reaffirmation of books

ReLeah Cossett Lent (2008) quotes Nancy Atwell saying "her goal for is for students to become smarter, happier, more just, and more compassionate people because of the worlds they experience within those hundreds of thousands of black lines of print" (61). When I am asked why I teach reading and writing, I feel silly saying one's life can change through reading and writing, but that is exactly what I believe. I think if students can lose themselves in a book, they are learning how to focus, how to think, how to take time for themselves, how to take care of themselves, and how to understand other people. It is true that many books make people uncomfortable because of their subject matter. Teachers would prefer not to teach such books and parents would prefer their child refrain from reading such material. But when a book is censored, dialogue is denied with the student and the child, and a teachable moment is avoided at a great cost. Certainly, adults should be vigilant in regards to what children put into their minds, but adults also have to understand that the world is something of a terrible place. It is through books that we may understand how to navigate through the wretched and the terrible.

Lent, R. C. (2008). Facing the issues: Challenges, censorship, and reflection through dialogue. English Journal 97 (3), 61-66.

Kauer (2008) details an interaction with a parent: "she answered that she felt that so much of high school literature took people to a dark place" (58). This woman thought that the school's curriculum was "damaging their love of books" (58). Her children's love of books or her love of books? I wonder what kind of parent I will be. Will I force my views on my children to the extent that I shield them from essential pieces of literature? Teenagers understand the existence of "dark places." I was far more entertained by the gruesomeness of The lord of the flies than I ever was by anything Jane Austen wrote. Literature isn't nice. It doesn't have to be. It is fantastic and real. Certainly, the act of censorship brings more to the discussion of literature. It fans the flame of interest. If you ban it, if you forbid it, you better believe they will read it. Maybe it's all a trick to get kids reading. I wouldn't be so surprised if it was.

Kauer, S. M. (2008). A battle reconsidered: Second thoughts on censorship and conservative parents. English Journal 97 (3), 56-60.