Censorship
at the High School Level
Censorship in the American high school system continues
to be an issue. High school student should be able to read great modern novels
and famous literature in their school curriculum because this is where they are
supposed to learn, be inspired and create their own opinions. Curiosity is
inevitable in students. Censorship is supposedly used to “protect” these
students from reading inappropriate material. But, when this innate curiosity
in the students is ignored, no good will come of it. These students will lose
out on being educated on the realities of the world. The desire in parents to
have control over what their children are reading and why they shouldn’t be so
controlling, the hunger in teachers to encourage their students to read and
come up with their own thoughts and ideas, and the controversial topics in
banned books that envelope students, teachers, and parents are all important
aspects in the subject of censorship. This topics will help to conclude that
censorship in young adults is not a good thing and that it holds them back from
intellectual and emotional growth.
Parents love their children and feel the need to protect
them from negativity and bad influences. But, in order to allow these students
to understand the world around them the need literature. Literature dive into
the issues, struggles, joys, and truths of the world. To learn about these
things is to grow closer in the comprehension of how to live and adapt to the
societal nature they will experience. In, “School Censorship and the Null
Curriculum”, Stephen Tedesco states that despite the possibility of parental
anger, he believes that, “banning literature such as, Harry Potter,” will eliminate the opportunity for students to
experience pop culture to its complete degree (Tedesco 59). Harry Potter has
become an extremely successful book and movie series that not only teachers of
heroes and good vs. evil, but friendship and courage. It is an inspiration
story that, although not perfect, is worth exposing to high school students who
want to be inspired. Pop culture is in a constant circle of conversation.
Everyone has something to say about what goes on in our culture. Tedesco makes
a bold point by expressing his belief that anger parents should not stop
students from learning more about every day news in pop culture. Another point,
which was taken from “Censorship in Three Metaphors”, declares that although
parents, “have the right to demand that their child not read a particular
book”, they do not possess the authority to say, “that an entire classroom,
school or district should not read a particular book...” (Boyd and Bailey 655).
This perfectly asserts the fact that parents have a say in what their children
are exposed to, but not a say in what a whole group of high school students are
allowed to read. In order for students to grow in intellect and knowledge of
literature, parents must open their own minds to the idea of allowing all
suggested literature, no matter the controversial content, to be available to
students in a safe, open-minded school setting.
The desire for high school students to be engaged and
active learners is what makes a great teacher “great”. Students need to be
challenged and encouraged to read controversial books so that they can, once
again, learn about the world around them and form logical and informed
judgements for themselves. These abilities are necessary for students to grow
and shape into intelligent adults. “School Censorship and the Null Curriculum”,
quotes another source in an attempt to state that belief that students don’t
comprehend the significance of becoming an active and determined citizen
because they are exposed to the process in which we learn not to question, but
to follow along (Tedesco 58). This statement clarifies the social behavior
encouraged in these students to comply with what is told to them and what is
expected of them. This behavior isn’t healthy and can decrease the opportunity
for a student to learn. Teachers need to encourage a sense of individuality so
that the window to learn is as large as it possibly can be. Teachers must help
enable students to think for themselves, and literature is a great way to aid
this activity through its thought provoking content. Speaking of teachers and
their ability to help and encourage intellectual discovery in their students,
this next excerpt discusses the authority teachers have over their curriculum
and the messages it can teach. In “The Representation of Violence in Young Adult
Literature”, V. M Simandan expresses the belief that teachers hold true power
in the life of young students. She does this with her thought that declares
that teachers are capable of using young adult literature to go over ethical
likelihoods. It is also said that introducing stories from different kinds of
people can help students turn out to be caring citizens (237). This emphasizes
that exposing literature to students at the high school level can result in
positive learning and character building. It also states that learning from
different authors with different experiences will help students grow in their
emotional and social journey, not just their intellectual journey. Teachers
must take this opportunity to use the content of the literature to discuss
moral life choices and damaging consequences of negative decision making. It is
extremely possible that students are capable of reading controversial texts and
becoming better people, in all aspects of life, for it. Robert C Hanna from
Gaston Day School in Gastonia, North Carolina talks about how he assigns a
paper about censorship to his upperclassman in the reading, “Researching
Censorship”. He encourage them to find a novel that has been forbidden from the
curriculum in the past decade and challenge themselves to find out why the book
is under scrutiny and in their opinion, if it should be banned from schools (89).
This assignment perfectly exemplifies the desire for teachers to encourage
students to research and educate themselves in controversial literature, and in
censorship itself. The teachers that inspire growth will help to create the imaginative
and intelligent students of our generation and the generations to come.
