It’s an almost universal experience: library day.
The teacher takes the students in a single line to travel to the library and get a book. It’s magical. There’s books about almost everything; from dinosaurs to airplanes or even stories the immerse yourself in. All you have to do is open it and read.
The real magic of reading comes from the generality. Because there are books on every topic, you can learn anything from cracking open an old tome. Sometimes reading a good novel is a better experience than watching the (most likely not as good) TV adaptation.
However, the fairy dust and glitter has started to deteriorate, especially when all people care about these days is how many likes their dancing gets or the newest fad. I know I’m not at liberty to excuse myself from feeding into the hype (believe me, I have indulged). But, I still have the right to state the truth.
The Books Are Being Burned
In the past few years, the government has pushed out over 23,000 bans on books with varying topics that generally include race, racism, gender identity, explicit content, and sexual orientation. Even classics you’d read in literature class are being restricted, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, Ulysses, A Midsommar’s Night Dream, and The House on Mango Street.
A majority of these titles have mature themes, however what really matters it what the author is trying to address. These same books were inducted into the Library of Congress, which only catalogues literature that details and accurately depicts the American experience. Why are these titles being banned? They have harsh words, sure, but they show an accurate representation and idea of what American was like in the past for all kinds of people in all the walks of life. Whether they depict racism of the 60s or are straight up fundamental literature, they’re still being banned.
While I agree that children should be protected from overly explicit materials and books, removing central literature from school curriculums is crossing the line, especially when they’ve all been taught for years since their introduction.
The main reason why I’m so concerned about book bans is that it intrudes on children’s 1st Amendment Rights. The government doesn’t have a right to censor books that they just don’t like the themes of.
In fact, the Supreme Court ruled on a case in 1982 stating that books couldn’t be banned by school boards because the boards didn’t like the ideas in them, and doing so would be unconstitutional.
….sound familiar?
Unfortunately, this decision has been sidestepped and sidelined, becoming as monumental as a dead armadillo on the side of the road.
We’re Evolving….But Backwards.
What doesn’t help is the fact that literacy is dying like the dinosaurs. A study showed that most adults read below a 5th grade reading level. The average reading level for the country is 7th or 8th grade.
Isn’t that just depressing?
Kids, especially Gen Alphas, are getting the short end of the stick here. They’re coming into a world of people who can’t read and are being blocked with a wall of books they’re not even allowed to read in class.
TL,DR
What I’m trying to say is that chugging down the tracks to illiteracy. Each generation reads less and each school year’s literature curriculums are to be taught with no books to base them on. I find it upsetting that an inspirational and compelling story can just be shot down in two seconds flat because it’s about or by a person of color, or because it’s about or by a person who identifies as LGBTQIA+. We have a right to read books, even if what they’re about makes people mad.