iheartsax

I just HAD to comment on this - on the FRONT freakin page of my newspaper (Newsday) is a story about banning summer reading books in school. (As I'm sure you're aware, I am an English teacher, and very much against banning books period - even if its Meinkempf.) And the book chosen to be featured on the cover is one of my ALL time favorites - (The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) - and one I had also studied in college in a young adult literature class. At the time, myself and my classmates had wondered how one would go about teaching such a book due to its explicit and controversial content (imagine Go Ask Alice modernized); however, we did agree that it MUST BE TAUGHT. Not only is it dealing with extremely common teenage issues, such as drug addiction, alcoholism, sex, and suicide, but it does it in a totally relatable way for kids. And it's certainly not as if the kids aren't seeing this shit in movies and on TV on a regular basis. I mean, everything starts at a much younger age these days - if you're 12 you're really 15, if you're 15 you're really 17, and so on... So, if it is looked at as an OPPORTUNITY (and it should be) to take pertinent issues and talk about them in an educational setting, where "friends" can't make fun of your concerns, and students can feel comfortable discussing such topics, it can be made into a positive experience. These parents and school board members think students should be sheltered from all of these negative things, when the kids are probably more aware of them at this point than the adults! Rather than hide, why not bring it to the forefront and allow teachers to shed some light on these topics, and help students see that it IS ok to talk about them. There may be a student in the class who has been feeling suicidal and it may just save his/her life... or a student who has a drug addicted parent, or is gay, whatever the case may be...it just angers me to no end when schools start banning books. In my opinion students have a RIGHT to read and learn about EVERYTHING from EVERY PERSPECTIVE. We would be doing them a grave disservice if we revoked that right.

One last bitch before I go - one of the other books being banned is another one of my favorites (The Bluest Eye) because of its "racist nature". If you've ever read that book you know that it discusses much more than racism, and again most certainly applies to teenagers! The sweet innocence of a child who doesn't realize she is "different" and doesn't feel she is "different" even after she is told...the incessant need to be like someone else just to fit in...and just how WRONG that is because one should appreciate oneself BECAUSE of the differences. You get the point. I'll stop now because I can go on forever here..

Ugh, I am just so annoyed about the whole thing.

Please feel free to voice your opinion - I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject!