Argumentative Essay: The Banning Of Books In Schools

Through out recent years, many popular books such as ‘catcher in the rye’, ‘the grapes of wrath’ and ‘to kill a mockingbird’ have been placed on the banned books list due to racial slurs. Often, the decision wether to let students have access to these book is made by the school administration or individual teachers. As I was a freshman attending high school I vividly remember our teacher assigning us to read ‘to kill a mockingbird’. It was discussed that the book contained some racial slurs that students may have not encountered before, as I glared across the classroom, it was evident that many were beginning to feel uncomfortable. Little did we all know, the book provided us excellent education. Not only did we learn the real meaning of these
racial slurs, but we also saw a glimpse of what it was like back then to be a black man on trial. For many of us students, learning these racial slurs prevented us from repeating them in public because we saw the history that was attached to them. I believe that if we were not exposed to this book containing racial slurs it would have prevented us from learning some of the ugly truths that our country took part in. Overall, books containing these racial slurs should not be banned due to the fact that we live in a country with freedom of speech and it would due nothing but shelter kids from some important aspects of our countries history.
Auttrey 2 As stated before, we live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. The first amendment in our constitution clearly protects our freedom of speech, which is why I was puzzled when I first found out some schools were able to ban books. Not only does the first amendment protect freedom of speech, it also determines the way we are able to receive speech. 50 years ago, Justice William Douglas wrote for the U.S. Supreme Court “The right of freedom of speech and press includes not only the right to utter or to print, but the right to distribute, the right to receive, the right to read and freedom of inquiry.” If we start to ban books due to the fact that it contains some racial slurs, it becomes a slippery slope. If schools are allowed to work around the first amendment, it can become unclear what can be banned and what cannot. The second topic is that banning books would prevent kids from learning the valuable lessons that they present. Wether it be small or big I believe that every book offers some lesson that may be impactful to the reader. Before having read ‘to kill a mockingbird’ I knew about racial slurs but I wasn't aware of how prominent they were in our history and the impact that these words had on people. Through having read this book the entire class had learned that nobody should be accused/ or judged based on there skin color, which I have found to be a very impactful lesson in my life. If an individual isn't exposed to these books they might not know the true meaning or the history that a certain word might have. Without knowing the impact of a certain racial slur people are much more likely to use it to try to degrade another individual. I think it’s also important to view the opposite side of this argument. Someone who grew up in a racist environment might have different opinions when it comes to banning these certain books. As mentioned above, when my teacher had told the class that we were reading a book
Auttrey 3 with racial slurs many students, including myself, got nervous.
If it is not handled appropriately then in some cases it can make it worse for kids who are being bullied due to their skin color. Due to these factors, I think that books with racial slurs should be provided and available in libraries but not assigned as a mandatory reading. If a student wants the option to educate themselves through reading these books they will have the option to. But making it optional will prevent any student from feeling uncomfortable or become a victim of bullying. In closing, I believe that schools should not have the ability to ban books based on its content because it deprives kids from important lessons and goes against our countries first amendment. I can personally say that I am very thankful for my teacher to have exposed us to the book ‘to kill a mockingbird’ due to what it taught me. Unfortunately racism is still present in 2017, if kids don't learn the history behind these words through certain books they will run into them in other ways such as the media. I believe that if a child is introduced to these words through media and other means it can lead to bullying in classrooms since they don't know the true value of the word. Hopefully as the years continue to pass by, the list of banned or challenged books will continue to
shrink.