Censorship of Children’s Literature – An argument against
Some of the greatest novels for children and young adults are under attack. Due to what some deem as “inappropriate” language or certain topics, countless books have either been censored or banned entirely from schools and libraries. This is not just something that happens abroad, but in America as well. That’s right. America. This is home where freedom of speech is one of our oldest and most highly held ideals. An all too common pastime in the United States these days is banning books. This is truly unfortunate and happens far too frequent. Angry letters and pressure from objectionable parents have forced libraries, schools to ban certain types of “harmful” literature from their shelves and curriculums. Even today, school boards, local governments, religious fanatics and moral crusaders (of what they consider moral) attempt to restrict the freedom of children’s right to read.
Impressions is a widely used book series by David and Jack Booth whose books are used by educators are “widely viewed as a modern, imaginative language tool for stimulating the minds of children ages 5-12” (Clark). This fifteen book series is a compilation of folklore that has been in use in 1,500 schools in 34 states during the last ten years. The books that consist of the compilation are from several different authors big name authors such as Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis (Clark). While these are clearly a valuable resource for educators to use, certain Christian parents, as well as those who are what Clark refers to as “educational traditionalists” don’t see it that way. Christians view most of the books as promoters of witchcraft. Opponents also claim that the series can have a profound effect on children’s ability to sleep, and claim that the series promotes insomnia with some of wording in the stories (Clark). The interpretations of the material and the stance opponents are taking against the Impressions series... [continues]
Some of the greatest novels for children and young adults are under attack. Due to what some deem as “inappropriate” language or certain topics, countless books have either been censored or banned entirely from schools and libraries. This is not just something that happens abroad, but in America as well. That’s right. America. This is home where freedom of speech is one of our oldest and most highly held ideals. An all too common pastime in the United States these days is banning books. This is truly unfortunate and happens far too frequent. Angry letters and pressure from objectionable parents have forced libraries, schools to ban certain types of “harmful” literature from their shelves and curriculums. Even today, school boards, local governments, religious fanatics and moral crusaders (of what they consider moral) attempt to restrict the freedom of children’s right to read.
Impressions is a widely used book series by David and Jack Booth whose books are used by educators are “widely viewed as a modern, imaginative language tool for stimulating the minds of children ages 5-12” (Clark). This fifteen book series is a compilation of folklore that has been in use in 1,500 schools in 34 states during the last ten years. The books that consist of the compilation are from several different authors big name authors such as Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis (Clark). While these are clearly a valuable resource for educators to use, certain Christian parents, as well as those who are what Clark refers to as “educational traditionalists” don’t see it that way. Christians view most of the books as promoters of witchcraft. Opponents also claim that the series can have a profound effect on children’s ability to sleep, and claim that the series promotes insomnia with some of wording in the stories (Clark). The interpretations of the material and the stance opponents are taking against the Impressions series... [continues]
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