Censorships_in_Education

In today’s schools, children are exposed to an expanded curriculum. As the world wide web, has opened doors to different cultures’, beliefs, and political stands, our curriculum has change to incorporate the growing need for diverse information. The freedoms to say, write, or have the right of expression in a manner without legal boundaries. As outlined in the first amendment, Americans are to have right to say or believe what we want, and how we want to express it. However, in an attempt to banish ignorance about our history while not offending students from other countries, and cultures, some of our textbooks have been censored. The beginning of book banning in schools is like, “an unnoticeable disease, which multiplied into a deadly cancer that has continued to consume more rights each year” (ALA p. 21-22.2005). When educational entities accept a policy which allow the banning of literature and other works, what effects will this have on the intellectual potential or possible views of our youth' Anytime a constitutional right is denied, the loss may cause many number of issues For example, if we denying a student the freedom to read any book, they wish reduces their freedom. This limitation may provide the child to develop a narrower outlook as their viewpoints maybe less insightful. Once we find that this constitutional right has been compromised, we wonder what right we will lose next. Using censorship is not right as it goes against everything this country was built on, the freedom to write or express ourselves in anyway. “While the attempt to keep children pure for as long as possible is admirable, it takes the form of leaving gaping holes in their education, if not academically, then about life” (LifeScripts, p.1, 2007). There are many educational entities believe that providing a process of restricting literature and other works are necessary to protect our youth. However, there are others believing that a child can still reach their full intellectual potential even if they do not have all the facts or information. Children reading which monitored or is censored may in many ways protect the child from obscene, vulgar or otherwise questionable material. While learning entities and parents censor some historic topics to be taught in their educational districts’, many times they are doing this to protect the youth from being introduced to history, which is viewed to graphic for the age, or to prevent the corruption of young and their vulnerable minds. So, whether it is the shame felt regarding the actual event, or attempts to protect our youth from the graphic and many times in human acts, history books are not to be used as a syllabus to history but as an outline for further inquiry (Tanner, (1971). Therefore, when attempting to cover the history of our country and the world, textbook are just tools, as the teachers’ introduction and continued emergent in learning can determine the success of learning process. It has been said that history repeats itself, therefore; if we do not teach the historical events which now are look upon as travesties, will we not risk a repeating of the same events' While implementing restrictive worldviews can allow the youth to grow and mature and make sound decisions, but having been introduced to half truths or partial events can plant the seeds of bigotry; along with developing a belief that that those of other cultures who believe differently must be misinformed or uneducated. Upon review of some textbooks, some events are only half truths or watered down when addressing how the Civil War tore our nation in half, or how the ever touchy topics of the Holocaust practiced inhuman acts, and how our school children are introduced to the subject which are twisted on some points to hide the conspiracy of the real number of lives affected was changed from the 6 million lives to 2 million (School Textbooks In The United States). There has to at one point, take steps to stop so much censorship so that the injustices’, no matter what they were are remembered from how the African Americans who were abused in our society, to the views of sexual gender in the workforce, to sexual lifestyle discrimination. There are many other events that have occurred, in our United States and around the world that has affected the world we live in today, and we must not be like an ostrich and stick our heads in the sand, and allow historic travesties’ happen again. When focusing on censorship with the educational realms, it would seem logical to allow the librarian to choose the books which are offered for the students to read. The librarian would be aware of what is appropriate for the age of the student to assist in the development while supporting the current curriculum (West Virginia State Board of Education, V. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943). There is a very fine line between censorship and protectiveness when attempting to protect our youth. Some level of censorship is essential to prevent the corruption of young and vulnerable minds. Censorship in democratic nations continues to be fought around issues of prurience and obscenity, which primarily revolves around issues such as dissent and political expression. A process of banning literature and other works can never provide positive effects on the learning process. It is also evident that even though school boards and teachers have the control what our youth of America are exposed to, this power is not always in the students best interest. There are some literature works written in a time that the language used was not in attempts to belittle, as the writings of Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have been banned because of the racial references, which offended some people. The ever popular, Harry Potter was banned in many schools, as they believe that the writings teach witch craft. The most unbelievable book which was banned is the, “The Little Engine That Could” was racial as the engine was deemed male, therefore; a California District deemed it as sexist (Ravitch, 2003). Diane Ravitch, maintains that America’s students are compelled to read insipid texts that have been censored and bowdlerized, issued by publishers who willingly cut controversial material from their books—a case of the