So I've noticed that the posts that really bring out one of the things I was really hoping to accomplish with this blog--namely, good and thought-provoking conversation--are those posts that have ... well, arguable points, such as my rantings on Twilight or on a recent death penalty case in New Hampshire.
Therefore, I figured I'd throw out there a topic near and dear to my heart: book banning. Whoa, I think that came out wrong ... I don't think any books should be banned. Ever. My philosophy is that, if a child is reading a book, it is never, never, NEVER a bad thing.
But consider, for example, this outcry in my home state over Lois Lowry's The Giver. Having read The Giver (and recommended it to countless students), the idea that it would be deemed inappropriate when it is one of the prime children's books for getting emerging readers to think on a different plane ... I just don't get it. Of course, I'm the person who read Stephen King's Cujo as a first-grader, so maybe I'm a little warped on the subject : )
J.K. Rowling's brilliant Harry Potter series have been perhaps the most commonly criticized books in recent years (although again, I would argue even further this time that not only children learned that reading can be something magical, many adults that actively deplored reading developed a passion for it because of J.K. Rowling). The boy wizard controversy is well-documented on sites such as this and this.
The list of banned books is expansive and includes such remarkable titles as The Catcher in the Rye, Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, and--yes, I'm serious--Where's Waldo?
So what are your thoughts on banned books? Am I naive in my belief that it's always a good thing if someone is willing to invest the time in a book and therefore go through the requisite thinking--sometimes completely unaware of this?
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ReplyDeleteI come from the same part of the world as you do. In fact, my daughter was a reading assistant in the Nashua school system for while. I agree with you that NO books should be banned. I think that mother should have used the opportunity to sit with her daughter and discuss the book and the themes in the book. It would have given her daughter a much better experience than having her mother go to the school board and fight about it.
I am 100% against censorship. As Voltaire says, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
ReplyDelete...and someone actually banned The Giver? WTF?!?!
Karen--Absolutely! I seem to have come upon this recurrent theme of parents serving as good examples for their children leading to a new generation of thoughtful, educated people willing to take responsibility for their own actions and disagree peacefully and calmly. Bullying a school board when you don't get your way doesn't seem like the most effective way to prove a point to your children ... but maybe that's just me : )
ReplyDeleteBeth--I know, right? Evidently its themes of death were just too far out there. I mean, it's not like death really happens or anything--or like kids have to deal with it ... weird!
Unless the book contains outright pornography, devil-worship, or anything else unarguably evil, I don't think the book should be banned. And anything on the CLASSICS list does not fall under that evil list! I SOOO agree with you. It annoys the heck out of me when I see banned books that I've read and loved and respect as great literature. Sometimes it makes me wonder where this world is headed. Because as things get more evil, I see that the visions of a lot of people get more and more skewed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great post! I hope you get lots of discussion. :D
I don't get it either. And the Giver is so awesome. Deeming it inappropriate is...well, inappropriate, as you pointed out.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read Cujo at 1st grade, but my parents say I was reading all kinds of magazines/newspapers when I was little and they'd kind of try to get me to stop b/c it was stuff beyond my age level. But I don't remember them ever screening anything I read. (Even though I don't think they quite approved of all the horrible kiddie lit that I devoured, and today snark on--they never said "You can't read this--very awesome.") I always hated Claudia Kishi's mom in BSC for not letting Claud read Nancy Drew books--her mom was a librarian, damnit.
I am absolutely one-hundred percent against book banning. Parents don't give children enough credit for being able to handle mature themes.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Any book that is being read is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteWe need to learn to be discerning for ourselves and teach it to our children. Whenever I read a book with my children, we talk about the world view of the author and how it lines up with what believe. We've lost the ability to think critically in our society, but I'm hoping that my children will learn to be able to read any book or even start one and put it down if it's too off base with our world view.
ReplyDeleteLady G--I agree, I don't see how books would become part of the canon of classics if they were evil. This might sound intellectually snobby, but I wonder how many people who object to these books have actually read them?
ReplyDeleteSadako--I think the best gift we can give kids is a print-rich environment. There are books about every subject under the rainbow, usually from various perspectives, and trying to hold those back from our children will often backfire. I'm so glad your parents gave you the time and space to go where you needed to go :) And you're also right about that fraud librarian Mrs. Kishi--I LOVED "Nancy Drew" books : )
Icy Roses--Children surprise me each and every day. I think if everyone opened their eyes a little, they might be very impressed : )
Mr. Cox :)--Yes, yes, yes : ) !!!!!!!!!
