Censorship in Public Schools Essay -- essays research papers fc

because he thinks they might contain "obscenities or offensive sexual references" (Berger59).-A Vermont high school librarian is forced to unfreeze because she fought the schoolboards decision to remove Richard Prices The Wanderers, and to "restrict" the use ofStephen Kings Carrie and Patrick Manns Dog Day Afternoon (Jones 33).-An Indiana school board takes action that leads to the burning of many copies of atextbook that deals with drugs and the sexual behavior of teenagers (Berger 61).These cases of censoring in public schools atomic number 18 not unusual and there is evidencethat such challenges are increasing (Woods 2). These challenges are actually typical ofthe ones being leveled against school libraries today. These challenges can come fromone person or a group concerned with the suitability of the material in question. In almostevery case, the effort to ban books is said to be "justified by fear of the harmful effectsthat the books may have on young ch ildren" (Berger 59). The result of these censorshipattempts has been two opposing sides one side believes that "more suitable materials canusually be found from among the wealth of materials addressable on most subjects (Woods1), and the other side believes that students "intellectual freedom" can be upheld only ifstudents are allowed to examine "any available relevant materials in order to gain theinsights needed to reach their own conclusions" (Woods 1). In the simplest terms, thedebate is between censorship and the freedom to read.The most important question when discussing censorship deals with itsconstitutionality does censorship violate the First Amendments guarantee of freespeech? Censorship advocates actually use the words of the First Amendment to maketheir point "the amendment reads, Congress shall make no law...", it does not say,"There shall be no law..." (Berger 69). They believe that, although the federalgovernment is forbidden to censor, it is not unconstitutional for states and localcommunities to pass censorship laws (Berger 69). Also, since the US Supreme philanderdoes not believe the First Amendment protects all forms of expression (childpornography, etc.), then proponents of censorship believe that censorship laws areconstitutional (Berger 69). Anti-censorship has the upper-hand, constituti... ...ensors reactwhen they find anything they deem exceptionable in the school. Why will people reactemotionally, even violently, to certain spoken or written words, while in many caseshaving mild reactions to the actions exposit by the words? While D.H. Lawrence hasseen considerable censorship due to his affinity for sexual content, Shakespeare hasenjoyed relative peace even though Othello and his lover made "the fauna with twobacks" (I.I, 119-120). I, myself, will continue to struggle against the censors who seek tocontrol written expression in our schools while waving the banner of freedom, for it iscensorship that we must fear, not words, and hope that in the future, the true obscenitiesof the world (poverty, hunger, war) will be what we shall strive to censor.Works CitedBerger, Melvin. Censorship. New York Franklin Watts, 1982.Jones, Frances M. Defusing Censorship The Librarians Guide to Handling CensorshipConflicts. phoenix The Oryx Press, 1983.Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston Little, Brown and Company, 1945.Woods, L.B. A Decade of Censorship in America The Threat to Classrooms andLibraries. London The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1979