Censorship

The dirty word in library circles echoes in the school classrooms

The constant flux of the education system is not ditch right outside the doorway. This perpetual change trails into the Media center just like any other place in the school. Media Centers are full of energy, books, policies, information seekers and, hopefully, guidance. One thing that has no place in the media center is censorship. Library Media Specialists, ones who are true to their profession, fight to keep censorship out and the Right to Read in the Media Centers. These individuals are advocates for intellectual freedom and educate students about their rights to all materials. This blatant support of student’s rights is awesome but is implied for their positions. It is the other teachers and staff that are often overlooked when thinking about censorship. There are so many ways that classroom education has changed with technological advances and modifications in education. However one thing that hasn’t changed too much is sadly the censorship of books and materials in the classroom.

Censorship is not only not allowing books but also censoring what students can write about . Both of these are happening daily in American schools. When reading about acts of censorship in the public schools it is fascinating. When Carrie Courogen wrote an article about censorship for her high school paper she was surprised to have this article censored by her advisor. She did make a particularly interesting quote, “If school districts deem something inappropriate, they have a responsibility to protect the rights of the majority before the rights of the minority.” The power to censor student works is in the hands of the school districts. Teachers are often held responsible for their student’s work and in a system where teachers who are not willing to do this are often fired or ridiculed. The issue of whether or not teachers should be held responsible for the student’s work is often debated. Though it is not easy to make a clear statement of where the responsibility lays, the true point is student rights. Though society wants to figure out to whom we can point a finger at, we also may need to decide that students could be responsible for their actions. If we let student’s take responsibility for their actions we could enrich their sense of self and teach them about results of their actions. Giving students their rights and teaching them the responsibility of these rights could be the best teaching tool we have.

When we think about student’s rights, we need to focus on this poignant statement about censorship by Courogen:

“Students should not be asked to abandon their rights at school doors. They should not be the subjects of constant censorship of school officials. The school environment is one of the few places that students should feel comfortable expressing themselves in an effort to grow and mature intellectually.”