Viewpoint: Read all about it: Navigating challenges of teaching banned books
Editor's Note: This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. The theme of this year’s event (Sept. 18-24) is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”
Several weeks ago, in order to prepare for the Cubs-Reds Field of Dreams game in Iowa, I rewatched the 1989 movie of the same name. I remembered most of the plot points about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the fictitious author Terence Mann, but I’d forgotten the fiery scene at the PTA meeting, where a parent protested a book for containing “objectionable content.” Kevin Costner’s wife argued for free speech, the Bill of Rights and anti-censorship, and, by meeting’s end, the book was not removed from the curriculum.
Fast forward 33 years later, and this fictional Iowa PTA meeting can be replicated into real-life local and national school board meetings. There are so many things that can be targets for challenges: parents object to language usage, racial and sexual situations, religion and more. In the hands of a competent teacher, however, potentially offensive material can be discussed in context, and explained, not sensationalized. Teachers help students study why an author chooses to use the material they did, and the purpose behind the prose.
Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students' First Amendment Rights (April 2022)
In my 35-year career of teaching high school English, I have not had a book I’ve taught challenged in my classroom. However, several of my choices have been banned in other schools. Of all the banned books I’ve taught, I like Tim O’Brien’s "The Things They Carried" best. O’Brien, who served in Vietnam, writes vividly about the experience. Protesters of the book have expressed concern over the language O’Brien uses, but as he writes, “Send guys to war, they come home talking dirty.” When my students read "The Things They Carried," they talk about the language O’Brien uses, realizing that the vocabulary of war is specific to the situation and O’Brien’s purpose.
I am fortunate to have taught with supportive administration who trust that I will choose quality texts to teach with compassion and sensitivity. When choosing a book or short story to teach, it is natural for a teacher to wonder, “How should I teach this?” However, what my colleagues and I have realized is that a better question is, “Why should I teach this?” We ask ourselves, “Is this the best text for teaching the enduring concepts I want to emphasize?” With "To Kill a Mockingbird," for instance, we want to emphasize the key ideas of empathy and prejudice, and examine parent-child relationships. Harper Lee’s frequently-challenged book is exquisitely suited for this.
More on book bans:Schools banned books 2,532 times since 2021. It's all part of a 'full-fledged' movement.
Our teachers meet weekly to discuss curriculum, instruction and assessment, and consider books, classic and contemporary. We make our choices carefully to determine which text will best address the standards and essential questions.
With the guidance of a competent, educated teacher, a book’s meaning can be discovered and enhanced for the reader. I loved seeing students figure out plot points, untangle the confusion in their brain. While reading the often-banned "The Great Gatsby" last year, one student exclaimed, “It’s like hunting Easter eggs!” referring to the hidden surprises she found hiding in the pages.
We read to understand the human condition. Teachers are trained to choose texts that not only match students’ ability level but also best meet the purpose for the reading. It is natural for parents to want to protect their children from things they find dangerous; a conversation with the teacher can help defuse potentially explosive concerns. In the case of literature in the classroom, parents should trust the teacher to make the right choices, and, in doing so, help adolescents read the world and understand their role in it.
Mary B. Nicolini recently retired after 35 years teaching in Indianapolis and Mishawaka. She is co-director of the Hoosier Writing Project, a National Writing Project site. She has published in the English Journal and presented at state and national conferences.
Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021. Of the 1,597 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:
Gender Queer by Maia KobabeReasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
Lawn Boy by Jonathan EvisonReasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. JohnsonReasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope PerezReasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasReasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman AlexieReasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse AndrewsReasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
The Bluest Eye by Toni MorrisonReasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
This Book is Gay by Juno DawsonReasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
Beyond Magenta by Susan KuklinReasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Banned Books Week 2022: The challenges of teaching amid censorship
