Censorship in the Classroom Essays -- Censorship Essays

Sex. Politics. Religion. The big three a work of literature is oftentimes considered controversial because of its statement about or use of these topics. What makes these and other areas so touchy in the classroom? Why do some parents and come to community members want controversial materials out of the classroom? In this hear at the language of censorship, we must first define censorship, who does the censoring, and why. These will be the first three spotlights for hearting at the language of censorship. Then, we will look at how teachers, especially teachers of literature and the language arts are modify by censorship. Finally, we will preview how censorship can be taught in the classroom, to prevent some of tomorrows censorship cases. I never knew a little girl who was ruined by a book. * James Walker (Quotations, 1997, 2). When I was in elementary school, I read all Judy Blume book I could select my hands on. I cried through three readings of Katherine Paterso ns Bridge to Terribithia and scared myself with every Stephen King refreshful I could finish. In junior in high spirits and high school, we were taught Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, The Hobbit and Sounder, and My Brother Sam Is Dead, along with the classics. None of these books ruined my innocence. When I was date-raped the summer I was sixteen -- that ruined my innocence. Since then, I read that Maya Angelous novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been censored because the rape of eight-year-old Ritie by her mothers boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, is too pornographic. In Moulton, Alabama, the novel was banned in December, 1995, after the superintendent said, When it goes into describing sex organs and describing the pain and actual act of rape, I... ...Dr. Sara. How the Mind of a Censor Works the Psychology of Censorship. School Library Journal, January 1996, p. 23-27. Foerstel, Herbert. Banned in the USA A Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Lib raries. West Port, Conn. Greenwood Press, 1994. p. 135- 213. Noll, Elizabeth. The Ripple Effect of Censorship Silencing in the Classroom. youthfulness Adult Lit A Contemporary Reader. Ed. Dr. Jeffrey S. Copeland. Needham Heights, Mass. Simon and Schuster Custom Publishing, 1997, p. 199-204. Quotations on Censorship. Online. Internet. 2 Dec. 1997. Accessible at http//www.booksatoz.com/censorship/quote.htm. Rossuck, Jennifer. Banned Books A Study of Censorship. The incline Journal 86.2 (1997) 67-70. Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. New York Portland put up Press, 1989.