Do you think schools should censor material? Why or why not? If yes, what items should be censored? Why or why not?
I do think that there is an essential place for censorship in schools, but not relating to banning any books or traditional reading materials. The most important consideration in choosing those types of materials should be their educational value, which is completely independent of any controversial nature they may have. While some famously censored and controversial books may contain “sexual content and offensive language,” they may also be one of the most effective ways to teach a concept, a way of life, a time period, or many other important lessons. There is also a good chance that quality controversial materials, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for example, present reality in a narrative that students can more easily understand than a normal history lesson.
Censoring materials because they contain themes or ideas that make people uncomfortable is a hindrance to education; not only will it create a null curriculum, but it also prevents students from achieving a high level of cultural awareness. I will agree that it is not the teacher’s position to, for example, “promote homosexuality” (which I doubt is a real threat to anyone anyway), but I would say that I think the education system would be correct in exposing students to the reality of it. In our book, it states on page 59 that “it is estimated that there is a gay or lesbian student in virtually every classroom.” Why then would we not expose students to the perspectives and reality of a lifestyle that they are more likely to encounter in America than many of the other things they will learn about, like world wars or Muslims (1% Muslim vs. about 5% homosexual by average estimates).
I also believe that books such as The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which is one of my favorite books of all time, have the potential to create an interest in reading for many students. Personally, I did not read it in high school, probably because it was too controversial for Arkansas schools, but I wish that I had. Aside from being a funny and interesting book to read, which may create an interest in reading for some students; it can also enlighten students to what life was like for an unhappy military academy student in 1945, providing them with a realistic historical perspective. Additionally, the issues of sexuality he discusses are the same ones that teenage students will be going through themselves and the language in the book is pretty mild compared to what the average high school student uses already. While the protagonist is not a good role-model, neither really is Tom Sawyer, Romeo, or Meursault.
As I mentioned at first, I do believe that there are important times for censorship in education. While the classrooms of the future may have a place for YouTube, social networking, and other forms of the internet, students should be closely monitored when using computers and the internet. Even with the filters that a school system’s internet may have, students can still access inappropriate videos, violent games, and many other forms of offensive materials (I know this for a fact because of my work with BBBS). I also think that censorship should be applied by age and educational value. An example of what I mean by this is that the appropriateness and educational value of The Catcher in the Rye would be eliminated if you tried to teach it to a class of 4th graders. It is important that materials be censored to ensure that their themes and the lessons they teach are appropriate for the intellectual and emotional ages of the affected students.
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