Classic Literature in Schools

I remember back in high school Literature class one of the novels that we studied was one of the first classics that I ever fell in love with, To Kill a Mockingbird. This amazing book explores the moral nature of human beings and the issues with social inequality.

And the day I found out that some schools had banned this classic read, I was not very happy at all! Its honestly ridiculous the lengths that the classification systems go to these days into banning products. The only reason why they banned the novel was because it was very "racist" and "sexually disturbing".

You know what? That was how it was back in those days, different races weren't allowed to do the same things that regular Americans could do. They couldn't share the same buses, buy the same things, even share the same toilet! This novel is realistic and looks back on the days that we definitely do not want back! We're an equal country, maybe except for those who don't seem to have the same values as others.

We all see a person for how they are on the inside, not for what colour they are on the outside, so I don't see what the big problem is!

Many people are fighting the issue of book banning in schools, even children themselves! An organisation called kidSPEAK has been formed so that children can fight for their rights against beloved books of theirs being banned from school, such as the Harry Potter series being banned for "magical" themes.

But when there are people fighting for this cause, there are of course people fighting against the cause. but these people should be the people guiding their children not taking away things that shouldn't be taken away from them in the first place, these people are the parents.

Parents Against Bad Books in Schools (PABBIS) is an organisation where parents go beyond wanting to restrict access to certain books for their own children, they seek to restrict access for other parents' children as well by getting one or more books removed from the library shelves or having access to the books restricted in some way.

A quote that was made by the American Library Association that I feel is very appropriate;

"It is appropriate for parents to guide their children’s reading, television viewing, and exposure to media as they see fit. The public library can assist in this process by providing reader’s advisory services, booklists, and other related services in a positive, pro-active manner. What they library should not do is act in loco parentis — in the place of the parents — either by limiting access to materials or services solely on the basis of the user’s age or by attempting to enforce parentally dictated controls."