[Last name] 1

[Name] [Teachers name] English 112-85 6 February 2014 Annotated Bibliography Bantick, Christopher. "Banned book should be taught in schools." The Age 27 Aug. 2013: 29. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. This article deals with a sexually explicit book called Tampa that was being banned from school libraries everywhere. Some suggested putting a R18+ sticker on it to ward off adolescent readers, but Bantick disagrees saying that not only will the youth find a way to read the material, but also because he considers that the book should be available to all students. If anything, banning the book would only increase its popularity. He feels that it is necessary to include the story in school libraries since it deals with a teacher going against the code of conduct and this scenario poses as a real issue. He says, Children and sexuality are not polar opposites, as much as society clutches onto some outdated view that they are. Take a peek inside popular magazines for girls to see just what kinds of things are being discussed. Meanwhile, the internet has done more to inform and misinform children of their sexuality than perhaps anything else. Situations like these invite students to express their views on the topic or open doors for some who may have had some unfortunate experience with it.

[Last name] 2

"Battle over the Books: Censorship in American Schools." Films On Demand. Films Media Group, 1994. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. Battle over the Books: Censorship in American Schools is a short documentary set in the early 1990s about the escalation of protests by parents and students alike towards certain books used in school. One of the personal stories that it shows is about an English teacher who assigns The Catcher in the Rye for her class only to be met with a student who deemed the book objectionable and obscene. This caused a group of protesters to gather and write the school board to reconsider the book to not be assigned for reading, report and extended class discussion. They even took a copy of the book and highlighted the many uses of profanity despite not knowing anything about the story, who the character was or even the theme of the book. In the end, the teacher was forced to back down and pick a less controversial book. The rest of the video explores Christian parents being involved with their childrens schools and pleading the school system to teach their kids how to think, not what to think. Boyer, Paul S. Purity in Print: Book Censorship in America from the Gilded Age to the Computer Age. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 2002. Print. Purity in Print is a book about the opposing side for banning books. Whether it is from a mob of angry activists trying to get the values of their own special group accepted or a mob of frustrated parents that will not let their children read material that they have deemed filthy, the author opens up saying that book banning is nothing new and has been around for centuries. This is particularly a problem in schools today because some parents, as wonderful as it is that they are being involved with their childrens education,

[Last name] 3

have been attacking mercilessly at anything that strikes them as repulsive. In 1981, two dictionary publishers were contacted to remove seven words that the state board of education had found to be objectionable. The author addresses these issues through Christianity Today who blamed the media for utilizing, freedom of speech as a means to flout standards of common decency. The author asks as to where we sho uld draw the line for every offended and concerned citizen. Foerstel, Herbert N. Banned In The U.S.A : A Reference Guide To Book Censorship In Schools And Public Libraries. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Herbert N. Foerstel. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. Banned in the U.S.A provides an appendix for a list of unsuitable books with statistics beside it at the back of the book. It also gives reasons as to why a book was removed or challenged for its content. The book talks a lot about the controversy between libraries trying to keep their books from being removed and the all powerful community censorship that pressure schools and libraries alike to satisfy their demands. Majority of books being banned are due to local affairs and not federal. The top three reasons for some books being challenged in 1991 to 1992 were because they were contrary to religious views, contained objectionable language or involved sexual references. However, today the count of challenged materials is underestimated because school systems are keen to avoid controversy by quietly ascending to the censors demands. When a teacher was forced to change The Catcher in the Rye to A Tale of Two Cities, she replied with, My job was to teach, not to defend the First Amendment.

[Last name] 4

Gallo, Don. "Teens Need Bold Books." Book Banning. Ed. Thomas Riggs. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Censorship, Clear Thinking, and Bold Books for Teens." English Journal 97.3 (Jan. 2008). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. As the title already suggests, this article is about how teens need to read more bold books and be more challenged to think about them. It brings to mind that some parents never actually read books and that they want to harbor their teens from and make decisions based on what they may have heard from others. Even if they have, they very often are closed minded and cant get past the vulgar language or indecency of the content without understanding the underlying message. Some parents are even worried to allow their kids to make decisions for themselves instead of trusting them to know whats right from wrong. However, the article goes on to explain that some books for kids may be inappropriate for others. This is because some kids may be more mature for their age and can handle certain topics being discussed in a book while others cannot. Hagelin, Rebecca. "Book Banning Protects Family Values." Book Banning. Ed. Ronnie D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Rpt. from "Are Your Kids Reading Rot?" Townhall (16 Aug. 2005). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. Rebecca Hagelins article was chosen because of her opposing point of view for the American Library Association. While she recognizes the importance of reading, she is very concerned over how the benefit of reading for our children very much depends on what they're reading. She rebukes the challenges the values of the ALA because she feels that the book levels do not add up to the maturity of the children. As an experiment

