Children. Children are wonderful. They are literally the future of the world. We are damaging their future by challenging and ultimately banning books. Due to challenging and banning of books, more and more children aren’t allowed to read certain books. Granted, I agree when it comes to parenting to restrict what your children read depending on their age, but, once they reach that age of eighteen, they’re pretty much free to read whatever they want. Personally, I think the age is nine because at that point in my life, my mother had no say in what I was reading at that time. But, children are the most important people in the world. They’re going to be the future and they have to live with the consequences of our actions.
I don’t have any children, but my cousins do. One is only seven months old, so she can’t read yet, but her parents do read to her. I know they’re not picking up “In Cold Blood” by Capote and reading that to her. I do believe that there are books that are good for certain age groups, but once a child reaches that age where they want to read whatever they want, the parent needs to let them try it. This situation is very complex because it does depend on the values of the parents and I’m not saying this way is right and that way is wrong because, like I said, I don’t have any children, but I do believe that certain books are appropriate for certain ages.
My other cousins have two children who are going to be nine and seven this year. Now, I don’t see them as much as I’d like to, but their parents are pretty liberal when it comes to what their children read. They pretty much let them read whatever they pick up or whatever they get as gifts. Most parents wouldn’t do this. I do know some parents that wouldn’t let their kids watch Nickelodeon when they were growing up because they felt the television shows were too racy for kids… even though the shows were marketed towards children. That just shows the values of parents. They definitely vary between all parents.
I understand that children are very impressionable, but if we don’t let them read certain things, they’ll never know the wonders of Harry Potter or Shakespeare or Frederick Douglass or any of the many great authors that are out there.
J.K. Rowling actually put out a book based on a book that was mentioned in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is a children’s book that is full of children’s stories… kind of like Mother Goose but focuses on witches and wizards. It’s called The Tales of Beedle the Bard. There are great stories in this book and one of my friends told me that cousin has a son, who is about ten years old. Their cousin doesn’t believe in witchcraft or anything like that, so she doesn’t allow her son to read Harry Potter. My friend read some stories from Beedle the Bard to her young cousin and he loved them. He begged his mother to let him read them along with Harry Potter and while his mother didn’t really agree with it, she let her son try them out. She realized that he was at that age where he’d want to read more and more and she wouldn’t always be able to control what he read. My friend informed me that her cousin started reading the Harry Potter series and found that she enjoyed the books immensely.
That is just one story where the parents come to the understanding that they won’t always have control of their children. There are plenty of stories to the contrary of that one, but it always makes me happy to see that books prevailed.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool. " -- William Shakespeare
I thought it was time that I wrote about our old friend, Bill Shakespeare. Shakespeare is regarded by many as one of the greatest writers ever. I happen to agree, but that is not to say that everyone on the planet agrees that Shakespeare is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I have read the complete works of Shakespeare and I also own the leather bound edition from Barnes & Noble. I love Shakespeare and think that he is absolutely brilliant but there are people out there who believe that Shakespeare was a fraud or they just don’t like his writing at all. When I was talking to Dr. Almasy, we started talking about Shakespeare and why most schools, if not the majority of middle or senior high schools, make their students read Romeo & Juliet. I had to read it in middle school and in high school. Romeo & Juliet has probably one of the most warped themes and probably isn’t ‘suitable’ for kids to read. Dr. Almasy and I discussed how certain books get challenged or banned in the school setting but Shakespeare usually remains untouched, especially this story about the star-crossed lovers.
Romeo & Juliet is probably Shakespeare’s second most known play, next to Hamlet. It, along with Hamlet, is read in schools. In case you haven’t read Romeo & Juliet, I’ll give you little synopsis. The base of this story is about a boy and a girl who fall in love. The two kids happen to be the children of feuding families and they go against odds to be together. (I really hate telling the ending of things if people haven’t read it, but the term star-crossed lovers didn’t trigger something, then I can’t help you). At the end of the story, Juliet ends up faking her death so that she can be together with Romeo. Romeo finds out that she is dead, goes to see her and ends up killing himself. Juliet wakes up, sees that Romeo is dead, and kills herself.
People ban Huck Finn because of the ‘n-word’ but they don’t ban this because two people kill themselves because they can’t be together? To me, this seems a bit warped. Now, I don’t support book banning of any kind because, no matter how badly written the books is or the subject matter of the book, every book deserves to be read, but, if you’re going to ban something because children shouldn’t read it, Romeo & Juliet would be one that would be banned. If someone else had written it and it didn’t have the name Shakespeare attached to it, it would probably be banned.
I always hated reading this in class because we would have to read it out loud and we would be assigned parts. I always wanted to be Mercutio but I’d get stuck with Lady Capulet or Lady Montague or, god forbid, Juliet.
Shakespeare also wrote Hamlet, probably his most known play. Again, if it did not have the name Shakespeare attached to it; it would probably be banned in schools because of the content. But, it just goes to show you how powerful a name can be and how contradictory banning and challenging books can be.
