Censorship In Schools

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William Barnard WR 121 Essay 1.2 10/18/10 Censorship in Schools: Ignoring The First Amendment Since 1980 Judy Blume, famous author of multiple “banned” books, once wrote, regarding how one feels when a piece of their work gets censored, “Chilling. It’s easy to become discouraged, to second- guess everything you write.”* Blume wrote this in the introduction of a book she edited about censorship. Blume, having experienced the feeling of having her work censored many times is an expert on this subject. Censorship in schools is bad for not only does it discourage writers, it limits what students can read, write, and most importantly, learn about. Books should not be banned in schools, because they teach valuable life lessons that students should learn before adulthood. Lessons such as how to express yourself, and just about any lesson you could think of. The number of life lessons taught by books is infinite for there is no limit to what one can and cannot teach through writing. This is why books are the best sources for life lessons. No books should ever be banned because for each book that is banned, there possibly could be one life lesson that will not be learned by the next generation. Censorship of books in schools and libraries is wrong for it limits what students can potentially learn. Books such as To Kill a Mocking Bird, Of Mice and Men, and others teach valuable life lessons, which is why they are considered classics. Books such as these are being banned for they have questionable material. In the same book introduction as the opening quote, Judy Blume wrote, “Those who were most active in trying to ban books cam from the ‘religious right’ but the impulse to censor spread like a contagious disease. Other parents, confused and uncertain, were happy to jump on the bandwagon. Book banning satisfied their need to feel in control of their children’s
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