Banned Book Week: Fight against censorship!

Banned Books Week is coming up Sept. 27 – Oct. 3. I realize that’s still a week away, but it’s never too early to start celebrating the freedom to read.

Here’s how the American Library Association describes the annual event:

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

After hotdogs, baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet, what could possibly be more American than celebrating our right to express ourselves and read the expressions of others?

Here a few news items and notes about Banned Books Week:

This year’s event celebrates young adult literature.

According to BannedBooksWeek.org:

More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 311 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2014, and many more go unreported.

Click here to see the 10 most challenged titles of 2014.

Just in time for Banned Books Week 2015, an East Tennessee mom is making international headlines for her strong objections to. And by “strong objections” I mean she literally calls it “pornography” and wants it banned, as The LA Times explains:

A bestselling book about science, race and the family of a woman whose cells were the source of some of the most important medical innovations of the 20th century is "pornographic," according to one Tennessee mom.

Jackie Sims' 10th-grade son was asked to read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" during the summer. "I consider the book pornographic," she tells WBIR-TV. Her son was given an alternate text to read after her objections.

Now, Sims wants the book removed from Knox County Schools entirely.

I just feel that strongly about it being out of the hands of our children," she says. There are about 59,000 students in the school system, which includes about 90 schools.

Read the full story here.

Newspapers and literacy

Newspapers in general, and high school newspapers specifically, are a great way to promote literacy in an English Language/Arts classroom, or any classroom for that matter. It is important for students to hone their literacy skills in all areas, not just by studying literature and poetry. Using newspapers to promote literacy also prepares students to be productive citizens of society. While also promoting literacy through the reading of newspapers, students are also able to become informed about their community, their state, and the world.

Of course, it has to be noted that the role of newspapers in society is changing at a rapid pace. Newspapers are headed toward extinction at some point in the not-so-distant future. However, electronic media sources will take the place of newspapers and can also be used in the same function as newspapers. (For the record, there are, I believe, some significant pitfalls of the decline of newspapers and what that means for society, but that’s a blog post for another day, so I digress).

English teachers should consider using newspapers and/or electronic media to promote literacy. In many schools, there are actually newspaper/journalism/electronic media classes that are separate classes from the traditional English/Language Arts classes. In most cases, one of the school’s English/Language Arts teachers assumes the role of teaching any separate classes in newspaper/journalism/electronic media.

Any teacher who assumes such a role should seriously consider joining the Journalism Education Association, which is the largest scholastic journalism organization for teachers and advisers. Put simply, we educate teachers on how to educate students.

According to the JEA’s website:

We fulfill this goal through numerous activities: We provide training around the country at national conventions and institutes. We offer national certification for teaching high school journalism. We publish print and online resources on the latest trends in journalism education. We provide avenues for virtual discussion among teachers, as well as communities and mentoring to learn best practices. We monitor and actively defend First Amendment and scholastic press rights issues across the country.

Clickhere to view the JEA’s website.