Dear Ms. Berner
Banning books has been a very controversial
issue in the United States for many years. Some teachers and parents have tried
to get books banned, but books should not be banned from the 6th
grade library in MS.51. Books should not be banned because young adults have
the right to know and learn about issues in the world that are present in these
books address Books allow for Teens to learn to deal with issues that are found
in young adult literature by opening discussions around these issues
with their peers and adults. Overall, books should not be taken away from the 6th
grade library because although one book might not relate to one teen, that same
book could help another teen that is going through a struggle and provide them
with guidance.
Books should not be banned from the 6th
grade library because they teach young adults about issues that are going on in
the world. In the town of Katy Creek, Texas, a reporter named Debra Wrigley of
channel 13 ABC news reported that a
father named Alton Verm wanted to ban the book Fahrenheit 451 from his
daughter’s school curriculum. Ironically, Fahrenheit 451 is about how
people took away books, and Alton Verm wanted to ban it. He wanted to ban the
novel because the bible was burned in the book to stop people from reading it.
Although the book Fahrenheit 451 is fictional it still has a lesson that
can be applied to real life that books are the key to knowledge. Alton Verm
wanted to censor the book even though much of the school’s population liked the
book or found that it was their favorite novel to read. This should not be able
to happen because one person’s opinion about a book should not have an effect on
another individual’s reading preference, especially if the person who is
dictating your reading life isn’t your parent.
Another
example of banning in high school was explained in the video called “Banned in
Stockon.” In the video some of the teachers and parents were trying to ban
Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian,
while others were fighting the ban. The video explained that while the teachers
were trying to ban the book a student spoke and said that the book was based on
a true story and should not be banned because it taught people that “if the main
character could do it and he had a lot more problems than me, then I can do
anything I put my mind to.” This shows how the lessons that are portrayed in
books can be used as guidance to deal with the issues that might be occurring
in a teenagers’ life. This also explains how people deserve to know about the
issues presented in books and the lessons that come with them.
Another example of how books provide guidance
for young adults is in the article, “Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-
Censorship Manifesto,” by Ellen Hopkins. In the text Hopkins says, “I have
received tens of thousands of messages thanking me for turning them around.”
This proves how Hopkins’s young adult literature has changed the lives of teens
in a positive way. Another example how books provide guidance is because they
can help people through issues. For example, in the text by Ellen Hopkins said,
“Books show outcomes to choices. And offer understanding.” This idea supports
how books can help young adults cope with issues and provide them with answers.
Many people may think that books have
become to dark or as Megan Cox Gurdon said in her article “Darkness to Visible”,
“Rifed with explicit abuse, violence and depravity.” Also, in the Guardian,
Maureen Johnson wrote, “Young Adult literature is inappropriate and denotes a
slipping of moral standards.” However, many teens are going through issues and
problems and are looking for ways to deal with them or sort them out. As Sherman
Alexie said in his article, “Books written in Blood,” “I write to give them
weapons in the form of words and ideas that will help them fight their
monsters.” As Sherman Alexie expressed, although young adult literature might
be dark for one person, for another teen that book could be their guidance.
This explains that some teens and adults might think that young adult
literature is dark and inappropriate, but that some literature can help someone
through hard times.
In conclusion, books should not be
banned from the 6th grade library because they provide teens with
guidance and educate them about issues that are occurring in the world. It is
wrong to hinder teens from reading these books because teens should be able to
have access to knowledge that might help them. All in all, books should not be
banned because they provide guidance for teens and educate teens about issues
in the world.
