Children Censorship

Children Censorship In their article An Exploratory Study of Children’s Views of Censorship, Isajlovic and McKechnie present the idea that instead of adults making decisions about censorship, children should have their voice heard on the matter. A study was performed with a focus group of six children ranging in age from nine to twelve, differing in home life and backgrounds. The group was then asked how they felt about censorship, whether they thought that certain books in the library should be restricted from children of certain ages, and if they felt parents should tell their kids what they can and cannot read. At the end of the article, the authors agree that “Children should be seen as trusted and knowledgeable partners when it comes to deciding what is and what is not appropriate for them to read.” (42). Isajlovic and McKechnie effectively support their argument through the focus group study. The children’s responses show understanding that some materials should not be read by certain children but the decision should be made individually. Additionally, the authors use a column from Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom to demonstrate that nobody voices children’s opinions only the concerns of adults. An underlying assumption that the authors make is the cultural view of freedom. Raised in western culture, people feel very strongly about a sense of free will and independence. However, this is not a shared worldwide view. Some societies do not believe everyone has the privilege of thinking for himself or herself. A weak spot in the argument was when the children were discussing location of the books in the library. The idea throughout the article is supporting that children have the right to think for themselves. When the topic about where the books should and should not be located is brought up, the point becomes a little foggy and strays off the main idea. However, all in all the article was successful in supporting the idea that children can and should

Cited: Isajlovic-Terry, Natasha and Lynne (E.F.) McKechnie. “An Exploratory Study of Children’s Views of  Censorship.” Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children. Spring 2012. 38-43. Proquest. Web. 7 July 2013. Reflection This reading did not change the way I thought about reading but rather just affirmed my opinion even more. I’ve always felt strongly that books alone should never be limited or out of reach for anybody. I started reading young adult and mature novels in fifth grade and I can honestly say that reading challenging books at a young age has a direct hand in my reading, comprehension skills, and vocabulary. In the article, Anne Curry states “Books that deal openly with controversial subjects are the ones young people like the best. . . . One of the most important responsibilities we assume as librarians is to make sure older children and young adults get these lifelines. We need to provide them with challenging books, including controversial ones, in the areas of the library where they can most easily find them—the children’s/young adult shelves.” I agree completely with Curry, everyone of every age should have access to challenging reads.