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Lydia Morrison

Professor Hellmers

English 1101

26 July 2019

Is Banning Books from Schools Effective?

Book banning is a very old practice that has been used to regulate the information passed

between the minds of the people. Books have been banned and burned all over the world.

Governments often ban books to control the flow of ideas among the people they rule, despite

the fair amount of people against it. Recently, books are banned less, and more people have

access to books previously banned or challenged. But governments are not the only ones who

ban books to restrict the spread of ideas and information. Public schools all over ban books from

their libraries. They keep books out of their buildings and curricula, often because of little more

than a complaint from a parent. Books are banned because of little more than the mention of

violence, a single LGBTQ couple, or even a character that doesn’t do what they’re told. Schools

should not ban books from their libraries because this practice withholds information from

students, creating a lack of empathy and awareness that can leave them unprepared to face the

world.

Because book banning is such an old practice, books were banned in schools for reasons

like being “Un-Christian” or having religious topics in them. (Flowers, Paragraph 6) Even now,

books are banned and challenged for these reasons. This is long after beliefs have started to
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change, and people are becoming more accepting of other beliefs. Yet, books are still banned

because they include LGBTQ topics and characters.

The problem with banning books because they mention a modern issue is how it affects

their view of the world. A student with no exposure or background information of slavery and

the Civil Rights Movement may not understand the history of racism or the extent of oppression.

Banning a book about the oppression of slaves because it included racism ruins the point of the

book. While the ban makes sense because the book was about racism, the book was more than

likely written to show what happened was wrong.

The most frequent reasons for bans in schools are parent complaints. According to the

ALA, 2,535 of the 3,540 bans since the year 2000 were because of parents. (ALA) These cases

occur when a parent finds out their kid has brought a book home from school. Upon further

investigation, the parent discovers the book contains content and topics that go against their own

personal beliefs and religions. The parent, furious that their child has access to books that have a

slightly controversial topic. Parents like this are why Captain Underpants, a perfectly innocent

children’s book, because the main characters actions were “encouraging disruptive behavior.”

(ALA) The book series was also challenged because it had one homosexual couple in it. Parents

made demands of the school boards to keep their children from finding books that go against

their personal beliefs. While parents mean well, they can create a problem for everyone.

While parents have the right to control the amount of exposure to the world their children

have, they do not have the right to control what other children read. A ban on a book can affect

the whole class. Banning books from a school’s library can affect the whole school.
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Banning books can have negative consequences on the students. Students develop most

of their social habits at school. This is where students begin to learn social cues to go with the

ability to read and write. Books can help children develop empathy towards the main characters.

To fully understand the characters and their actions, the reader needs to begin to guess and

empathize with them. (Johnson, Page 306) This helps the reader establish the healthy habit of

reading people. Understanding people is a trait that students will use for the rest of their

lifetimes.

Furthermore, sometimes books can provide the students with a good insight on what’s

happening in the world around them. Books among the genre of historical fiction can give

students a peek into what living during a specific time period was like. Classics like To Kill a

Mockingbird by Harper Lee were banned and challenged in 2017 because of racism. (ALA) To

Kill a Mockingbird was both written in a time full of racial inequality and created awareness

about it. Other classics written when racism was acceptable and thus included a little bit of it are

still challenged today, but they just increase awareness and spread knowledge of how things used

to be.

Realistic and historical fiction can spread knowledge of how things are today.

They can help students walk in someone else’s shoes. Reading realistic fiction can help students

learn about the world they live in. Often, books about the Holocaust and World War II are

banned for violence and racism. While this is an understandable cause for banning these books,

books about the Holocaust can help students better understand what people had to go through.

One such book, called Briar Rose, is a twist on Sleeping Beauty. This time, it’s set in Nazi

Germany. The book has an important message, but was banned, challenged, and burned because

it included both information about the Holocaust and a gay man. (Boyd, Pages 653-654) This
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book was banned from several schools, despite the importance and power of its message. With

an awareness of the past, students can fight to keep scenarios like the Holocaust from ever

happening again.

Parents and teachers alike may argue the banning of books can help protect the innocent

minds of elementary schoolers. Young children are more easily manipulated to believe in

everything they read, and some books are too graphic for elementary schoolers or even high

schoolers. Thus, reading a book telling a detailed account of the Holocaust may cause problems

among young students. However, there is an easier solution. One that doesn’t require preventing

the entirety of the student body from reading a book. Organizing the shelves in the library by

grade; keeping the books intended for older audiences in places restricted to the older audiences.

Many schools have already begun introducing their own alternative systems, from putting books

on their own shelves to requiring parent permission. While restricting books still regulates what

children read, it still provides access to books. These schools have shown banning books is not

always the best solution.

Books can increase empathy and teach students to read between the lines. they can help

students later in life by teaching them about other people and the world around them. Banning

books keeps students from having access to key information when there are better ways to go

about making sure students aren’t reading something inappropriate or violent. Schools are

beginning to accept the freedom students demand and are working toward pleasing both parents

and students. Banning books in school libraries is not only ineffective, it withholds information

from the students.

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Works Cited
ALA admin. “Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists.” Advocacy, Legislation & Issues,
American Library Association, 9 Apr. 2019,
www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10. Accessed 19 July
2019

Boyd, Fenice B., and Nancy M. Bailey. “Censorship in Three Metaphors.” Journal of Adolescent
& Adult Literacy, vol. 52, no. 8, May 2009, pp. 653–661. Academic Search
Complete, doi:10.1598/JAAL.52.8.1. Accessed 17 July 2019.

Flowers, Helen F. “Inquiring Students Want to Know: Who Tries to Ban Books and
Why?” Book Report, vol. 13, no. 5, Mar. 1995, p. 13. Academic Search
Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9503213214&site=eho st-live. Accessed 17 July 2019.

Johnson, Dan R., et al. "Potentiating Empathic Growth: Generating Imagery While Reading
Fiction Increases Empathy and Prosocial Behavior." Psychology of Aesthetics,
Creativity, and the Arts, vol. 7, no. 3, 2013, pp. 306-312. OhioLINK
Electronic Journal Center, doi:10.1037/A0033261. Accessed 21 July, 2019.