Is

the book really banned or just harder to find now? Back before the internet, getting

your hands on a banned book might have been significantly harder. Now we have

many different resources of finding a banned book whether it be Amazon, EBay,

Kindle, or borrowing it from someone who already has it. I found that just because a

book is banned, does not mean kids will not find a way to get their hands on it.

Colete Bancroft from the Tampa Bay Times told a story about when

she took honors English in high school and had to read the classic novel Moby Dick.

When Mrs. Blalock, the English teacher, assigned the reading, she made it a point to

tell all the kids to skip over the chapter called The Cassock. What the teacher did

not know was that this was a bigger mistake then just not saying anything because

now this was the first chapter all the students read from the book. Kids who were

not even in the class were finding ways to get their hands on a copy just so they

could see what was in the forbidden chapter. The teachers warning had the

opposite effect of what she was hoping for. She wanted to shield her students from

the chapter talking about a man putting on a whales penis skin and acting as if it is

a priests robes. Instead, all the kids in the school ended up reading about it. If the

teacher would not have made it a big deal, hundreds of kids would have been

oblivious to the whole thing. That was just a chapter that got marked as taboo, but

this is happening with whole books.

When one school bans a book, it can create a chain reaction between all of

the other schools in the surrounding area. Two districts in Florida removed a book

from their shelves after a mother complained about her third grade student reading
it. The book was taken out of the elementary school but it was also removed from

high schools (McNeil). The book was for ages twelve and up so I understand why the

mother would be upset about her seven/eight year old reading it, seeing as it was

intended for people over the age of twelve. However, the book is appropriate for

kids who are twelve and older. Since the district took the book out of the library

students in other schools are now deprived of it, because of one parents opinion.

When books get banned, they now become out of reach for certain students.

Every parent has the right to guide his or her own childs reading. But no parent

has the right to tell other parents what their child may or may not read (Bancroft).

There are kids who come from all different backgrounds, ones who could just buy

the banned book and it makes no difference to them because they still have the

opportunity to read and learn from it. There are many other students who only have

the option of getting books from the library. If classic novels are pulled from the

shelves, it puts other students at a disadvantage. This takes away their right to

learn about things they want to, but now cant because of one persons opinion.

When doing my research, I decided I wanted to see what it would take to

have a book banned. I went onto the county libraries website to see if there was

something specific I would need to do. I clicked on every drop down bar and every

tab on the website before I found what I was looking for. What I found was a form

that you can print and fill out requesting for a book, CD, or movie to be removed

from the library. I looked over the form to see how I was to get the paper back to

them once I had filled it out. I saw a spot that said I could either mail it in or take it

to a library. I decided to mail it in because I was skeptical the librarian would just

throw it away, and also because I did not want them to put a face with the name. I

still have not heard anything about it. I was not surprised seeing as I did not put
much effort into finding out about what happened to my request. I was not totally

committed to having the book banned, so I did not continue to look into it. I realized

that if I would have wanted anything to happen with my request, I would have

needed to do more than just submit a form I had filled out with a complaint. There

are probably people I would have had to call and complain to. Maybe I would have

had to have a petition to show that more people are upset over the library carrying

it then just me.

The writer McNeil from University Wire says, Reading gives kids a safe place

to explore the world and figure things out for themselves. They can try new

identities, experience new cultures, learn new things about the world without fear of

failure, embarrassment or danger. Reading about something that doesnt affect

them, or occur in their day-to-day life, can open up conversations useful, helpful,

healthy conversations about the world around them. This whole statement is

telling us the reason we have books. We have books to help us learn new ideas so

we can be educated when we talk to people who have different views and opinions

than us. Its okay to read books that have controversial topics because the only way

to become an expert on something is to know every side of the issue. When we take

books out of schools we are depriving kids of knowledge. All children do not have

the same opportunities and backgrounds as one another. That is why books should

not be taken out of schools because of one parents feelings. If a parent does not

like what their child is reading, then they should not have their child read it, but

taking those books away from everyone just because you do not agree with it is not

right.

I came across a lot of different viewpoints when researching this topic. I found

most people do not want books banned, they just want to be able to have a say in
what their kids read and talk about in school. I agree that there is a line between

what is and is not appropriate for a school setting. However there are also a lot of

classic novels parents are not okay with their kids reading, not because the book is

inappropriate but because they thought one or two things discussed in the book

was too mature or they did not agree with it. I think it is okay if we do not agree

with every viewpoint in a book we read for class. This is how we expand our thinking

beyond our own viewpoints and come to see things in a new light. I think when a

topic is controversial it becomes important. If something is talked about so much to

where it gets so many people upset then it must have paramount value. Not only

does reading make us more knowledgeable but I think the biggest thing it can do is

make us more sensitive and more aware of certain topics and teaches us how to

deal with them.

Works Cited

Ap. Fifty Shades of Grey Makes the List of Most Challenged Books. CBS News,

CBS Interactive, 15 Apr. 2013, www.cbsnews.com/news/fifty-shades-of-grey-makes-

the-list-of-most-challenged-books/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.

Bancroft, Colete. &quot;Ban a Book, Draw Readers.&quot;<i> Tampa Bay

Times</i>, 29 May 2016, pp. 1.<i> SIRS Issues Researcher</i>, <a

href="http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu"

target="_blank">http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu</a>.

Cavna, Michael. &quot;Banned Books Week: How Comics are Fighting a Hail of

Critical Fire.&quot;<i> Washington Post - Blogs</i>, 01 Oct 2015,<i> SIRS Issues

Researcher</i>, <a href="http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu"

target="_blank">http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu</a>.

DiBlasio, Natalie. &quot;Schools Once again Face Bind Over Censorship Vs. Book

Lists.&quot;<i> USA TODAY</i>, 19 Aug 2011, pp. A.1.<i> SIRS Issues

Researcher</i>, <a href="http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu"

target="_blank">http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu</a>.

DiMarco, Scott and Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. "I Banned a Book to Make

People Notice the Problem." Time.Com, 07 Oct. 2015. EBSCOhost,

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direct=true&db=aph&AN=110223733&site=ehost-live.
Fitzpatrick, Shaun Bryon. 13 Banned YA Novels We Love. Barnes & Noble Reads, Barnes & Noble,

23 Sept. 2014, www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/13-banned-ya-novels-we-love/. Accessed 20 Mar.

2017.

McNeil, Jordan. &quot;Let's Talk about it Instead of Banning it.&quot;<i> University

Wire</i>, 15 Feb 2016,<i> SIRS Issues Researcher</i>, <a

href="http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu"

target="_blank">http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu</a>.

Penner, Diana. &quot;Decision on Reinstating Banned Book may Come

Today.&quot;<i> Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN)</i>, 30 Apr 2010, pp. A.21.<i>

SIRS Issues Researcher</i>, <a href="http://sks.sirs.com.libprox1.slcc.edu"

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Salt Lake County Library Services. Salt Lake County Library Services,

catalog.slcolibrary.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.6&pos=1. Accessed 29 Apr. 2017.

The Bill of Rights: A Transcription. National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives

and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript. Accessed 20

Mar. 2017.
Von Merveldt, Nikola. "Books Cannot Be Killed by Fire: The German Freedom Library

and the American Library of Nazi-Banned Books as Agents of Cultural Memory."

Library Trends, vol. 55, no. 3, Winter2007, pp. 523-535. EBSCOhost,

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