Mr. Bertram
English 2
25 April 2012 Censorship in Books Imagine an English class room setting and the teacher is teaching the class about the book Night by Elie Weisel. Before the class starts reading the book the teacher discusses an issue with the books depiction of concentration camps during World War 2, he explains how the students have to look at how times were back then and how the author wants to inform the reader about history that he experienced. With all information given the class starts reading the book. A week later the teacher gets a call from the principal saying that a parent is concerned with the choice of book the teacher is teaching. They think it is inappropriate. The parent also makes hints that they may take this issue further if it is not solved. When things like this happen in schools great books become banned and teachers are unable to teach students about important topics. I think it would be better if books were not banned and taught to the full extent in which the author wanted.
Surprisingly books are still being banned today, like the Hunger Games trilogy. It doesn’t take much for a book to become banned. Parents usually challenge books that contain racism, sexual preferences, language, and dark historical context. Deborah Davis agrees that banning books is unnecessary: “Perhaps people who object to teens reading thoughtfully-written books dealing with sexual or racial issues are ashamed that they haven’t been responsible or mature enough to teach their children or students about these subjects themselves.”
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