Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children

Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children 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 Americas 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.

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 familys 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 childs 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.

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 on. 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.

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

Another difficulty in monitoring censorship is that it is against the nature of concerned parents to think that they are committing this act.

In Conclusion

Schools should be upheld asstandards of education and should be able to 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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Censorship In Schools And The Effects On Our Children