Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Banned Books/Challenged Books

This week is "Banned Books Week." What is that all about? You may well ask, and I will certainly tell you. This is the week when libraries around the country celebrate ALL of literature--good, bad, and awful. You see, in these United States of America, we have certain Constitutional rights, among which is "Freedom of Expression." This means that anybody can say what they want, and any one who wants to has the right to listen or read or watch.

There are those in this country, however, who would like to limit the right of certain groups (especially students) in enjoying this freedom. As I have expressed before in this blog, I firmly believe that families have a say in the reading choices of the children under their care. This privilege does NOT extend to other people's children. No one has the right to interfere in the reading choices of another family.

Those who want to ban certain books from school libraries or curriculae have no business doing so. If they don't want their children to read those books, fine. They are welcome to ask the teacher/principal/media specialist for an alternative. I believe they are passing up a prime opportunity to discuss with their children how those books may contradict what their family believes or values and why it is important to them.

I'll step off my soapbox, now.

Go read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Diary of Anne Frank or, in a twist of irony, Farenheit 451.

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