Censorship For Middle School Students Essay - 1111 Words

Censorship by definition is the suppression of speech or removal of communicative material which may be considered objectionable or repulsive. Censorship is nothing new and its effects are constantly felt throughout society. Many societies use censorship to protect the established moral and social order. Book censorship in western cultures can be traced to the earliest years of Christianity, when the church began to suppress opposing views as unorthodox. In ancient times, before the printing press and the mass production of literature, book burning was an effective form of censorship. This process guaranteed that no one would ever read them. Although book burning was very efficient it is now used as more of a gesture of protest to shock†¦show more content†¦In the quest to mold the thinking of young adolescents censorship emerged in the classroom. Many people believe what children read affects their perceptions of the world and helps to form the attitudes that will govern th eir behavior as adults. Efforts to protect children and young adults have brought the censorship debate into school and public libraries throughout the country. Parents and school boards have subjected childrens literature to the closest inspection, with the frequent result of challenging concepts, languages, and illustrations. Whenever books for children present ideas and material that a group of adults, or even a single parent or teacher, thinks is inappropriate, the possibility of censorship arises. This could be the reason the first five books of the Harry Potter series has all been challenged or targeted for censorship in libraries in the United States because it portrays wizardry and magic. Many fundamentalist Christians were offended by the books theme of sorcery and its focus on murder. The issue became a serious topic when teachers began encouraging the Harry Potter series in public schools. Parents outraged by their childrens exposure to books containing dark magic, began to demand censorship of the books, hoping to ban them from public educational facilities. â€Å"The ALA defines a challenge as a form written complaint filed with a library or a schoolShow MoreRelatedCensorship Is Not Limited Repressive Regimes Or Network Television?1522 Words   |  7 PagesCensorship is not limited to repressive regimes or network television. Weather we know it or not censorship is happening all the time throughout the day. We censor ourselves, we listen to censored music and as students we see the internet being heavily censored in school. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was signed into law in 2000; the law requires any public schools or library to filter any inappropriate content from the computers being used by minors. Since the law has been put inRead More High School Internet Censorship Essay1019 Words   |  5 PagesHigh School Internet Censorship       The common image that comes to mind on the topic of censorship is that of book burning. Dating back to ancient times, the easiest way to deal with unwanted writings has been to get rid of them, usually by heaping them into a blazing pyre. In his most famous science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns of a futuristic society where all literature is destroyed under a kerosene flame and the citizens freedoms are kept in check by the lack of writtenRead MoreLanguage in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Essay719 Words   |  3 Pagesbetween the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter(SourceC).† Though I concede that the slang used is abhorrent and understand why it would be so offensive, especially towards a specific group of persons, I still insist that students must learn what acts of the past have shaped our modern world today and being able to recognize how far we have come since then. The unaltered version of Huckleberry Finn can serve as a wonderful opportunity for education on extreme prejudice. SourceRead MoreSchools Must Failing Their Students For Success931 Words   |  4 PagesAlthough schools are entrusted to educate the next generation of great thinkers, schools fail to prepare their students for success. Graduating students are blindly entering society expecting luxuries that do not exist. Schools fail to teach that in the â€Å"real world† not everyone wins, schools take censorship to the extreme, and fail to teach self reliance. Ironically, schools set their students up for failure when they decide to implement a â€Å"no fail† grading system. Schools that implemented theRead MoreCensorship Is Not Freedom, Morality, And Safety Of The People1549 Words   |  7 PagesWhen you think of the word, â€Å"censorship†, what do you think of? Secrecy? Morality? Oppression? Liberals often see censorship as a limit set by the government. A limit to suppress the capabilities of the human race. A limit that keeps a country’s citizens intact. A limit that keeps the people ignorant so that the powerful can stay powerful. But what if I told you that censorship isn’t what the liberals say it is? What if I told you that censorship is the thing that is keeping our country togetherRead MoreEssay on Censorship and Banned Books1191 Words   |  5 PagesCensorship and Banned Books Books are dangerous. They make you thinkÂ…feelÂ…wonderÂ…. They make you ask questions (Weiss p.2). At the present time, at least seventy-five books are being banned. This is hurting our culture more than it is helping. This has to be stopped; books cannot be taken off of the shelves at the rate that they are today. The books that are being taken off of the shelves are, for the most part, considered classics. The act of book banning puts limitations on what authorsRead MoreBanned Books1233 Words   |  5 Pagesto communicate, others have sought to prevent them. Everyday someone tries to restrict what can be said, written, sung, or broadcast. Almost every idea ever has proved to be objectionable to one person or another. Books, especially public and school library books are among the most visible targets. Books are of often challenged due to an individual or group of individuals considering the book to be controversial, immoral, inappropriate, sexually explicit, divisive, corrupt, vulgar, violentRead MoreGovernments Immense Control Over the American Population Essay1159 Words   |  5 Pagesentity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs (Politics Definition). The government regulates or censors everything from what we watch on TV to what the future of America (i.e. children) learns at school. Is this type of control necessarily a good thing? Politics and politicians alike should not have as much power in the control of the lives of people. Most laws have been passed for the personal gain of those it is implied to help. Laws are beingRead MoreCensorship Is Only A Temporary Setback1598 Words   |  7 PagesCensorship is Only a Temporary Setback Censorship will always interfere with freedom of speech. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, censorship is one of the main topics depicted. Censorship including the banning of books has been an issue thoughout history. There has been violence similar to the book burnings by the firemen in the novel. In 2009, Harry Potter books as well as other novels and music records were burned by Paster Jack Brock in front of his congregation. He felt that these books wereRead MoreCensorship Is A Controversial Topic Essay1399 Words   |  6 Pages Censorship in the media that is a very common yet, controversial topic due to the subject matter being around children and the youth. It has sparked attention from many government and public individuals that have demanded a probation on certain age groups. The official start on the entire blockade of certain age groups has started with the MPAA† Motion Picture Association of America† in wanting to prohibit certain age groups from viewing ce rtain movies, yet there has always been ways around the