tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post2980769033851045587..comments2023-10-15T10:55:42.537-05:00Comments on This That and the Other Thing: Banned Books Week: Another OpinionRAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-84883512407280660242014-09-22T17:26:48.562-05:002014-09-22T17:26:48.562-05:00If you have that strong an objection to something ...If you have that strong an objection to something your kid is assigned to read in school, then I think you have the right to limit the exposure of *your* kid - alternative classes, alternative reading assignments, all the way up to pulling your kid from the school - but not the right to dictate what the *other* kids in class are exposed to. <br /><br />Right now, my high school kid's English class has one book the entire class reads - I think it might be The Giver, but I'm not 100% sure - and another they get to choose. He chose One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Having read that book [a long time ago!!] I get that some parents might object to it, but I don't believe they have the right to have it removed from the list.<br /><br />I agree that the schools should be subordinate to parents - but that's a plurality and shouldn't be dictated by one or a few.Michelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04306275747304783618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-84743646368185349332014-09-22T16:52:10.200-05:002014-09-22T16:52:10.200-05:00But what is "banning"? Was the mom refe...But what is "banning"? Was the mom referenced above "banning" a book? Am I banning a book if I object to its use in the classroom? Lots of folks have gone to court (and won) to ban the use of a very old, very well-known, very respected book (The Bible) in public school classrooms. That mom I told you about probably would be aghast if I suggested she was advocating censorship, but she was sure trying to control the books to which kids at that school had access. <br /><br />I personally have no problem with the books you listed and while there may be some who try mightily to get them removed from a school library, I think more protests about those books come about when the books are assigned reading. When you assign a book to my child you are controlling what ideas are allowed to access his/her brain. Yes, those ideas could get there without your help, but when you assign the book, discuss the book or otherwise make my child (or me) read it, you are exerting control. Who gives you the right to do that? <br /><br />I'm not advocating taking parental votes on every book in every library, but I do think that schools are subordinate to parents and that parents have the right and responsibility to form their children's outlook on life. RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13263155.post-34684945631137374152014-09-22T16:19:00.055-05:002014-09-22T16:19:00.055-05:00Often, these books that are challenged and banned ...Often, these books that are challenged and banned are books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, etc. <br /><br />But in answer to the question about positive spins on things you find morally repugnant---there is a difference between banning a book for others and asking that your own kids not read it. It's your discretion what your kids read; but it is not your discretion what my kids read---or what I read. Banning books is a way of controlling what others think and have access to. No one has that right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com