The topics that cause novels to be censored or banned from
schools include controversial issues in teen life, such as sex. Sexual scenes
in novels tend to cause a stir with a lot of people. Revealing sex to the youth
of the world can be construed as a negative thing, but that doesn’t have to be
the case. There are ways to educate students and make them aware of sex. One
way being to form a group at a local library to inform, which is what Mary Jo
Heller and Aarene Storms did. They discuss it in the article, “Sex in the
Library”, which is an program where librarians take it upon themselves to educate
teenagers, parents, teachers and others about sex in young adult literature through
their workshop entitled, “Sex in the Library”. (Heller and Storms 22) This
topic has become such a controversial topic that programs, such as this, are
starting to be formed in order to educate young adult students about the topic
of sex in the books they are reading, rather than telling them not to read them
at all. Jen Denzin also talks about the topic of sex in literature in her work
called, “Boundaries of Contemporary Literature: The Role of Censorship and
Choice”. She states that students are “drawn to sexual content” and that when a
new piece of literature involving sex comes into the media, students will want
to read it. She compares this to preteens wanting to read Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Denzin)
Just like Judy Blume novels, young adult novels that include sexual activity or
only refer to sexual instances can be seen as too mature for its intended
audience. The passage also helps to
show that as teenagers grow older, they will be naturally curious and
interested in sex. With this all being said, it must be remembered that sex
occurs in between high school students all over the world. It is important for them
to stay informed and knowledgeable about the facts of the actual physical act,
but also be aware of the emotional toll it can take on a young person. This
aspect is often seen in books targeted for the young adult readers.
Another serious aspect of
censorship is the discussion of violence in literature. The fear includes
children and young adults finding inspiration to attack a classmate or a bully
with physical violence due to the violent presence of people in the media,
television, and books. In some instances, a novel may touch upon serious
issues, such as rape, which includes the violent and sexual aspects being
discussed, in hopes of informing and persuading teenagers to be aware that this
horrible act is happening to people. In “Monstrous Acts: Problematizing
Violence”, the novel, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson is discussed. The book
is about a young girl who is raped by an older boy at a party. After this
happens, she goes to the phone and calls the police. This act results in the
party being busted and everyone, including her friends, shunning her for
getting people arrested. The author of “Monstrous Acts: Problematizing
Violence” states that, “The structural-cultural level of violence is evident in
the way Melinda internalizes guilt, even though she is the victim of crime” (Franzak,
Noll 669). Throughout the book, she is able to gain the courage and strength
through the help of people who truly listen to her, and tells the story of what
happens to her. This book, although it does contain serious issues of sexual
violence, is intended for the youth of America. It is used to keep them aware
of the signs that one of your peers may have gone through something dramatic,
and it instills the fact that no matter how young you are or how victimized you
feel, everyone has a voice. Divulging this kind of negativity and evil that
comes with violence will allow them to ask themselves the more thoughtful and
serious questions of life. To further explain the sense that reading about
violence will cause high school students to think more about life and what it
entails, “The Representation of Violence in Young Adult Literature”, says that
when teenagers read about issues of violence, they are more likely to, “reflect
on the events rather than just simply react” (Simandan 244). This goes along
with fictional literature, as well as real issues facing the world today. Young
adults will not be sheltered from the horrors of life, such as the Columbine
massacre or the September 11th attacks. Learning about these events
help young people to experience empathy and understand the hate and violence
that is sadly, but constantly present in the world. With this being the case,
these students should read young adult literature containing violence in order
to be able to reflect and discuss the negativities that violence involves. Violence
is a continuous part of life. Young adults need to be able to read about this
issue so that they can grow in knowledge and awareness. These traits will help
students with their
In conclusion, censorship
is a controversial issue that faces parents, teachers, and children and will
continue to do so. Parents will continue to try and censor what their children
are being exposed to, yet they must begin to see the good in the controversial
topics in helping their children grow in intelligence. Teachers will always try
and encourage their students to learn and form their outlook on great
literature and serious social topics. This will help to provoke educated and
thoughtful ideas and opinions in a controlled, teacher-student, discussion
friendly environment. Also, the problems discussed in literature, such as sex
and violence, will forever be written about by authors who want to inform and
enlighten the youth of the country. Therefore, students can continue to read
the books that are under debate for being censored or banned. Through their
controversial nature, they can make a difference in high school students lives.
Works
Cited
B.
Boyd, Fenice, and Nancy M. Bailey. Censorship
in Three Metaphors. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 52.8
(2009): page 655
C.
Hanna, Robert. Researching Censorship. English
Journal. 82.4 (1993): page 89
Denzin,
Jen. Boundaries for Contemporary
Literature: The Role of Censorship and Choice. Journal of Adolescent &
Adult Literacy. 57.1 (2013)
Franzak,
Judith, and Elizabeth Noll. Monstrous
Acts: Problematizing Violence in Young Adult Literature. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 49.8 (2006): page 669
Heller,
Mary Jo, Aarene Storms. Sex in the
Library: A Guide to Sexual Content in Teen Literature. E L Kurdyla
Publishing LLC. 2013.
Simandan,
V. M. The Representation of Violence in
Young Adult Literature. Journal Plus Education. 7.1 (2011): page 237-244
Tedesco,
Stephen. School Censorship and the Null
Curriculum. 18.4 (2009): page 58-59
