Friday, March 14, 2014

Sh*t Like This Makes My Head Hurt

I haven't actually read anything by John Green, but when I came across this post of his yesterday about two of his books being challenged (along with quite a few others), I couldn't resist sharing my two cents ranting a bit here. I host a Banned Books Reading Challenge after all, so that should give you a big clue about where I stand on the subject! If you haven't heard, the basic story is that a Colorado school has approved a new Young Adult Literature course (an elective, no less!) and some parents are objecting to the reading list for the class. The teacher has defended her curriculum and the matter is going to be addressed at a board meeting in April. The teacher reached out to Green who in turn reached out to his readers to support his books and this teacher.

I don't think it matters that I haven't read all the books on the list -- I have read a couple as well as plenty of others that contain the same kind of dialogue/scenes/language/themes under scrutiny. It makes me mad when people don't give teenagers credit for being able to think and read critically. It makes me mad when people don't give teachers credit for teaching teenagers to think and read critically. It makes me mad when people make books out to be the enemy and try to discourage reading out of fear. It makes me mad when things are taken out of context and pointed to as evidence of "inappropriateness." And it makes me really mad that people think lit curriculums need to be "cleansed" of all books that include anything they don't agree with. People (teenagers included) don't live in a bubble. If we cut ourselves off from every single thing we don't agree with, we might as well unplug our TVs and computers, throw out all our books, and never leave our houses ever again.

Books make people think -- they put you in another's person's shoes and let you experience things from another's perspective. In my opinion, books are a safe way to explore the world without actually putting ourselves in every possible situation. Why some people think reading about something (in a classroom, no less!) is an automatic gateway to doing it themselves is beyond absurd to me. Are teenagers impressionable? Of course they are. We are all impressionable to an extent. But banning books and shielding students from how things are in the real world is not the answer. Teaching and empowering kids to make intelligent decisions is the answer. Books that deal with tough subjects or bad decisions should facilitate discussions and learning, not be shoved out of sight to avoid "corruption." Knowledge is power, and yes power can be used for good or for evil, but ignorance is a far greater danger than knowledge ever will be.

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P.S. If you're in my banned books challenge this year and have read any of the books on the list (since Jan. 1st), make sure you count them toward your goal!

15 comments:

  1. Book make people think - I agree that is the most important statement. Books are more than a story, they are life lessons, tackling the hard stuff, seeing the truth, learning against discrimination!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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    1. You are so right! Book lovers tend to see things that way, and I'm inclined to agree :)

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  2. Having read all of John Green's books over the past six months or so, I have to say how disappointing this is. I absolutely adore his work and I think I like it better as an adult than I would have as a teenager. Not because I think it's too over the top for a teen, but because it gave me some real perspective on life as a teen that I sometimes forget.

    Guess what, teens are dealing with the same issues as teenagers in those books. Struggling with your sexuality like in "Will Grayson, Will Grayson"? Check. Struggling with loss like in "Looking for Alaska"? Check. Struggling to find your place in this world like "Paper Towns"? Check! I'd go so far as to say that teens NEED these books to let them know that there are adults out there who get it. There are people that they can turn to in this confusion, angsty, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad, time in their life. And MOST IMPORTANTLY to know that they are NOT alone in the world and they are NOT the only person who has ever felt this way before.

    Banning books doesn't help your children. It hurts them. Just imagine how your child would feel if they found themselves relating to one of those characters and then found out that you don't like that book even without reading it. Don't you think they might worry that you don't like them without knowing who they truly are? And wouldn't it be a better idea to actually read the book and talk to your child about it?

    This hurts my heart. I'm so grateful that my mother encouraged me to read and gave me free reign to choose the books that I wanted to read. I don't think teens should ever be discouraged from reading. It's a terrible idea.

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    1. Amen, my friend! So many excellent points you have made that just make me feel even more strongly about how ridiculous this whole thing is! Stuff like this only widens the divide between generations, if you ask me. I know that parents mean well, they think they are doing what is best for their children, and they do have a right to their opinions, but they are not doing their kids any favors. And they also have no right to dictate what other kids can or can't read -- and by trying to pull books from a school curriculum, that is exactly what they are doing. Forget the fact that this is an elective, so wouldn't the most logical solution be to not have your kid take that class? I mean, I think that's crazy too, but it seems to make a lot more sense to me than this approach.

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    2. I just realized how long that rant turned out to be, lol.

      It definitely does create a generational gap. John Green's books are great for the kids of today who feel more pressure and stress than we did even 10 years ago. (I can say this with certainty based on the conversation I am currently having with my sister about choosing a college.)

      The absolute best approach would be to read the book before, after, or at the same time as their child and open up a conversation. "So what it is it that you like about these books? I thought it was great when X did that really awesome thing. It was so heartbreaking when Y happened. Did you feel that way too?" Are kids going to love that? Hell no. But at least it opens up a dialogue that your child can talk to you about these things and lets them know that you are open to talking to them about the tough stuff.

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  3. I totally agree with this post. I'm actually going to save the list and begin reading books off of it to see what those parents are afraid. I have read John Green and his books are a great way to explore mistakes without making them ourselves.

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    1. I love it! That's the best possible outcome of things like this, that more people read the books rather than less :)

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  4. I totally agree with your post, you are spot on! I'm not even sure there is much else I can think of to say. I want to read that list now, I've already read quite a few, but I'm curious about a couple. The biggest thing about this banned book incident in particular....is that the class is an elective! Sigh.

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    1. The elective thing really confused me too! Even if I don't agree, I do understand to some extent parents complaining if a book is required and there is no other option, but that is definitely not the case here. I just wish more people would look at these books as a whole, rather than picking out parts they don't like and dismissing the book altogether. Also, the depiction of certain things and the condoning of those things are completely different -- which I think a lot of people also forget.

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  5. Americans are a bit crazy about book banning! I just don't get it - if something offends you, don't read it. But don't take away anyone else's right to read it!

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    1. How refreshing! I completely agree that Americans are a bit nuts about this kind of thing and I to get it either -- glad it's not like that over in the UK :)

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  6. I've read enough of those and know enough about others to appreciate that that is a very good list. There would be so much to think about and discuss, what a pity the parents don't understand the themes and importance of them. It's great that a teacher has chosen new books for discussion rather than the same old classics, and there is surely enough 'bad' content in those.

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    1. I agree that the themes and discussions generated by this list would be great. What puzzles me the most is that so many objecting parents feel books like these will interfere with their children developing good morals -- people don't develop good morals in a vacuum. Not that it would even be possible to shield them entirely, but how "good" can a person be if they are completely unaware of anything "bad"? I see no harm in discussing and learning from a bad decision made in a book rather than pretending those kinds of things don't exist.

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  7. Great post! I think it's fantastic that a teacher is choosing to introduce students to some modern YA, something which will hopefully convert some of them into avid readers, and I would hate to see that destroyed by small minded people trying to get books banned.

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    1. You're so right! I do think a list like this might show reluctant readers that books can be enjoyable and fostering a love of reading is so important for education. It's hard for a kid to maintain a certain reading level if they never read outside of school, so anything that might encourage them to do that is a good thing in my book :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)