Banning books in schools can be a very controversial topic of discussion for many people. Books are being banned and restricted in different school districts around the globe. Some may think the contents of these books will negatively influence kids. However, what some people may deem as dangerous or harmful, others may see as necessary and educational. Many of the books being banned have contents relating to racial inequalities, gender, sexual identities, mental illness, etc…
One side of the argument is that these topics are not suitable for school age children. However, the other side argues that we shouldn’t be sheltering children from the real world and its issues. There has been a high amount of discourse about this in recent years because more and more books are being banned or challenged. When a book is challenged, it means that someone has attempted to remove or restrict access to that book from a library or curriculum. According to the American Library Association books such as “Gender Queer” by Maia Koababe, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison are all examples of books that have been frequently challenged.
Junior Simran Dhillon said, “When books are banned it limits the freedom of speech for authors.” Dhillon also said, “It limits my freedom of reading what I want.”
