Censorship

I knew that censorship existed in our society, but I was a little surprised how much it affects schools. As absurd as it was to hear some of the terms that have banned from textbooks in class, it says a lot about the impact the interest groups have had on our schools. Throughout the semester we have discussed the importance of multiculturalism and to hear that virtually any term related to expanding children's knowledge of other groups is omitted from textbooks is counterproductive if not harmful to students learning. It is unfortunate that publishers feel the need to censor their own work, whether textbooks of general reading for fear of offending one person or group, while the vast majority could benefit from the readings as they were intended to be. As Ravitch said, this is not merely a way to protect children from parts of society that a certain population does not want them to encounter, either according to race, sexuality or religious belief. In fact this is much larger, it is an attempt to impose their own personal views on those of others, to create a society that they see as ideal, which is not necessarily realistic to most people. Ravitch also points out that in fact most children are getting their information from television, movies, music and real life. Certainly, while many children do still read, its impact is much less now than in the past. Children see racist and sexual overtones on TV and in school much more often then they would read in a book.

So is the solution to allow access to all reading materials for children? I think in all honesty there must be some regulation on reading materials. I'm certainly not saying do not allow children to read what they want, or keep any book from the library. However if we are to be responsible parents, there are some reading materials that must have a conversation along with the readings. For example, in the community I grew up in, where there was very little cultural or racial differentiation, a child left to read Huckleberry Finn without some discussion as to the context and use of the "N-word" could easily get the wrong impression that may or may not be corrected at some point later on. I'm not saying that censorship is right, it is not, however, there are materials and words that could be misunderstood as Huckleberry Finn could and there are materials that could in fact be harmful. Let's not forget there are readings that are intentionally and overtly sexist and racist. I think the process set up by Reichman of allowing members of the school input and the right to select readings is the right way to go. By doing this we assure that the children are not only receiving proper materials, but a wide variety of books to read and learn from. I also think that publishers need to take a stand. Those who wish to impose their ideals on society are strong and loud, but they are also a minority when it comes to censorship. We live in a country that values our freedoms above all else. Highest among these is the freedom of speech. When Harry Potter first came out it was vilified by the religious right. To this day it is still hugely popular among children and adults. Of course the immense sales of the books enabled the publisher to push aside the complaints of the right, but its popularity also showed that people are willing to read something if it is written well, no matter how it is deemed by the minority. Encourage authors to be representative of the populations, but not at the expense of the quality of the book. If publishers do that, than it becomes more difficult for the right and left wingers to put together arguments that the public will accept or even tolerate. Unfortunately I think at least in the general reading books, this must once again come down to the students taking a stand. Individually children are often not heard, but together they can make an impact. Simply put, tell a child they can not do something and they will react. This article (http://www.charlotte.com/205/story/345430.html) discusses the efforts of some parents to remove books by Pat Conroy in West Virginia. The students however are standing up and saying no to censorship. It is efforts like this that, while may not stop censorship, will make it much more difficult for interest groups to impose their views on children.