November 19, 2024
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Banning books harms children
When we censor what our children read, we deprive them of reality and the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity and develop empathy.
A book is a gift that opens the door to a wide world. But it’s different if you live in a community in the United States where local school boards and state officials cast certain books as horrible monsters that harm children with their words and thoughts.
Organized conservative groups in many communities are censoring books in schools and public libraries, claiming that some topics are not age-appropriate for children, without regard to context. They target books about health, climate change, psychology, and other science that they find offensive or contrary to their way of thinking. They seek to criminalize teachers and librarians who dare to give children opportunities to stimulate their curiosity. In the name of protecting children from harm, they have vowed to defund public libraries and change school curricula.
In 2023, the American Library Association documented more than 1,200 instances of efforts to ban library books.
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But it is the book ban itself that is most damaging, denying young people the opportunity to think critically, explore ideas, and learn about experiences different from their own. Those responsible for moving books from classroom and library shelves are trying to restrict the flow of information. Their efforts are aimed at undermining democracy. It will create an electorate of young people who do not question authority, form alliances with the politically weak, or challenge the status quo. Knowledge is power. Banning books goes against the essence of an open civil society. Whether through the legal system, the ballot box, or our voices, we must protect educational freedom and support knowledge. We have to stop censoring books.
Censorship in the United States has a shameful history The infamous Comstock Act of 1873 made it illegal to mail works deemed obscene, such as pamphlets about birth control. James Joyce’s ulysses It was banned in this country in the 1920s, and the U.S. Postal Service burned copies. More recently, conservatives have downplayed the history and science that children learn in school, rejected textbooks that change depictions of slavery and challenge climate change and the theory of evolution.
In 2023, the American Library Association documented more than 1,200 instances of efforts to ban library books. The petitioners targeted over 4,200 books for removal from schools and libraries. The most controversial books of 2023 include classics like Toni Morrison bluest eyescontemporary novels and graphic novels about LGBTQ+ growing up, books about teen health, and books about human trafficking. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for freedom of expression in literature, noted that there were more than 3,300 efforts to ban books from schools during the 2022-2023 school year. Some of the Cancellation Alert books included works by Judy Blume and Margaret Atwood, and in some cases books about body positivity aimed at preschoolers.
Why is it so scary to read to children?
Education researchers Gay Ivey of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Peter Johnston of the University at Albany studied four classrooms where teachers asked teens to choose what they wanted to read from a long list of books. While students’ reading comprehension improved, teachers said they saw even better results. Students discussed the themes of the books they read, developed compassion and empathy for the characters and their struggles, and thought about their choices and their consequences. Additionally, their mental health improved.
In one study, nearly 40% of children, especially those from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, said reading books about characters they could relate to made them feel more confident. However, almost half of children aged 8 to 11 said they had difficulty finding such books.
In some states, book ban efforts are bundled with other bills with seemingly benign goals. For example, in Missouri, Senate Bill 775, passed in 2022, aims to protect children from sexual abuse and human trafficking, but the law includes a law that prohibits teachers from exposing students to “sexually explicit content.” It contains a provision that criminalizes librarians and librarians, and its wording is extremely broad. Books on health education and sex education may also be included.
Rebecca Wanzo, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, has researched graphic novels, which are some of the most frequently banned books, and finds that children and teens are often confused by the vast ideas in books. He says denying access creates people who “don’t know what they’re thinking.” I don’t understand. “Some students who take her classes are shocked by the alternative explanations that her lectures and reading lists provide about various aspects of human existence.”
So where does this leave us?
Some teachers keep canceled books in a secret drawer. Some schools in more open districts have introduced the idea of book clubs that focus on banned books. Librarians are wondering what they are allowed to put on their shelves instead of promoting what’s there. Parents who want their children to receive a thorough education are fighting back against the well-funded and politically motivated promoters of the book ban movement.
Children who can are speaking up for books and libraries. It’s up to us to help them, and to help those who can’t. Banning books is against freedom of speech and freedom of thought. They are anti-democracy, anti-science, and anti-evidence. It is your fundamental right to read this editorial without anyone else seeing it. Our children deserve the same.
