Controversial Books Should Be Banned In Schools

A major goal many schools aim for is to provide young students with substantial knowledge of the amazingly diverse world they live in. Although this seems to be the case, more than 11,300 books have been challenged for controversial material since 1982; 311 books were challenged recently in 2014 (American Library Association). The fact that books are constantly being banned illustrates how in many schools, knowledge is being withheld from students. Although some students may be sensitive to controversial material, banning books from their school libraries is damaging because it takes away their rights, limits their academic skills, and promotes erasure of “controversial” topics. People need knowledge outside the school curriculum to grow, and
However, what this argument overlooks is that those risky topics can be accessed almost anywhere thanks to other forms of media. The internet, newspapers, and radio shows are all easily accessible and talk about contentious material. This view also fails to consider that readers are not bound to read every single controversial book. Students and their parents have a choice in whether or not content is appropriate for them, and the freedom to choose what they will be exposed to. Banning books is ineffective because “risky” material is everywhere, not just in schools, and it is robbing students of decision making skills and stopping them from learning what they are comfortable with. In closing, censorship in a high school library is not a good idea. Although it seems to protect students, censoring material takes away their rights, halts their development, and erases history to make it uncontroversial. If book banning continues, students will not have an environment where they are encouraged to learn, and will grow up with a narrow perspective on the