blind leading the blind (Ravitch, p. 214,2003). Darwinism has been the beginning of many an argument. As Darwin deals with the theory of mans existence is derived from the evolution from monkeys, would it not be right to allow the religious meaning of “God’s Creation,” however, the law says church and state are separate. Even if the student does not believe in the Darwin theory, it may allow others to believe or develop theories, which may be helpful to society. : Theories in science explain a proven fact about something in the universe. Theories being as a hypothesis, which at the time it is proven, it becomes a theory. After much research and deliberation, the theory is then a law or formula of how things react to a given stimuli (Church, 2011). If every theory was dismissed, we could only believe that we would still be in the dark ages. The classes are taught to gender exclusive, which eliminates the possible embarrassment among students or teachers. The class provides factual reproductive terms and the advantages that this knowledge will provide to the student. Knowledge is power and this class will be able to demonstrate the consequences of practicing unsafe sex and how sexually diseases are spread. Some classes even address the gender issue of same sex interaction. “Many argue that a child who is exposed to information will choose homosexuality as a way of life, just because they were introduced to the controversial life style”(Planned Parenthood, p. 1, 2012). When a student does have access to sex educational classes, the student will not have proper knowledge of birth control or sexually transmitted disease that would keep them safe and healthy. Worse yet is that the student will only learn from the whispers of the school yard friends. However, without proper education the student would believe the rumors and become very vulnerable to disease and unwanted pregnancies. Unfortunately the classroom study is subject to non print and multimedia censorship. The local school boards and principals take steps to restrict the materials that a teacher may or may not teach in their classroom. Many schools, in attempts to limit access to the Internet have installed filters which restrict access to the students who use the school computers. School districts must take steps to protect the students as outlined in the Child Internet Protection Act, (CIPA). The classroom study is protected by censorship that the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress is well within their rights, to keep objectionable material from being viewed by students (Brown, 1994). Indirect censorships is in contrast to that of the direct censorship as it occurs when teachers self censor their classrooms. A teacher chooses the topics their students would be introduced by restricting a topic that the teacher feels may be controversial (Brown, 1994). Many times when a teacher believes that the proposed topic will incur hostile parents, they take it upon themselves to not teach that topic or material. This is just the first step of allowing bias and personal feelings to get a foothold in our learning facilities. Censoring the information taught to a child can have both positive and negative effects on the students’ intellectual potential. Most approved textbooks introduce, “knowledge in ways appropriate to the cognitive, affective, and social growth of learners. The fact that textbooks have served historically as prime targets for censorship of ideas is testimony that textbooks are powerful media for emergent, and even divergent, learning”(Tanner, p. 2507, 1971). It is an extremely difficult task in providing a learning program which allows the students to reach their maximum capacity. Therefore, it is important for educators to develop an insight into the effect that censoring will have on the learning process. As the student learn and grow, they will be able to overcome any small negative effect that fully disclosed learning allows. However, determining when the student is mature enough to overcome the negative effects of censorship is a tough decision for educators, teachers, and parents in deciding when full disclosure is acceptable. Reference American Library Association. "Challenged and Banned Books." American Library Association. Oct. 2005, p. 21-22 Retrieved from: www.ala.org/advocacy/banned Attacks on the Freedom to Learn. Washington, D.C. People for the American Way. 1996, 31 Retrieved from: http://www.utc.edu/Administration/DepartmentalHonors/MorganReb.pdf Brown, Jean. (Ed.). (1994). Preserving Intellectual Freedom: Fighting Censorship in Our Schools. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Retrieved: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/censorship of non-print Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children, Life Script Connect Contributor Published July 05, 2007, Retrieved from: http://www.lifescript.com/Life/Family/Kids/Censorship_In_Schools_And_The_Effects_On_Our_Children.aspx'gclid=CLmh6vqwv60CFUG8KgodGkoaBg&trans=1&du=1&ef_id=rpBOocO12W8AAAAK:20120108023010:s LifeScripts Connect Contributor, (2007), Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children, p.1, Retrieved from: http://www.lifescript.com/life/family/kids/censorship_in_schools_and_the_effects_on_ou r_children.aspx Overview, School Textbooks In The United States- Curriculum, Education, National and Nations- State Univeristy.com; Retrieved from: Http://educational .stateuniversity.com/pages 2507/Textbooks.html#ixzz1jYLcEGby Planned Parenthood, (2012), Tools for Educators, Implementing Sex Education, p. 1, Retrieved from:http://www.plannedparenthood.org/resources/implementing-sex-education- 23516.htm Ratvitch, Diane, (2003), The Language Police: How Pressure Groups restrict what students Learn, Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Lanugage-Police-Pressure-Restrict- Students, p.214/dp/-375414827 Tanner, D. (1971). Secondary Curriculum: Theory and Development. New York: Macmillan. Overview, School Textbooks In The United States- Curriculum, Education, National and Nations-State Univeristy.com; Retrieved @ Http://educational .stateuniversity.com/pages 2507/Textbooks.html#ixzz1jYLcEGby West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Supreme Court Retrieved from: http://supreme.justia.com/us/319/624/case.html