fREADom!!!

9/27/2023

Daily Literary Quote
“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
- Salmon Rushdie

Journal Prompt
Next week is Banned Books Week. What are some books you think may have been banned or challenged in schools or libraries? Do you think books should be banned? Why or why not?

34 Comments

Lisa Mualem

9/27/2023 09:19:23 am

I think religious or political books that state the authors opinion may be banned in public schools. Harry Potter and many other great books are banned in schools because of witchcraft and other things. I think we shouldn't ban books because that is contradicting our first amendment. I also think if someone truly wants to read a banned book they will still read it just not in school, so banning it in schools isn't really doing much. If a student likes the banned book they will tell their friends and then more people have read it so the school isn't exactly preventing much.

Sydnee Cluff

9/27/2023 09:29:19 am

I respectfully believe that religious and political books should not be banned from public schools because if they are respectfully read understood then there is no problem. Religion and politics are apart of our world and I feel like in school is a good way to help kids understand the world they live in.

Alyssa

9/27/2023 09:42:16 am

I agree with how you can still read the book outside of class, which is good so you can still learn before they try to ban it from anywhere.

Sydnee Cluff

9/27/2023 09:23:37 am

I believe books should not be banned because not everybody hates reading. In the society we live into everything is becoming electronic which isn't always the best. Some students and adults work better with having a physical copy of the book. Books to me are almost a treasure to have because of how expensive they are getting nowadays. Some of the books that were banned from certain schools were The Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Great Gatsby.

Hudson Bertram

9/27/2023 09:34:19 am

Ya reading is so important to me. It really gives a lot more perspective on the world.

Abby Jackson

9/27/2023 09:34:38 am

I agree everything is going to electronic it's not the best way at all.

Lucile

9/27/2023 09:37:27 am

I forgot about digital books, that really does make banning books seem useless.

Autumn

9/27/2023 09:57:42 am

I use to hate reading then I found the book that got me into reading more and it's now a banned book which is stupid. Reading is a big part of some peoples' lives.

Brianna Anderson

9/27/2023 09:25:34 am

Some books I think should be banned is books that involves physical violence because, we don't want to bring physical violence in schools. I don't agree with some of the things that they want to banned because we will be and should be exposed to things like this before we go into the real world which is why people right books like this, and a school or library is some kids only access to books. They try to act like these things aren't real issues in order to avoid them but instead we need to learn about them and learn how to deal with things that we will be faced with in the real world.

Lilly Cerise

9/27/2023 09:31:17 am

I totally agree, it makes more sense to learn about controversial topics while you are in school because you will have to deal with them outside of high school anyways.

Mykala

9/27/2023 09:37:43 am

I agree that society is trying to shelter kids from topics that should be taught.

Lilly Cerise

9/27/2023 09:28:06 am

I don't know many specific titles of books that have been banned, but I know that most books that have violence, racism or sexism, witchcraft/satanic influences, and anything LGBTQ+ has been challenged in all different places. I think it is okay to restrict certain books and topics for elementary to middle schoolers, but high school should be able to read any books they want to. Kids in high school will have access to those books out of school and they will have to learn how to discuss those topics once they are out of school, so they might as well learn about them in school and learn how to be respectful about them while they are in school.

Sydnee Cluff

9/27/2023 09:30:44 am

I agree with you that highschool students should be able to read any books they want to because books are a way of understanding the world we live in today.

Brianna Anderson

9/27/2023 09:40:07 am

I agree, older kids should be restricted less when it comes to books because we need to learn lessons and a lot of this books teach those lessons.

Hudson Bertram

9/27/2023 09:31:56 am

Books should not be banned, some of my favorite books are on that list and each on of them is kinda dark but all tell a story of someones hardship. In other words, the truth. It is true the Russia invaded Afghanistan in the book "The Kite Runner". Those people are real and seen more hardship than most Americans might ever see. To take there story away is wild to me.

Lucile

9/27/2023 09:35:51 am

I completely agree with you. History books especially shouldn't be banned,

Brianna Anderson

9/27/2023 09:37:11 am

I agree because they write these books to get the messages out to the world.

Abby Jackson

9/27/2023 09:32:08 am

In my opinion the only books that should be banned are the ones that try to make you believe false things or bad things like that it's fine to do drugs or steal. I don't believe books should be banned though because everybody has different opinions on books and if they teach a certain lesson then most likely kids will learn the hard way if they take it wrong but will learn from their mistakes. Authors take time to create a book for the public to show them certain things. If you can't handle those lessons in those books then just don't read them.

Alyssa

9/27/2023 09:40:33 am

I agree with you, people just want you to believe their opionions no matter what.

Autumn

9/27/2023 10:00:32 am

I agree with you! People are so sensitive now and everyone has a different message they take away from a book.

