It is odd to think that there are so many concerning modern issues that have yet to be resolved, yet educators and parents prevent their children from forming awareness of these issues--by banning books from the school curricula. Many authors attempt at exploiting these societal problems to readers, whether from the past or future, yet skepticism is unfortunately tied with them. Controversy offends many people, though students need to be aware of reality and societal situations. Keeping middle and high school students ignorant, by banning novels, is supposed to prevent prejudice and offense...but does it really help students? John Knowles' A Separate Peace is a highly debated book, whether or not to be included in school curriculums due to
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Every student will, if not already, encounter physical, emotional, or mental situations that can indeed be perturbing. By John Knowles using meticulously described traumatic experiences, students can understand and prepare themselves for what is to come. It is helpful for students to relate to realistic characters so that they can learn from them and exploit those purposes in real-life situations. Books in which attempt to convey these messages are often banned because they contain sensitive topics and certain word choices that often offend, particularly with parents, causing their children a detriment in which they will have a harder time coping with troublesome issues. Banning novels due to disturbing, offensive topics and diction would ultimately backfire, as Lancto claims: "We are not protecting the children...we are manipulating them and stunting their social growth...'By constricting the breadth of education, especially exposure to controversial literature, the... community hindered students' ability to address and understand real world issues,'" (258). The author, Lancto, recognizes the consequences of preventing adolescent readers from reading controversial books, as he is a teacher himself, and has witnessed his students comprehension of "real world issues" increase after teaching copious banned books to his class. This teacher feels that banning books is "ignorant" and prevents students from comprehending larger concepts. Another teacher, named Russell Banks, counteracted his school's decision to ban certain books from the curriculum. He argued that preventing students from reading controversial and explicit books would be a "false portrait of the world." He believes books contains pedophilia, drug abuse, and domestic violence helps elicit how to deal with and understand real-life situations that "to some degree, everyone has to
Every student will, if not already, encounter physical, emotional, or mental situations that can indeed be perturbing. By John Knowles using meticulously described traumatic experiences, students can understand and prepare themselves for what is to come. It is helpful for students to relate to realistic characters so that they can learn from them and exploit those purposes in real-life situations. Books in which attempt to convey these messages are often banned because they contain sensitive topics and certain word choices that often offend, particularly with parents, causing their children a detriment in which they will have a harder time coping with troublesome issues. Banning novels due to disturbing, offensive topics and diction would ultimately backfire, as Lancto claims: "We are not protecting the children...we are manipulating them and stunting their social growth...'By constricting the breadth of education, especially exposure to controversial literature, the... community hindered students' ability to address and understand real world issues,'" (258). The author, Lancto, recognizes the consequences of preventing adolescent readers from reading controversial books, as he is a teacher himself, and has witnessed his students comprehension of "real world issues" increase after teaching copious banned books to his class. This teacher feels that banning books is "ignorant" and prevents students from comprehending larger concepts. Another teacher, named Russell Banks, counteracted his school's decision to ban certain books from the curriculum. He argued that preventing students from reading controversial and explicit books would be a "false portrait of the world." He believes books contains pedophilia, drug abuse, and domestic violence helps elicit how to deal with and understand real-life situations that "to some degree, everyone has to