Tgif is a weekly meme hosted and created by Ginger at Greads. This feature lets us wrap up the week and also poses a weekly question pertaining to blogging, books and what have you. This weeks question:
Banned Books: How do you feel about the censorship of the freedom to read? Do you think the education system needs to be more strict on what children are exposed to in books?
I think most book bloggers, myself included will band together and agree that book censorship is wrong.
Adults should be able to read whatever they choose and no government or committee should deem otherwise. For instance say you're a person that likes to read "how to" manuals about molesting kids, well then you're a sick pervert and if you're doing that to kids you should go to jail were another sick pervert is reading a manual on how to molest new inmates.
And here comes the part where people wanna slap me...
There is a huge gray area when dealing with children- I am first and most importantly a parent and I believe some books can do more harm than good. I do not want a teacher or an educator to expose my child to something that she's not ready for -OR- before I've had a chance to discuss it with her first, and here is a huge reason why I read YA and the reading lists that the teachers provide. Thankfully I live in a district where many of the parents are involved and the librarian and teachers give out lists of recommended and available classroom reading, hence, why we choose this particular school district.
In all honesty- really ask this question- are there any books out there right that we can't go to Amazon and buy? Banning does not equal illegal, I've only heard of a few book banning's in public schools and banning in schools is a community, parental and school district decision, its not an act against freedom, if a book has been pulled off a public school library shelf and you want your kid to read it....go buy it.....This could go on and on, get ugly and cause fights, so I tend to stay out of the book banning drama, but my stance is when it comes down to it- its a parents job to decide what their kids are reading. Its also a parents job to keep up with whats being taught at school, what books your kids are picking out and what your child is exposed to. Not even the best parent can police a kid 24/7 with the culture we live in, but we can at least be involved and prepared for whats coming.
My teen (15) just finished Bitter End and The Hate List by Jennifer Brown, while both were very mature books, I felt as her mother she could handle it, after she read it, we talked about abusive relationships, the signs of an unhealthy partner, violence and sexual relationships in teen dating. But another parent may not feel the same way I do about these books, so it would not be my place to share them with another child. I expect the same respect from another adult, be it a teacher or other, concerning my children.
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Tgif
Win a Copy of The Crown on Your Head Ends 10/1
Have a great weekend folks, eat popcorn and watch a good movie...Ill be reading The Faerie Ring and starting Season three of Friday Night Lights.
I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO with you. I really feel it's up to a parent to choose what a child reads and if a parent wants a book for their child, they can go to Amazon and buy it. I like the idea of the school or teacher's not being able to expose my child to certain books. When I have a child that age, I want my child to come to me for a book they can't get at school and allow me to decide.
ReplyDeleteKudos for saying what some of us have been thinking but not announcing.
I so agree with you too about being a parent and discussing books with our kids. Cheers
ReplyDeleteMy parents gave me freedom to read books and will give that to my kids and will discuss it with them. It my job to parent and not the state or school districts responsibility and banned books.
I completely agree that every parent should have the right to determine what is appropriate for their child, just as it's every adult's right to choose what they want to read, no one should dictate that for us. I can't believe some of these books that have been banned and the reasons behind it, absolutely ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteNice post! I'd definitely concur.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a great mom, T! I think it is wonderful that you and your daughter discussed those issues openly.
ReplyDeleteIs Friday Night Lights on netflixs? I'll have to go see. Heh.
While I do totally agree that it is up to a parent to decide what their child reads. I don't necessarily agree that it's a parents place to decide what is read in the classroom. First off, parents aren't trained as teachers and often what a book is and how its taught can be two completely different things. I've just had some bad experiences with parents banning books and ideas from my school based on their personal opinion versus what is best for the class at large.
ReplyDeleteConsiderations can always be made on a child by child basis...Its just really hard being on the educational side of this discussion...
Not all parents are as involved in books and what their kids are reading as you! ;)
I concur, your child reading a mature book with out discussion could led to darker pastures. The discussion was great.
ReplyDeleteoh i must invite you over to my blog
ReplyDeletehttp://sidnebkclubreviewz.blogspot.com
Excellent. Banned in a school library doesn't exactly equal banned. Go buy it. I love having a reading relationship with my kid. It provides lots of opportunities for discussing all this tough parent topics.
ReplyDeleteJuju and Julie @Alexa- thanks..:D I do think a lot of us (at least I know I do) about this topic because it can get so heated and make people angry.
ReplyDeleteJenny- Yup- adults do have that right- thank goodness we live in a country that allows it.
@Missie- thanks friend..:) I try and be up front with my kids, thats why I feel the way I do- I want to be the one to expose my children to certain things...not teachers or television or sadly other kids....
@Sarah- I agree, a teacher has been educated to make certain choices for the classroom, and Im not going to tell a math teacher how to teach Algebra. I meant for me as a parent- in the terms of sexual material and fiction reading that there are lines teachers and educators should not cross with minors. Im pretty open with my kids so Im not one to march into a school demanding book bannings, however there are certain things I don’t want my children reading until they are old enough for it. A lot of banned books aren’t used for education proposes anyway, they are books on the library shelf or a book a teacher has recommended them to read (for fun or free reading) I think maybe one Ive heard of is Speak- which is used in some English classes……
@Amy- yup- I wish more parents cared about what their kids were reading. On the flip side of that I wish more parents would stop having a knee-jerk reaction to books they prob havent read....
Ohhhhhh, I so agree with you! Good job parenting! I just put my banned books thoughts on my blog: http://myonlyvice.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteJulie @ My Only Vice
Tina, we are very much alike, I have a very open relationship with my children, as well.
ReplyDeleteI want them to always be able to come to me with any problem and sometimes books can be a great opener.
My son just finished The Hunger Games series and it gave us a lot to talk about plus it opened up some doors to other subjects.
Fantastic article/post! I like your attitude :o]
Plus, I'm a new follower and really glad to meet you!
I want to start by saying that I wish all parents were as involved as you. I think you're 100% right that parents should be deciding what is best for their child. The problem with banning is that parents are making choices on behalf of other parents. You cannot choose what is or isn’t right for someone else (even in a school). A library, any library, is built on the belief of freedom of access and choice and while you always have the choice for what your kids read, by banning a book you’re taking away that choice from another parent.
ReplyDelete