Jody--It is my hope that all parents will take the time and effort to at least keep track of what their children are reading. I know that I spend a great deal of time processing with both Addie and Belle (on very different levels, of course) and, while it's not always convenient, it is vital to my relationship with my daughters and their relationships with what they read. I wish all parents thought the way you do.
Thank you all for your comments ... I'm loving the different things that come up : )
Two thoughts:
ReplyDelete1.) I think you're right in your response to Lady G. I'd bet anything that most objectors haven't read what they're objecting to. The Boy Wizard would be a case in point. "Witchcraft and Wizardry" is their identity, not their creed. The characters all celebrate Christmas and Easter!!! Seriously, how many detractors have actually read The Origin of Species? Bet you could count them on one hand (or one fist, as it were)
2.) I may have some insight as a Northern person who lives in the South. In New England, we consider it the utmost in courtesy to respect others' right to make their own choices and MAINTAIN THEIR OWN PRIVACY. In short, we consider it polite to mind our own damn business. As such, we as a people would be very averse to book banning-if someone wants to read something I disagree with, that is none of my business. Down here, the "polite" thing in all cases is to do what is deemed "best" for the collective identity (the town, state, region, whatever). If that means that we don't discuss death, then we ban books about death. If that means that witchcraft is evil, then we ban all books where witches are not the villain.
Don't get me wrong -I don't agree with it, and would never support it- but on a regional/cultural basis, I sort of understand it. To a classic Southerner, politeness and pleasantry is simply more important than individual liberties. If that means that kids wind up ignorant hillbillies...well, they won't really know that's what they are, will they? We banned the books describing the phenomenon of the ignorant hillbilly.
This is why I love you, Mary. (Well, it's one of 576,963,246 reasons I love you). You make me THINK!!!!!!!!! : )
ReplyDeleteWTF? (What The Fishstick?) What do people have against The Giver, besides the fact that it's a peculiar and not-all-that-interesting book? And Harry Potter? Whoa ho, too far. Who's doing this? If it's the government, I'll destroy them. And To Kill A Mockingbird? You've got to be kidding me. Sure it has a gruesome scene in it and not everything's sugarcoated but hey, welcome to life and the real world. And it teaches readers a valuable lesson. The pros way outweigh the cons in that book. People really need to stop focusing on trivial things like these that they only do to do something and focus on the real issues at hand: war, economy, Obama, and if they're going to get all strict on books saying they're oh so influential, what don't they try opening their naive little eyes and trying watching T.V.? My word, some people.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe in book banning at all. Teachers should choose books that are age appropriate for students to read but other than that, no I do not believe in Book Banning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lady G. If a book is pornographic--especially if it's breaking the law due to the pictures being of children, it should not be allowed. Other than that, books should not be banned. I don't understand the point of book banning. And I've never understood why The Giver was banned. (I"m not going to even try to figure out Where's Waldo.) I think the book is awesome and made me think in ways I never had before.
ReplyDeleteAre there books out there that I don't agree with and would never read? Sure. But what's on my list isn't necessarily on someone else's. And I have no right to tell someone else how they can think or what they can think about--because that's what books do. They make us think. Or should, anyway. :o)
Firefly--Try this one on for size ... do you think that any book could be considered offensive by someone somewhere? It's a scary and slippery slope, isn't it? And I guess maybe people focus on what we might write off as trivial because facing the truly frightening issues in our world is just so far out of everyone's control.
ReplyDeleteMD--Interesting : ) Do you think there should be conversation between parents and teachers about what children are reading? I ask because, as both a teacher and a parent, I find myself having a hard time skirting the line at times.
Windsong--You are a wise lady :) (And "Where's Waldo" had to do with an allegedly topless woman on a beach ... although considering how hard a time people have finding a funny-looking guy in a conspicuous red and white striped shirt, I think it's probably a case of someone just creating trouble ... if it exists at all)
Yes some people could taek offense to certain things, which is why I agree with Windsong. And that type of attitude, about issues in the the world out of everyone's control, well it's no wonder the world's turning out the way it has with that kind of attitude. If everyone thought like that, well, the end of he world'd be coming before 2012. Then again though, maybe if everyone just left things alone and didn't want to do anything big, liek wars, we'd all be way better off. Either way I think people shuold be trying to promote peace and help in whatever way they can, big or small. And every book eenlightens a child to new information, a new world, and makes an author's dream come true (someone reading their writng) so two birds one stone. Don't ban books. (You DID say blogs wre for rambling)
ReplyDeleteAnd shush it about the spelling errors, yes I see them and really they're not spelling errors, they're typing errors and I think writing should be written anyway, not typed so =P
ReplyDelete