Banning Harry Potter

10 Pages 2595 Words

th curriculum materials,” which seems to reinforce the First Amendment Right of Free Speech, and protects both the student’s and the teacher’s rights (Cromwell 2). Those against the banning of books from public schools argue that censorship itself is inappropriate and a violation of the U.S. Constitution, while on the other hand, supporters of book banning feel the material contained in those books is unfit for the public school system. This has led to many popular books being banned from schools in the past and continuing to be excluded from schools and public libraries today. Roughly 33% of the books that get to the point of being challenged for unsuitability go on to become banned books, with areas such as evolution, sex and drug education, people out of standard roles, and privacy the most frequently targeted (. Book banning, as with many things involving public opinion, has shifted over the years from the body, sex and swear words to fantasy according to Mark West, who is a professor of English with a specialty in children’s literature (NCAC 1). Censorship is defined by Henry Reichman as the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic or educational materials…on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of the standards applied by the censor. Using this as a guide it can be said that most schools are guilty of censorship, however, Supreme Court tends to stand behind the schools but remind the school officials to be careful of becoming too rigid (Cromwell 2). In all, Sharon Cromwell was very informative and clearly presented each side in a way that most people could understand. The article allows everyone to see each side of the issue and form decisions based on the facts (3).
On the other hand, Elizabeth Schafer’s book, Beacham’s Sourcebooks for Teaching Young Adult Fiction: Exploring Harry Potter, influences readers by outlining many educational ideas ...