I have read the complete works of Shakespeare and I also own the leather bound edition from Barnes & Noble. I love Shakespeare and think that he is absolutely brilliant but there are people out there who believe that Shakespeare was a fraud or they just don’t like his writing at all. When I was talking to Dr. Almasy, we started talking about Shakespeare and why most schools, if not the majority of middle or senior high schools, make their students read Romeo & Juliet. I had to read it in middle school and in high school. Romeo & Juliet has probably one of the most warped themes and probably isn’t ‘suitable’ for kids to read. Dr. Almasy and I discussed how certain books get challenged or banned in the school setting but Shakespeare usually remains untouched, especially this story about the star-crossed lovers.
Romeo & Juliet is probably Shakespeare’s second most known play, next to Hamlet. It, along with Hamlet, is read in schools. In case you haven’t read Romeo & Juliet, I’ll give you little synopsis. The base of this story is about a boy and a girl who fall in love. The two kids happen to be the children of feuding families and they go against odds to be together. (I really hate telling the ending of things if people haven’t read it, but the term star-crossed lovers didn’t trigger something, then I can’t help you). At the end of the story, Juliet ends up faking her death so that she can be together with Romeo. Romeo finds out that she is dead, goes to see her and ends up killing himself. Juliet wakes up, sees that Romeo is dead, and kills herself.
People ban Huck Finn because of the ‘n-word’ but they don’t ban this because two people kill themselves because they can’t be together? To me, this seems a bit warped. Now, I don’t support book banning of any kind because, no matter how badly written the books is or the subject matter of the book, every book deserves to be read, but, if you’re going to ban something because children shouldn’t read it, Romeo & Juliet would be one that would be banned. If someone else had written it and it didn’t have the name Shakespeare attached to it, it would probably be banned.
I always hated reading this in class because we would have to read it out loud and we would be assigned parts. I always wanted to be Mercutio but I’d get stuck with Lady Capulet or Lady Montague or, god forbid, Juliet.
Shakespeare also wrote Hamlet, probably his most known play. Again, if it did not have the name Shakespeare attached to it; it would probably be banned in schools because of the content. But, it just goes to show you how powerful a name can be and how contradictory banning and challenging books can be.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
“All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions…” -- George Bernard Shaw
After having to do an interview for our topic, I found myself thinking of other perspectives of this issue. So far, I’ve covered my perspective, the unknowing person’s perspective, the opposition’s perspective, but I have yet to cover one of the most important perspectives: the teacher.
Teachers are probably one of the most important people in the lives of students. They literally teach them the proper things they need to know in life… well, some of the most important things needed. They are the ones that have to deal with the repercussions when they decide they want to teach a book that has been banned or teach something that a parent doesn’t agree with.
One such case of this happened at a school near me. The teacher had assigned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to her class. It is considered to be a classic novel so; she wanted her class to read it. One of the students went home and told their parents that they were going to be reading the Mark Twain novel and it didn’t sit too well with them. They went to the school board and wanted the book to be removed from the curriculum because they didn’t want their child to read it. The teacher decided that she was going to fight it. She didn’t win in the end and she had to remove the novel from the curriculum. She just wanted to teach the children this classic novel that has been read by so many people before them and she wasn’t allowed because one child’s parents didn’t want their child to read it.
The parents reasoning for not wanting their child to read it… the use of the ‘n’ word. I’m not comfortable with saying or ever writing, or in this case, typing the word, so I will just be referring to it as the ‘n’ word. They didn’t think that students should be reading a book with such profanity in it and they took it to the school board. The teacher could have done several other things instead of fighting it. She could have considered the rules of the district/administration before putting the book in her curriculum; she could have talked it out with the parents and the school board to try and reason with them instead of ‘fighting the system’ so to speak. She could have just removed it after the complaint was lodged, but the one thing she should have considered and probably done, was to just substitute the novel with another one.
Teachers go through a lot when they make their curriculum and they have to follow certain rules and make sure that those rules are obeyed. They also need to be prepared in case something like that incident would happen to them. That’s one thing that isn’t really covered in most teaching programs at universities and colleges. That is also one thing that Dr. Almasy, who I interviewed, is trying to do in his English class. I admire him because this is important information that future teachers need to know. They need to know how to react if something they want to teach is challenged and they also need to know the alternatives if they do have to change something.
This is important information and all future teachers should prepare themselves. If they don’t learn these in a class, then when they get hired, they should familiarize themselves with the rules of the district and administration and they should also see which books are the most challenged and also familiarize themselves with the area and see how conservative or liberal the community is to determine which books will be appropriate to teach.
Teachers are probably one of the most important people in the lives of students. They literally teach them the proper things they need to know in life… well, some of the most important things needed. They are the ones that have to deal with the repercussions when they decide they want to teach a book that has been banned or teach something that a parent doesn’t agree with.
