There's a lot of blogger buzz right now about the upcoming banned book week. I'm not a big fan of controversy but to enter many of the banned book week giveaways there is a requirement to post about censorship and banned books. So I'm chiming in with my opinion.
My take on Banned Book Week: All books have their place, but not all books belong on every shelf.
I believe it's my responsibility as a parent to know what my children are watching, playing and reading. I don't allow my children to watch R rated movies. I'm selective on which PG-13 movies I allow them to watch. Rated "M" video games are not allowed in our home. Although books don't come with ratings I feel certain books are not appropriate for my children to read.
I believe in age appropriateness when it comes to books, movies and video games. Take the recent controversy over the book Speak. I'm a fairly conservative reader and I've read Speak. It's a well written, powerful book, but I wouldn't allow my children to read it at this point in their lives. It's not age appropriate for my 10 year old daughter. If asked I would object if it were on the library shelves at our elementary school. However I feel Speak is a book that would be appropriate on the shelves of a high school.
I do admit there are certain books that I personally will never be old enough to read. I'm not a fan of strong language, graphic sex and gory violence in books, movies or television. There are many books I have put down or decided not to read due to their content. I'm not saying those books should be removed from a public library, but I am saying it's my right as an informed reader to choose the books I will and won't read. That's not censorship, that's making a choice on what is right for me.
All books have their place, just not on my shelf.
Finally just a thought that keep going through my head.
Dear Book Banners,
If you don't want someone to read a book the worst thing you could do is try to get it banned. It draws attention to a book and it ends up being read by more people. I've seen at least a dozen giveaways for the book Speak in the past week. I'd never heard of Ellen Hopkins books until she was uninvited to the Book Festival.
This is just my opinion, if you disagree I respect your right to have your own opinion.
I agree that as a parent you have the right and responsibility to monitor what your children watch/read. I have zero problems with personal censorship. Not every book is for every person. I only get upset when people try to ban it for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well written post.
Hi Kathy -
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog and becoming a Follower. I've become a Follower here. :)
I think your point is well taken. A lot of negative buzz about a controversial book only serves to promote it.
Blessings,
Susan
Great post - that is how I feel as well. I do monitor what my children read and will continue to (they are 9 and 5). Some books I won't read and won't allow my kids to read as well, but I don't expect others to agree with me. My kids know any book they bring home from the school or public library is subject to my inspection (not too much of a problem with the 5-year-old I admit).
ReplyDeleteI posted on this in a similar way - I think it's the parent's job to be aware of what their kids are reading.
Great Post. Some books don't belong in an Elementary school but would be great for a high school.
ReplyDeleteI think this post is very well written and makes a lot of valuable points. Well put!
Amen. It is the job of parents to parent their children, not the system. And you're entirely right. The first time I heard of lists of banned books (back when I was probably 15 or 16) I went out, found them, and read at least ten of them. All of the ones I chose enriched my life with more knowledge about issues I've never faced but which are real and important to others who have experienced them. Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteI think you said it best in your post.
Suzie
Excellent post and very conscientious. As a parent, I completely agree with having age/content appropriate material on the shelves for children. Certain media should be censored from children. That's just common sense.
ReplyDeleteI also think this book is getting more publicity than it deserves, and all for the wrong reasons. It wasn't even the only book mentioned in the article. The author of "Speak" just happened to make a big stink about it.
Contrary to the message presented, the book isn't being banned from the public eye. Parents can still purchase the books for themselves and their children. Folks can still check it out in the library. However for one city (Republic, MO specifically), one man has asked that several novels be removed from the school bookshelves and not labeled as required/recommended reading because, in his opinion, the material is inappropriate for the audience (children). For the sake of the kids, doesn't that deserve a little investigation? Just saying. :)
Well articulated post! I have to say that I agree with Ashley. My big problem is when books get banned then NO ONE has the opportunity to read them. It's fine that you think Speak isn't appropriate for your ten year old; I monitor my kids books too and wouldn't feel comfortable about a child that young reading it. But when a book gets taken off the shelf, then there's less access for an older child, say 12-13, to read it as well. In our elementary school there are kids up to age 13. And you could say, well, their parents can buy it for them or they could get it from the public library, but these options are not always an option for every child and if they or the parents don't know that the book exists then they could be missing an opportunity to read a very good book.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree completely. We all have a right to choose for ourselves and our kids. But we shouldn't force our choices on others.
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes to age appropriateness. But I'm glad you mentioned high school. There seem to be a lot of people who think that 16 year olds don't know where babies come from.
PS Thanks for stopping by my blog!
well put!!!
ReplyDeleteI've also read Speak - and was asked by other parents to change my review on it to reflect that I didn't think it was appropriate reading for their children's high school english class. Only... the parents hadn't read it!!! I told them to go home, read the book - and then talk to the teacher about their own child's readiness...
Banning books just gives them a larger audience - frankly there are quite a few out there I'd prefer my kids never read... so I won't bring them home. Luckily my children respect my book opinion more highly than they respect my fashion opinion :)