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Teachers challenge book ban


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By Alexandra Svokos, Huffington Post

While some parents want certain books removed from schools, teachers are remembering the important reasons to keep them in the classroom.

This week is the 32nd annual Banned Books Week, described by organizers as a “celebration of the freedom to read.” Books have been banned from libraries and schools for reasons that range from religious viewpoints to sexual and drug references. In 2013, the American Library Association, or ALA, recorded 307 challenges — that is, formal complaints for a book to be removed from a school or library.

From January 2013 through August 2014, “sexually explicit,” “offensive language,” and “unsuited for age group” were the most commonly cited reasons for challenging a book, according to the ALA. Texas had the most book challenges at 114. “The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie was the most frequently challenged title nationwide.

Donna Decker, a professor who teaches a course on banned books at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., said she thinks it is necessary for teachers to educate students using banned and challenged books.

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Comments (3)
  1. rock4tahoe says - Posted: September 25, 2014

    Banning Books! Really! With a quick glance:
    Anarchists Cookbook – Banned in Australia
    Bible – banned in North Korea
    Bad Samaritans – banned in South Korea
    Da Vinci Code – banned in Lebanon
    Zhuan Falun – banned in China
    The Satanic Verses – banned in multiple countries
    Great Soul – banned in part of India
    Mein Kampf – restricted in multiple countries
    Jinnah of Pakistan – restricted in Pakistan
    American Psycho – restricted in Australia and New Zealand

  2. reloman says - Posted: September 25, 2014

    Kind of a misleading header and the article did not supply any information about how many if any were actually band just the number of complaints.

  3. copper says - Posted: September 25, 2014

    Any time I see a list of so called “banned books” I check to make sure that I’ve read them and shared them with my kids. In almost all cases, those are precisely the books that ought to be read.

    Although I doubt that I’ll be reading Captain Underpants. I don’t object to it so much as simply accepting that it’s not directed toward a 73 year old reader. And I’m pretty sure that my grandchildren have already read it. Probably didn’t contribute much, but it likely made them more critical readers. If they start reading something by O’Reilly, or perhaps Cheney, they’ll immediately recognize the style and move on.