[Last name] 5

for her book Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark Raving Mad, Hagelin recalls going to a nearby library to browse through a list of books that the ALA had assigned for kids ages thirteen through fourteen. What she found to her horror were books from the list involving profanity and detailed sexual acts between youth. The rest on the list she considered equally nauseating and extremely inappropriate for adolescents to read in a school environment. Furthermore, she cautions parents to pay attention to what their children are reading and to help them choose books that reflect your values. Hopkins, Ellen. "Censorship Cannot Be Allowed in America." Book Banning. Ed. Thomas Riggs. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto." Huffington Post. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. Censorship Cannot be Allowed in America is about an author and how her book Crank (inspired by my daughter's descent into the hell that is methamphetamine addiction) helped some of her readers see themselves in her book. By seeing themselves in the pages, they were inspired to turn their lives around and see into the bleak future that drugs would have for them. Tens of thousands of her readers sent her messages, and though her books are seen as dark and not sugarcoated, people everywhere have changed their lives because of it. However, because of some of the dark, realistic content portrayed in her work, she has been banned on numerous occasions from doing talks for schools as a result of concerned parents. She fights back saying, If you don't like content in a book, don't read it. If you don't want your child to read a book, take it away. But you do not have the right to decide "appropriateness" for everyone.

[Last name] 6

Masterson, Mike. "School Libraries Should Restrict Students' Access to Controversial Books." Censorship. Ed. Julia Bauder. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Laurie's Noble Crusade." Arkansas Democrat Gazette 4 Aug. 2005. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. This article brings up a proposal to the situation of whether kids should be allowed to take inappropriate items out the library. While a lot of people who challenge books can sometimes be looked upon as trying to take away our freedom of speech, Laurie Taylor actually wants to create a solution to the problem. Her goal is for two things to happen: First, she wants these books, many by the same repetitive-message authors, placed in a restricted section of the library. Then she wants the school to notify parents and get their consent when their children seek access to one of these books either in person or by an Internet request.No book banning, just simply making kids go through the trouble of asking their parents to request a mature book. For a concerned parent herself who doesnt want to see valuable books being banned, she has been working to make this dream a reality across the nation. Thomas, R. Murray. What Schools Ban and Why. Westport: Praeger, 2008. Print. The book What Schools Ban and Why is about the authors research in uncovering the banned list in American schools of everything from garb, computers, music and especially books. It opens up with a story about a high school teacher from New York frustrated with the fact that he could not let his students see R-rated films like Schindlers List or Saving Private Ryan in his class because they would be considered under seventeen and without a guardian. He says, We feel it is our responsibility as educators

[Last name] 7

to view and discuss even the most difficult topics in a safe and honest forum. I think censorship undermines this. Same could be said with books when you censor certain topics because they are deemed too revolting or broad for some teenagers to understand. Frequent banned book author Chris Clutcher laments that the youth are eager to discuss objectionable material than act as if these issues were nonexistent. Whelan, Debra Lau. "Books Are Being Banned in the United States." Censorship. Ed. Byron L. Stay. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "A Dirty Little Secret: Self-Censorship." School Library Journal (1 Feb. 2009). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. Books Being Banned in the United States is an article that discusses how soft censorship is now being practiced in many libraries across the nation. This is where librarians are too scared to go out and buy books simply because they know that based on their content, they will be ripped from their shelves. Despite this, sometimes good books are passed up for this reason. According to School Library Journal, most librarians, being seventy percent, are too terrified to buy certain books because of how some parents may react to them. Backlash from the administration was twenty nine percent, the community was twenty nine percent, twenty nine percent from students and twenty three percent because of the librarians personal objections. In addition, The American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom only documents written challenges to library books and materials (there were 420 cases in 2007), and even then, it estimates that only one out of five cases are reported.