Some folks had expressed interest in reading Banned Books and discussing them. This board is for you. A partial list of books that have been banned on a National or State level at one time or another is available at wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_books

I looked and I had only read a few and they were not bad.

I always think it is interesting to learn why a paticular book was "banned" and what my reactions are to that reason. I find myself strongly opposed to censorship at the government level, but more accepting of control at a more local level.

The question becomes, obviously, who has the right to say what is and isn't acceptable for any particular group. There are many books on that list that I wold not want my children exposed to in school, yet there were many that I have no issue with my children reading! I have had aprents object to books that i find perfectly acceptable, then turn around and give their child a book that won't allow my 12 year old to read yet! I noticed that where my children are concerned, I tend to be extremely conservative with sex and with graphic violence, less so with anti-establishment type books.

I would never expect my public library to ban a book, but I do expect my children's school to use good judgment in choosing what books are taught and made available. Because we are in a private school, I expect the books to be more reflective our the values espoused by the school.

Does thsi make sense or am I being hypocritical?

It makes sense, Mama. While many of us loved the movie Grease, I have been told the original script is quite different than the movie version. When the students wanted to put on the musical production, DH had the pleasure of educating the students about conflict with Church teachings. They weren't happy, but they did find another selection ... In To The Woods. I enjoyed that immensely.

My parents never banned the anti-establishment books either. They did, however, object to the 70's sitcoms, One Day at A Time and Welcome Back, Kotter. We never had the TV running during the early afternoon because Mom never watched soaps. She said they were "trash" and "not reality." We accepted that. To this day, I have never watched a soap opera and have no desire to change. My parents' objection to ODAAT was that it "made single motherhood glamorous/normal/acceptable" - not something they wanted us to aspire to create. As for "Kotter", they did not appreciate the angle of Teacher/Friend/Anti-Authority figure and the casual atmosphere in that classroom. They believe that was the beginning of the "dumbing down." "School was cool, and you could joke around, not do any work, graduate, and have all the things you want in life and have a good time." Again, not our reality.

Parents need to speak up if they find books to be objectionable as you said. School authorities don't always know and read every book cataloged in the school's library. DH has a policy of making teachers submit movies for approval with the lesson plan. If there is any question a parent, or a group of parents may object, permission slips must be signed. At the other extreme, last year a parent wanted the school to ban the Harry Potter and Twilight books. Her child brought home the book, but it was not for a required class assignment. The school wants to encourage students to read, read, read. These books were not banned.

My parents never told my sisters and me that there was anything we couldn't read. My dad didn't like us watching the TV show Married With Children, but he didn't make us turn it off. He just voiced his opinion.

There were always books around the house available to us, and nothing was ever off-limits. That's just how it was.

But if people want to be more conservative with their own children, I don't have a problem with that, to a point. When they get to a certain age, you gotta let go a little bit. (Not 12...)

I teach high school, and we have a summer reading project. The books for our incoming freshmen to read are Long Way Gone, which is the story of a boy soldier. It's his memoir, and it deals with current events. The other is Romiette and Julio, which is a modernized version of Romeo and Juliet, done by Sharon Draper, who is a well-respected young adult author. We've already had at least one incoming freshman parent object to the book choices. I don't know her rationale, but the principal has told us that we need to find an alternate selection for that kid.

The thing is, there are people who expect their kids to stay in a bubble, and that just can't happen.

At the other extreme, last year a parent wanted the school to ban the Harry Potter and Twilight books.

If she wants to ban them from her own child, that's her right, but she should realize that doing so is only going to make those books more enticing for her child...

I've got some serious mixed feelings about 'banning' books for kids.

First and foremost, I think that, within the law, every parent has a right to raise their child as they see fit. And if that includes keeping them from reading certain books, so be it.

That said, I don't think schools should be the ones banning books. What one parent finds inappropriate, another would be fine with their child reading. Schools should be in the business of sharing information, not hiding it. But, if a parent doesn't want their child exposed to that info or book, I think they should consider home schooling. Or, perhaps school libraries should only be open to kids whose parents have signed a sort of book permission slip.

I was lucky enough to go to a Catholic high school where we read a number of banned books.
It's a really difficult issue, deciding where a parent's rights end and a school's begins.
LunaSea

I agree with Brandy here. At some point as parents we need to be able to let our children read with their own judgment.

In high school I had a teacher hand out photocopies of a book because the originals had all fallen apart. Apparently, a parent had been upset by the use of the F-word in one of the stories included in the short story book. The result was that the offending story was ripped from the student copies greatly hastening their demise. I think it is reasonably safe to assume that every junior in high school has heard the F-word somewhere before. Also, I can say that most if not all of my classmates checked-out the offending book at the public library and read the story anyway.

Exactly.

I just found out a local school banned Harry Potter from its library. Grrrr. Is it even legal for school to ban books on religious grounds? What happened to separation of church and state? I cannot understand why schools ban books that make children enjoy reading.

I totally know what you mean. I can't, for the life of me, imagine banning a book from my children, assuming it's of an age appropriate nature of course. Book banning makes me shudder, but as usual, I try to play devil's advocate with issues, just to try to understand where the other side is coming from. Doing that gave me this hint of understanding...

Harry Potter portrays a religion/life philosophy, that many people find deeply offensive, in a very positive light that could easily sway impressionable, young readers. If a school made available, to one of my kids a highly popular and convincing book about racism and gay bashing, I'd probably be upset. And for many people, this is a totally proper analogy. The Christian bible says "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". (Though, many scholars agree that the original Hebrew word in the text is 'chaspah' which means 'poisoner', not 'witch') But according to their belief system, witchcraft should not only not be tolerated or read about, but the practitioners should be killed. I can easily see how people would be upset by the book.

Now, do I think age appropriate books should be banned? No, of course not. I think that parents who have concerns about their child's reading material should know what they're reading. Check in with the school librarian and review their loan history. But, that said, I can at least empathize with them. Banning books for religious conflict does seem wrong, but so does ignoring an entire social set's ethics.

LunaSea

If a school made available, to one of my kids a highly popular and convincing book about racism and gay bashing, I'd probably be upset. And for many people, this is a totally proper analogy

What a thought provoking analogy! I guess I have trouble viewing Harry Potter as a book with a religious agenda. (And yes, I am a practicing member of a Christian religion) but I do censor what my children read when, especially relating to sexual behavior. I guess it is not that different.

That said, I do not advocate banning books from public institutions! I think it is perfectly acceptable to require parental permission for possibly controversial books but I really am tired of catering to the vocal minority! Just because I don't want my 12 yo reading Marked, for example, does not mean that nobody else should have access to it either!

Its about personal responsibility people!

Mama Stork, preaching to the choir

That said, I do not advocate banning books from public institutions! I think it is perfectly acceptable to require parental permission for possibly controversial books but I really am tired of catering to the vocal minority! Just because I don't want my 12 yo reading Marked, for example, does not mean that nobody else should have access to it either!

Exactly. I totally agree. I don't think all books are for all children, but I believe it should be the parents' job to decide which books they want their children to read or not read, not the schools'.

Last year we had to pick a controversial topic to do our huge research paper on for English, and I chose the banning of books. It was probably my favorite paper I have ever written.

-Lilac Butterfly

It's funny, speedsqure, "Grease" was the only play my high school drama teach sware she'd never do. Her feelings were that the ending sent the wrong message to young girls: "If you dress like a hussy and smoke cigarettes, the cool guys will respect you." At the time I couldn't see the big deal. The music was fun. Now that I'm older, I have to agree with her.