The “banning books” narrative nationwide in regard to explicit sexual content in schools is dead wrong.
What is the purpose of public schools? Why do parents send their children? There are many answers: to learn basic skills (reading, writing, arithmetic), to learn to think critically, for success in work and life, to enhance good citizenship.
The school board, the superintendent, the principal and teachers, as well as parents and taxpayers, have an obligation to provide the best education possible, given available resources. There are, of course, limits of time, space and money. Those limits favor excellence in the choice of learning materials.
Are we in agreement that choices are made by school districts? Are the materials not chosen “banned”? Or are they inappropriate to the purpose?
Or maybe other materials are superior?
The “banned book” narrative ignores the fact that we daily make choices for materials that are effective and promote excellence in learning.
Most schools have programs designed to filter out sexually explicit content on school laptops. Why should the medium matter? What is OK about sexually explicit content in books?
These materials not chosen by schools are still available, still being printed. Parents can easily access these books and magazines if they feel strongly that it is in the best interest of their children.
I stand firmly against censorship. I believe that all sides of a debate should be fully heard.
But the “book banning” narrative in public schools is unfounded. Our kids deserve better than that.
Kathleen Szostek, Dixfield
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