TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN, THAT IS THE QUESTION.
When we consider the question of whether to ban books or whether to allow the students at any high school the right to read any book without censorship (within the English curriculum), we have to understand that neither route will give us a perfect solution to the problem of what literature is suitable for the curriculum. Should we ban certain books without due process and careful assessment, we may not be giving our students the most rounded and best education we can. Indeed, they may just be missing out on a classic piece of literature due to a few swear words, and that could deny them the right to read a classic author. However, should we refrain from any censorship and allow them unfettered access to works which could include under-age sex, drug use, pornography or excessive violence, it is fair to say that we might cause more problems than we would hope to solve. Therefore the only reasonable answer to whether we should ban books from schools is somewhere in between these two options. We must have some censorship within the school curriculum, but it should be measured and have clear guidelines for all involved in the process.
In order to prove that some censorship is needed within the school curriculum, we need to understand what the purpose of a public high school education is and what role it plays in providing a student’s education. Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, described the purpose of education as, “the acquisition of knowledge, the reading of books, and the learning of facts.” However, she also agreed with a much broader definition by a group of English headmasters that, “The true purpose of education is to produce citizens.” If we were to ask two simple questions; would simply banning books provide students with the educational tools to become citizens? And would having no censorship provide the student with the educational tools to become citizens, then the answer...