One such case of this happened at a school near me. The teacher had assigned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to her class. It is considered to be a classic novel so; she wanted her class to read it. One of the students went home and told their parents that they were going to be reading the Mark Twain novel and it didn’t sit too well with them. They went to the school board and wanted the book to be removed from the curriculum because they didn’t want their child to read it. The teacher decided that she was going to fight it. She didn’t win in the end and she had to remove the novel from the curriculum. She just wanted to teach the children this classic novel that has been read by so many people before them and she wasn’t allowed because one child’s parents didn’t want their child to read it.
The parents reasoning for not wanting their child to read it… the use of the ‘n’ word. I’m not comfortable with saying or ever writing, or in this case, typing the word, so I will just be referring to it as the ‘n’ word. They didn’t think that students should be reading a book with such profanity in it and they took it to the school board. The teacher could have done several other things instead of fighting it. She could have considered the rules of the district/administration before putting the book in her curriculum; she could have talked it out with the parents and the school board to try and reason with them instead of ‘fighting the system’ so to speak. She could have just removed it after the complaint was lodged, but the one thing she should have considered and probably done, was to just substitute the novel with another one.
Teachers go through a lot when they make their curriculum and they have to follow certain rules and make sure that those rules are obeyed. They also need to be prepared in case something like that incident would happen to them. That’s one thing that isn’t really covered in most teaching programs at universities and colleges. That is also one thing that Dr. Almasy, who I interviewed, is trying to do in his English class. I admire him because this is important information that future teachers need to know. They need to know how to react if something they want to teach is challenged and they also need to know the alternatives if they do have to change something.
This is important information and all future teachers should prepare themselves. If they don’t learn these in a class, then when they get hired, they should familiarize themselves with the rules of the district and administration and they should also see which books are the most challenged and also familiarize themselves with the area and see how conservative or liberal the community is to determine which books will be appropriate to teach.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
“Fundamentalism is, 'I will not open my mind to look on your side of the argument at all. I won't read it, I won't look at it, I'm too frightened’.” -- J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter is a well known series. While most people may not have read it, they have at least heard about or have watched the films. With the last film coming this July, I felt that this blog needed a little bit of magic. So, this post is going to be about the Harry Potter series and its connection to book banning and censorship.
The Harry Potter series is a beloved book series. It’s been read by billions of people, children and adult alike. There are seven books in all. Then, there is also The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is a collection of children’s stories that are read to young witches and wizards in the world of Harry Potter. The United States
At first, it was just a harmless novel for children to enjoy. Then, someone decided that it was full of satanic and cult rituals, including magic spells. After one person believes that a book is dangerous, then soon, they all flock in and create a frenzy that is really not needed. The same happened with a few, if not all, of the rest of the novels in the series.
I literally grew up reading these books. I was eight years old when the first book came out. In my school at the time, a Catholic elementary/middle school, a few of the students in my grade were selected to read the first book. I was not one of these students, but my best friend was. She told me about the book and that prompted me to go out and buy, well, have my mother buy it for me. She gladly spent the fifteen or twenty dollars on the book and I read it on the way home from the book store and I finished it in about two days. I was hooked from the first page. Then, I heard that it was a book series and the next book was coming out the next year. I couldn’t have been more excited. At the time, I had no idea what book banning was or that it even existed, but, there were stories in newspapers that dealt with Harry Potter being an abomination and a horrible story to let your children read. These attempts to stop Harry Potter at a national level were futile because it is one of the most popular book series of all time.
These attempts, however, worked on a much lower scale. Several schools and public/private libraries did end up banning the children’s books deeming they were unfit to be read by anyone, children especially. J.K. Rowling, the author of the popular books, did an interview in 2008 where she discussed the issue of banning Harry Potter.
"I can cope with a bad review. No one loves a bad review but a useful review is one that teaches you something. But to be honest the Christian Fundamentalist thing was bad. I would have been quite happy to sit there and debate with one of the critics who were taking on Harry Potter from a moral perspective. In a sense we have traded arguments through the media. I've tried to be rational about it. There's a woman in "You see, that is where I absolutely part company with people on that side of the fence, because that is fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is, 'I will not open my mind to look on your side of the argument at all. I won't read it, I won't look at it, I'm too frightened.' That's what's dangerous about it, whether it be politically extreme, religiously extreme...In fact, fundamentalists across all the major religions, if you put them in a room, they'd have bags in common!" she laughs loudly before sobering. "They hate all the same things, it's such an ironic thing."
That is the entire quote of hers about the issue, credited to http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org. She understands that people give bad reviews, but she also knows that there are people who are just too stubborn or afraid to even pick up the book and try to read it and give it a chance.
I agree with J.K. Rowling. I understand that not everyone is going to like every book that is ever printed, but I do not tolerate the people who feel a book should be banned when they haven’t even picked up the book or attempted to read it. They decide out of sheer ignorance that this book should be banned because of something they heard. It’s insane.
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