Lucile

9/27/2023 09:33:15 am

Harry Potter has been banned because of the "satanic witchcraft" that the book contains. These accusations of the beloved book series come from concerned parents that never bothered reading the book in the first place. Books should not be banned, they are stories and tales from all different types of literature that show different points of views. While some books are offensive to people, you can argue that everything and anything is offensive. We as a society should stop worrying so much about being offensive and put our concerns to actual problems in society. Schools should be in charge of what they will and will not be put into their library's. Every state is different, every county is different, every district is different, and every school is different. Schools should be able to choose what books work best for their students, the limitations of books should not be influenced by the media especially since the media is filled with upset people who never bother picking up a book in the first place. Everyone is so concerned about them being offended that they disregard the actually tales and meaning behind such beautiful stories. One line out of a book shouldn't ban the whole series, one character shouldn't take away from the main message of a story, one misrepresentation in a fancy book shouldn't be the causing factor of its banning, and one angry 37 year old shouldn't be the deciding factor of what thousands of children should read.

Abby Jackson

9/27/2023 09:39:14 am

I agree everything is offensive to people in different ways because people are so sensitive now and can't see different sides in books.

Mykala

9/27/2023 09:34:49 am

I feel like a lot of books that have been banned are the ones that contain controversial topics such as racism, religion, gender, etc. Books that also contain violence have been banned as well. I feel like these books are banned because parents want to shield their kids from the world. They don't want their kids to misinterpret the true meaning behind the books and create bad habits or behavior. I feel like a lot of the books that have been banned shouldn't because they bring awareness to situations that do occur in the real world.

Lilly Cerise

9/27/2023 09:38:41 am

I totally agree, I can understand where the parents are coming from but there is a totally different way to fix that and go about that.

Autumn

9/27/2023 09:37:50 am

I know that Harry Potter is banned i a lot of places because of the satanic takaway some people see in is. It also shows witchcraft and there are widards which is something bad in some places. I feel that it makes sense to ban books in elementary or private schools depending on your teaching and what theme you get from reading the story. A lot of books are banned for racism, sexism, pornographic, violence and a lot of LGBTQ+ type of stuff. Some stuff people take too far into how bad they are even if the message is good for children. A lot of people aren't as sensitive as some and enjoy reading more than others.

Lisa Mualem

9/27/2023 09:42:54 am

I agree that people take banning books too far sometimes.

Alyssa

9/27/2023 09:39:21 am

I don't think books should be banned as they are a way of learning. They can provide a better learning experience from other's point of view that you can't find online. There are a lot of banned books that had a lot of good meanings behind the books that may be hard to learn in real life. I think a book that has been banned or challenged in schools or libraries is The Diary of Anne Frank, which taught us a lot about her point of view of the holocaust. The Outsiders, which is teaching us about the social classes, and to not grow up as fast as you want to, say young while you can. Even the Holy Bible, people banned the book to prevent others to expressing their religion. Most of the banned books have a good meaning behind them that people are preventing others from learning them.

Mykala

9/27/2023 09:42:08 am

I agree that books that have a purposeful meaning behind them like "The Outsiders" shouldn't be banned because society is afraid they'll overlook the true meaning and take to the violence aspect into account.

Lisa Mualem

9/27/2023 09:45:11 am

I agree that books have a very good meaning behind them and that banning them prevents people from learning.

Sienna Crispin

9/27/2023 09:46:13 am

No, books should not be banned because they are all written to teach us a lesson and some of the readers just interpret the meanings and lessons differently. Books such as The Giving Tree are not sexist as a Colorado Public Library claimed but they are there to teach us many different lessons such as the lesson that unconditional love is wonderful, but if you give too much to someone, you risk losing yourself entirely. It also teaches the reader not to take advantage of your parents. I feel that the people who try to ban books are very tunnel minded and only look for the bad. Many children's books are also being banned for unnecessary reasons such as The Lorax, Drama, Worm Loves Worm, Captain Underpants, Prince and Knight, and so many other commonly known children's books.

Sara Chaffin

9/27/2023 02:51:00 pm

Every book has a message and I like how you gave examples.

Julian Logan

9/27/2023 09:47:30 am

Reading is always a choice. If one doesn't want to read something, one doesn't have to. That's why banning any book being banned is "wrong". There is always going to be something out there to offend someone. Everyone has the "right" to be offended. However, for one to think and put their ideas and thoughts into a book, one has to risk being offensive.

Sara Chafin

9/27/2023 02:48:41 pm

I agree that someone is always going to find something to be offended about.

Sara Chaffin

9/27/2023 02:46:32 pm

I know that the bible has been banned in the past. My opinion on the whole banning of books is a way of just restricting our freedom. It's wrong to ban books because some people find it insensitive or not right for others to view them. Books are meant to be a learning experience so that we won't make the same mistakes from the past. One thing that I do think that there should be is age restrictions on some books. I don't think we need to be shoving political books down kindergartners' throats. It's like movies having age restrictions. Books are a way to express their feelings and creativity. Living in a free country, banning books goes against that. It goes against the First Amendment, which is the freedom of speech. This is my opinion on banning books.

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