Recently I was going to the local library website to renew some books, or some other similar task. I noticed a blurb discussing Banned Book Week. I decided to look at the list mentioned of banned books. Some of what I saw on that list has been bothering me ever since.
Let me start by saying that I am opposed to banning books. I firmly believe in the importance of the First Amendment. I am enough of a writer, and certainly enough of a reader, to dislike the idea of books being banned. Not to mention that my time in the former East Germany, even though it was after the unification, greatly strengthened my awareness of the consequences of the lack of free speech and the danger of banning books. So I support the ideals of the American Library Association.
Here's the problem. When I actually started looking at the list of "Banned and Challenged Classics" and the list of the past year's challenged books, I discovered that a large percentage of these "challenges" were not attempts to remove a book from a library or restrict access to it, but rather were requests to remove a book from a school "Required Reading" list. To me, this is a completely different question. The ALA's "Library Bill of Rights" includes the following: “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” If a teacher can require my child to read a given book, and if they do not read the book their grade is adversely affected, then I, as a parent, no longer have the right to restrict my child's access to that book. I am now being prevented from fulfilling my responsibilities as a parent. No institution or individual should have the right to require that children (or anyone) read books that their parents, or the children themselves, feel would be harmful to them
If the thought is that removing a book from the required list is akin to restricting access to it because no one will read a book that isn't assigned, well, that's a condemnation of the values of our society, and the solution is to find ways to not kill interest in reading in children, NOT to require them to read certain books.
As a side note, I also want to state that while I believe that too much required reading can kill a love of reading for children, I do recognize that there are books I read because I was required to in school that were important to be read. Many of them I did not like, but I can see the value in having read them. On the other hand, some of the books I was required to read had little to teach me other than recognizing that just because a bunch of "experts" say a book is great doesn't mean it has any value to me.
One final note: I also have to mention that Banned Books Week is also good for reminding us of things as silly as Christian groups trying to ban The Lord of the Rings because it is "Satanic".
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The ALA egregiously misuses the terms “censorship” and “book banning.” Those terms only apply when coercion is used to prevent a book from being published or sold. In the case of libraries, since the resources for acquiring books are finite, someone has to make judgment calls about which materials are most appropriate. The underlying position of the ALA is that only professional librarians (or their colleagues the school teachers) have the ability to make these judgments, and if school boards or parents or such question their decisions they start yelling “censorship.”
well said Curtis! I think they should always allow parents to ask for alternative books if they strongly oppose the required list. I agree that just because some experts and/or teachers say a book is worth reading doesn't really mean it is! I remember when Harry Potter got big parents were freaking out because Christian groups were saying it was Satanic. I agree with someone who said that Harry Potter brought back the desire to read for many kids and ADULTS! So it was a great blessing because so many had stopped reading. There are so many good, modern published writers like JK Rowling now because of her. That's funny that a known Christian like Tolkien would write a Satanic book! ;p
Thinking back on some of the books that I had to read in school, and thinking about some of the books my kids have been assigned to read in school, I have lately thought about the fact that just because a group of experts/teachers think a book is valuable, doesn't mean it it is. Since my values and opinions differ from modern society in many ways, I find that I disagree with a lot of books that they label "valuable." My kids haven't been required to read anything yet that I find objectionable, but have certainly read some things that I don't feel are at all valuable. I have found myself thinking, "Who decided that this is a book worth reading for honors english?"
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