Book bans harm children

By the editors

Books are a gift that opens a door to the big world. But not if you live in one of the American communities where local school boards or state officials have portrayed certain books as scary monsters that harm children with words and ideas.

Organized conservative groups in many communities censor books from schools and public libraries, saying certain themes are inappropriate for children’s ages, let alone context. They target books about health, climate change, psychology and other sciences that they find distasteful or contrary to their way of thinking. They attempt to criminalize teachers and librarians who dare to give children a chance to satisfy their curiosity. Under the guise of protecting children from danger, they undertake to defund public libraries and modify school curricula.

As of 2023, the American Library Association has documented more than 1,200 cases of attempts to ban library books.

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But it is the book bans themselves that cause the most harm, depriving young people of the opportunity to think critically, explore ideas and discover experiences different from their own. People responsible for moving books from classrooms and library shelves try to limit the flow of information. Their efforts are aimed at undermining democracy; they would create an electorate of young people who would not question authority, build alliances with people with less political power, or challenge the status quo. Knowledge is power. Book bans go against the very nature of an open civil society. Whether through the legal system, the ballot box or our voices, we must defend educational freedom and support knowledge. We must stop book censorship.

Censorship has a shameful history in the United States. The infamous Comstock Act of 1873 made it illegal to mail works considered obscenelike pamphlets on birth control. that of James Joyce Ulysses was banned in the country in the 1920sand the U.S. Postal Service burned copies. More recently, conservatives have gutted the history and science that children learn in school, modify representations of slaveryrejecting textbooks that reference to climate change And difficult evolution.

As of 2023, the American Library Association has documented more than 1,200 cases of attempts to ban library books. The petitioners have targeted more than 4,200 books for removal from schools and libraries. THE most contested books of 2023 include classics such as Toni Morrison The bluest eyemodern novels and graphic novels about growing up LGBTQ+, a book about adolescent health, and another about human trafficking. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for free expression in literature, noted more than 3,300 efforts to ban books from schools during the 2022-2023 school year. In some locations, books on cancellation alert have included works by Judy Blume and Margaret Atwood and, in one case, a book about body positivity intended for preschool children.

Why is it so scary to let kids read?

Education researchers Gay Ivey of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Peter Johnston of the University at Albany studied four classrooms where teachers let teenagers choose what they wanted to read from a long list of books. THE students’ reading scores have improvedthey say, but teachers have seen even more positive results. Students talked with each other about the themes of the books they were reading, developed compassion and empathy for the characters and their struggles, and thought about choices and consequences. Additionally, their mental health improved.

In an investigationNearly 40 percent of children, particularly those from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, said reading about characters they could relate to boosted their confidence. Yet almost half of children aged eight to 11 said they had difficulty finding such books.

In some states, efforts to ban books are folded into other bills with seemingly virtuous goals. In Missouri, for example, Senate Bill 775, passed in 2022, aims to protect children from sexual abuse and trafficking, but the law contains a passage that criminalizes teachers and librarians who give students money “explicit sexual material”, with such broad wording. that it could include books on health or sex education.

Rebecca Wanzo, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who studies graphic novels, which are among the most frequently banned books, says that denying children and teens access to the array of ideas contained in books creates people who “don’t know what they think.” I don’t know. She says some students who take her classes are shocked by the alternative explanations her lectures and reading lists provide for different aspects of human existence.

So where does this leave us?

Some teachers keep canceled books in secret drawers. Some schools in more open neighborhoods are introducing the idea of ​​book clubs focused on banned books. Librarians question what they are allowed to put on the shelves instead of promoting what is there. Parents who want their children to receive a thorough education are trying to fight off well-funded and politically motivated book-banning advocates.

Children who can defend books and libraries. It is up to us to help them, as well as those who cannot. Book bans are contrary to freedom of expression and thought. They are anti-democratic, anti-science and anti-evidence. Reading this editorial without anyone looking over your shoulder is your fundamental right. Our children deserve the same.