Censorship in School Libraries Censorship in school libraries is an ongoing issue occurring in schools all across the U.S. To fully understand this problem, the definition of censorship must be known. With this in mind, censorship is “the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are offensive” (ACLU 1). There are many significant reasons for why censorship should be used including the prevention of religious conflicts, the prevention of harmful material being exposed to children, and the prevention of plagiarism. With the use of censorship in school libraries, communities across the country will smile and students will be prepared for a brighter and more rewarding future. First of all, religion and school should never be at odds, and
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By using censorship to prevent plagiarism, authors will be hindered from taking other people’s credit as their own. Not to mention, plagiarism has increased by 42% over the past 5 years. Censorship will guarantee books being read by students only include original ideas and content, and if a book includes the content of others, it is acknowledged. By the same token, if students are ensured the books they read only include primary content, it can influence and persuade them to only write their own ideas and thoughts. Teaching children the importance of acknowledging others work and only writing authentic material will prevent them from having to deal with the severe consequences of plagiarizing in their later lives. In fact, in a survey of 70 high schools and 24,000 students, “58 percent admitted to plagiarism” (Plagiarism 3). In other terms, more than half of the students admitted to plagiarizing. If students realize books without plagiarism can be enjoyable, they might feel influenced not to plagiarize as well. For example, in a survey conducted on middle school students, they were asked the question, “If you read a book that was censored because of plagiarism, do you think you would be motivated not to plagiarize?” After analyzing the results, more than half of the students responded that they would feel motivated not to plagiarize. This just goes to show that students can change their biases based on what they
By using censorship to prevent plagiarism, authors will be hindered from taking other people’s credit as their own. Not to mention, plagiarism has increased by 42% over the past 5 years. Censorship will guarantee books being read by students only include original ideas and content, and if a book includes the content of others, it is acknowledged. By the same token, if students are ensured the books they read only include primary content, it can influence and persuade them to only write their own ideas and thoughts. Teaching children the importance of acknowledging others work and only writing authentic material will prevent them from having to deal with the severe consequences of plagiarizing in their later lives. In fact, in a survey of 70 high schools and 24,000 students, “58 percent admitted to plagiarism” (Plagiarism 3). In other terms, more than half of the students admitted to plagiarizing. If students realize books without plagiarism can be enjoyable, they might feel influenced not to plagiarize as well. For example, in a survey conducted on middle school students, they were asked the question, “If you read a book that was censored because of plagiarism, do you think you would be motivated not to plagiarize?” After analyzing the results, more than half of the students responded that they would feel motivated not to plagiarize. This just goes to show that students can change their biases based on what they