September 25th marks the beginning of Banned Books Week.
"Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities... People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and they protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups--or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore contemporary issues and controversies to classic and beloved works of American literature."
Since we have been reading and discussing some books that have been banned (for example, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak), I thought that some of you would like to hear about this celebration of challenged literature. On my own blog, I keep a running list of banned books I have read and this week I hope to add a few more to it. Many libraries and book stores around the country are holding celebrations for this week devoted to celebrating censored literature. Hopefully this week will help us appreciate how lucky we are to live in a nation where none of these books are banned by the government. Happy reading!
Since we have been reading and discussing some books that have been banned (for example, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak), I thought that some of you would like to hear about this celebration of challenged literature. On my own blog, I keep a running list of banned books I have read and this week I hope to add a few more to it. Many libraries and book stores around the country are holding celebrations for this week devoted to celebrating censored literature. Hopefully this week will help us appreciate how lucky we are to live in a nation where none of these books are banned by the government. Happy reading!
-Shannon Hunt
haha, I love that you spelled it "Freadom."
ReplyDeleteI love that we celebrate Banned Books Week in a mocking sort of way. I think it shows the great steps society has taken against unnecessary censorship. I absolutely believe that it is the responsibility of the parents to choose what a student may and may not read. When official legislative action is taken against any particular book because of its subject matter, we risk entering a Fahrenheit 451-like world, where people are punished for seeking information. Censorship only benefits those who want society to remain ignorant, and it is our duty to fight it. In my opinion, if a student is reading any book it effects them positively, regardless of its subject matter or vulgarity.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a very interesting school district, and have celebrated banned book week since middle school. Every year our English teachers would bring out a huge list of books and we had to read a banned book and report back to the class. It was designed so that every banned book would be read by at least one child in the district. When I was younger it was kind of exciting, like our teachers were letting us rebel. Later it became tougher for me because it was so hard to understand why books were banned, and why children in other parts of our nation were not allowed to read these great books. To be honest I miss the "banned book week" assignment now that I am in college there was something so powerful about standing up against this kind of censorship with such a united front.
ReplyDeleteMy American Lit. teacher in high school only assigned banned books to read for his class. They were the best! And the most meaningful. I had no idea there was a banned books week and I am in love with the concept! Books like Catcher in the Rye, The Scarlet Letter, Of Mice and Men, and A Farewell to Arms were or still are banned and those books are the ones that helped me to grow up! The censorship, while I see the want to protect people, is appalling. I think reading the Great Gatsby helped me to understand American history better than reading about the 20s in history class. Banned books seem to be better than any other books and all of my favorites are banned. I don't know if I like them better because I feel like a rebel reading them, but I love the fact that there is a week devoted to these special books and as a teacher I plan to celebrate this week with my students.
ReplyDeleteI think celebrating Banned Books Week with students is a great idea. I hope to have a designated "Banned Books" shelf in my classroom library.
ReplyDeleteI attended an all girls, Catholic high school, and we were allowed to read banned books as a part of the curriculum. My sophomore year of high school we read Catcher in the Rye. It has become one of my very favorite books. Going through it as a class, made me appreciate it more. We discussed symbolism and themes which I know a lot of students do not like. However, we did not OVER discuss it, so this made me appreciate the novel even more. During Banned Books week in high school, our library always had a special section with numerous banned books. Curious to see exactly what books are banned, I looked up a list. I was surprised to see some of the ones on the list because they are American "classics". I know they are banned for a reason. However, I think it is because of the content in those novels that make us readers love them so much.
ReplyDeleteI just heard about Banned Books Week after joining this literature class and I love the idea of it. We live in a world and society where terrible things happen, but those things are real. By shielding kids from reality no favors are being done for them. Eventually, young adults will be old enough that adults won't have the control to shield them from reality. It also deeply saddened me when we were talking in class about the controversy over Speak. Rape IS a tough subject, but it is a REAL subject. By banning the book, what kind of message would girls who have experienced rape receive? In my opinion, the overall message of Speak is much more important to consider than one part of the book that was tough and disturbing to read. Sometimes it's hard to bring light to tough issues, but leaving them in the dark will be more of a detriment to society.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised and thrilled that so many comments mention their schools having celebrated banned books week. My high school also did this. There was a display set up in the school library. I love that Meaghan's school made it so that every student read a banned book. Although my school did celebrate it, I wish they would have taken a more active role in getting the students to read them. I love banned books, and I believe they can teach us so many meaningful things.
ReplyDeleteAlisa
Near the end of my teaching career I began partnering with our local teen services librarian, Eva Davis, around young adult literature. In the first year, Eva came to my class to do booktalks. In the second year, I asked her to come during Banned Books Week. Eva brought many banned titles, but even more important, she presented statistics on book challenges. She told us the most common reasons for a book challenge (sexuality, offensive language, violence, and content not suited to the age group) and the group most likely to initiate a challenge (parents). She told my students that her party line with teens in the library is, if you find something you don't like in a book, put it back. Don't get your parents involved. You--and they--do not have the right to deny others the right to read. My students seemed empowered by this message. They could be in the driver's seat when it came to their reading choices.
ReplyDeleteOnly years later, while listening to a panel of YA authors talk about censorship at the NCTE convention, did I learn to see this issue in another light. Laurie Halse Anderson talked about fear: parents are AFRAID for their children. They want to shelter and protect them. Her comments made me feel a twinge of empathy for the first time for would-be censors. But the frightening world we live in will not change because we restrict young peoples' access to books.
At that same conference, I got to hear Judith Krug speak. She was the founder of the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom, and she was a pioneer in marshaling resources to fight book challenges. She opened her talk with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut: "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. You just have to get people to stop reading them." Perhaps that is a quote that some of you future teachers can take with you into your future classrooms.