

Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children

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Censorship in schools is a complicated situation because there are many variables involved that can impact the way children learn and the way schools serve to educate. Censorship in schools usually exists in the form of the removal or manipulation of materials or learning processes. These materials might range from that which officials and parents have generally decided is inappropriate for our children, such as nudity, to teaching subjects that some find objectionable, such as evolution versus creationism. For the most part, censorship in America’s schools tends to focus on social and religious issues, with many materials called into question as controversial. In other countries, politics would join religion in center stage for censorship, with criticism of the government censored as well. Instead of the government, however, our censorship often comes in the form of concerned parents who do not want their children exposed to a worldview other than their own. A particularly popular topic in schools today is book censorship.

Learning about Darwin might be construed as offensive because of the possible conflict with the religious beliefs of the parents. Sexual education is watered down until it is practically worthless because parents might be offended at sexual references in school, and classic books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are being banned in some areas because they have racial references that might offend some people.

The Effects of Censorship
While the attempt to keep children pure for as long as possible is admirable, it takes the form of leaving gaping holes in their education, if not academically, then about life.
A child who grows up with no sex education will not have the knowledge of birth control or sexually transmitted diseases that could help keep her safe should she choose not to follow that particular piece of advice. Worse, the only education on sex that she will have learned is the whispered advice of schoolyard friends. Without proper sex education, our girls may grow up believing rumors that they hear that may or may not be true.

Censorship in schools can also lead to a narrow worldview with holes in the cultural and international education of our children. If a child does not know from literary examples that African Americans were ever abused in our society, then how will those same children understand the implications of marches or rallies for black rights in modern society, or the struggles that people of color still go through to be treated as equals in all ways? Additionally, our children, if restricted to an education that supports their family’s religion, will have no frame of reference to understand other religions, other cultures, and other beliefs.

While parents may be tempted to shelter their children from issues that they find unfavorable or offensive, they may be restricting their child’s ability to grow and learn at the same time. These restrictive worldviews are the seeds of bigotry, with the implication being that anyone who believes differently from you must be foolish or misinformed.
In our international economy with interactions on many levels with diverse individuals, this kind of closed minded worldview is one that will not be tolerated for long. The businessperson who cannot relate to those of a differing religion will not last long in any modern business looking to expand internationally.

Censorship in schools seems to come from a desire to ensure that our children grow up making the choices and following the beliefs that we desire for them by removing any other options. This may ensure that those children conform with our beliefs in the short run, but the risk is that they will react with hostility to those same ideas years later when they are exposed to other opinions.

Many would argue that a gay child who is not exposed to information about homosexuality may behave in a way that he is told is proper at first. Eventually, he will hear about homosexuality from someone and will be all the more upset at his former enforced ignorance of the subject, yet no less likely to act on his desires from then forward. This is a matter of opinion and not of solid fact, but it is one that should be taken into account when we think about the potential effects of censorship in schools.

The Snowball Effect
Additionally, censorship in schools tends to snowball when warring factions of parents take the battle of wills to the classroom with book banning.
A small adjustment to the curriculum could lead to further demands, with the removal of a single book leading to the proposal of a library overhaul or the revision of a single point in a science class leading to a battle over the entire curriculum.

There are many cases throughout “censorship history” that involve the removal of one or two books or forms of teaching to appease one group of parents, only to have another set of censorship opportunities requested by another group. The old adage “you can't please everyone” certainly rings true in this case, as a veritable “snowball effect” is a common danger of censorship in schools.

Practical Considerations
An important distinction to make is the difference between selection and censorship. A teacher who crosses a book off her class’ reading list is not committing censorship unless she is doing so out of a sense of hostility toward the contents of the book. Teachers have to make choices as to the books and other materials that will most enhance the education of their students, and not every book can make the cut – there simply is not time to read everything. When bias and personal feelings get in the way of the selection process, censorship gets a foothold in our school systems.

Another difficulty in monitoring censorship is that it is against the nature of concerned parents to think that they are committing this act.
Many parents feel that by complaining against books that contain descriptions of nudity, occult references, or profanity, they are protecting the children in the school system and upholding the integrity of the community. These are lofty goals, and certainly do not associate with censorship for those committing the act. This makes self-monitoring nearly impossible. Teachers may be enticed to censor materials because they are afraid of the reaction of parents, making the act itself invisible and difficult to trace or quantify. How do you record the number of times that a book is not ordered because of the fear of parental reaction?

In Conclusion
Censorship in schools is certainly present and the addition of even small changes can lead to battles over the future integrity of our children and community. Censorship is something that needs to be held closely in check if our children are to grow up with the proper awareness of the world as it really exists.

Schools should be upheld as standards of education and should be able to ably prepare students for life in an open world. If schools continue to succumb to the desires of special interest groups, they run the risk of closing minds and leaving children in the dark when it comes to various important social issues. The impact of censorship in schools is significant in light of the way of the world and in light of the ever-changing social climate.

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