Open Book Society Staff Member Angie Speaks Out
BANNED BOOK WEEK 2010
We’ve all heard of the challenges that have been made regarding books such as the Harry Potter series, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, and even The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Most frequently, challenges are by parents wanting to have these books removed from the shelves or required reading lists of public schools. The reasons are varied: violence, racism, homosexuality, themes not suitable for a particular age group. In essence, what these parents are saying is that they want to protect children from the ugliness in the world. But don’t we teach our children that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” Therefore it should follow that ugliness is also in the eye of the beholder.
The world we live in is a violent place. Every day people are murdered, assaulted, robbed, and degraded. On television we see dozens of shows that are centered around violence or the aftermath of violence. The top grossing movies are often filled with images of fighting, war, or murder. The news covers violence in not only our city and state, but around the world. It’s part of our children’s lives.
As much as we’d like to believe it, our nation is not color blind. Racism is alive and well in the minds, attitudes and actions of people in every state, not just the south. Whether it’s black/white, American/immigrant, or Christian/Muslim you see racial tension daily. It’s part of our children’s lives.
Whether you think homosexuality is a lifestyle choice or a biological trait, it exists. Its “cause” isn’t the important factor. It’s a frightening issue for many people and a significant cause of death either through hate crimes or suicide. It’s a part of our children’s lives.
Authors write about myriad topics. An infinte number of possibilities exist when an author sits down with pen in hand or fingers poised above a keyboard. Consider the series of events that happened in order to line our planet up at the exact distance from the sun in order for Earth to take 365 days to make one trip around the sun. Who is it to say that each human being intellectually matures at the same rate that is dictated by this scientific movement of the planet?
It is my opinion that books, when discussed with guidance, are a non-threatening cataylist to open dialogue and a way to challenge our children with views that may be different from the ones they’ve grown up around. Books are keys into worlds we can’t possibly enter. Who of us was a 12 year old girl in a concentration camp? Have you ever been friends with a slave 30 years your senior in a time where that was grounds for the death penalty? Wouldn’t you rather have read a story about a sexually abused teen, than to have lived through that abuse yourself?
I am a well-educated teacher; the daughter of an Army officer and a librarian; the mother of two gifted children. I am perfectly capable of deciding what is appropriate for my children to read without someone else making those decisions for me. I respect the ability of others to make those decisions for themselves and for their children. It should not be in anyone’s power make books unavailable for me or my children because the ideas or topics in those books are uncomfortable.
The only challenge I am making during Banned Book Week 2010 is one suggesting that you find one book on the ALA Challenged Book List and read it.
What are your opinions on Banned Book Week? Have you read any of the the books on the banned book list? Has your school (or your child’s school) banned any of these books? Join us in the forum and share your thoughts.
