The Censorship battle has largely been fought in the public school systems of this country, but has also affected public libraries as well. The pros and cons of censorship must be carefully considered to be fair to all parties concerned. Both schools and teachers should have some say in what is presented in the classroom, while parents and students likely should have an equal amount of say concerning what the students do and do not want to read. The types of censorship, including that in the classroom, in the library, in the curriculum, and on the internet must be balanced between a student’s right to know and community and family standards, which are intended to protect children from the harmful effects of unrestrained access of materials deemed by some as inappropriate.
The very liberal Left Wing advocates argue for a student’s right to know and against the suppression of ideas. A student’s right to know is the idea that few, if any restrictions should be placed on a student’s books or curriculum. It is argued that students introduced to many ideas will learn to discern their own thoughts and feelings on controversial issues. These liberals believe that the suppression of ideas will greatly reduce a student’s ability to think critically.
Christian fundamentalists have been accused of promoting organized censorship attempts in the public school forum against such issues as evolution and certain forms of sex education, i.e. abortion, safe sex, and homosexuality. The case for censorship is that adults have the right and obligation to protect children from these and other harmful influences. It has also been said that the censorship issues are part of a larger campaign to impose their particular curriculum focus on public schools and to build support for public school alternatives such as vouchers.
But these fundamental Christian concerns have also exposed an important educational issue, the invisibility of religion in our history text books. Three studies of public school text books, funded by the Department of Education, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way, have agreed that textbooks minimize the importance of religion in American life. Although 96% of Americans believe in God and 58% go to a place of worship, history texts do not reflect this reality. These texts have effectively censored all forms of religion out of their pages. There is an important difference between teaching about religion and promoting religion.
The conservative Christians’ freedom of speech, press, and religion are consistently violated in school texts in the name of separation of church and state, while other political agendas are allowed ample coverage. They are told to leave their faith at the schoolhouse door while Atheistic views, Homosexuals lifestyle views, and the like are actively included in school curriculums. Should conservatives be excluded from policy-setting and curriculum decisions because their views are based on religion? Does a student’s “right to know” include religious morals and values or only liberal agendas? Does the “suppression of ideas” only apply to religion? If tolerance is at issue, then why not tolerate religious ideas as well as liberal objectives?
But the American Civil Liberties Union says that censorship is hardly a monopoly of any political group. Books are likely to be addressed with a censorship issue if they contain controversial sexually related materials, profane language, racial slurs or stereotypes, violence, occult topics (New Age philosophies), scary stories, or material depicting rebellion against authority. Most schools have tried to compromise by balancing parental and community concerns with the need for academic freedom and the educational and constitutional issues that arise when teachers are given mandates about what books they can and cannot teach. When censorship is at issue, no administrative guidelines or legal recourse can replace the open lines of communication which allows parents, students, and school personnel to be heard with respect and consideration.
Censorship in school primarily involves issues of curriculum and library materials. Other dimensions of censorship include student speech, teacher speech, and increasingly the internet. What distinguishes between censorship attempts and legitimate parental concerns over a particular book’s appropriateness? What distinctions might be made between complaints about a required book in a required class versus an optional book in an elective class or calls to ban a book from the school library?
Teachers’ choices of literature for student use in their classrooms are sometimes challenged when they are of a controversial nature. When students and parents are uncomfortable with ideas covered, words used and/or pictures in a particular book, it sometimes becomes a censorship issue. When a book is used, it should be used within a context that explains the novel’s historical background and explores issues of racism, language dialects, and the use of racial slurs, however, no student should be forced to read a book they are uncomfortable with. Alternate choices should be made available to the student.
