A Battle Reconsidered

“A Battle Reconsidered: Second Thoughts on Book Censorship and Conservative Parents”

by Suzanne M. Kauer

An Evaluation

Katya, a mother concerned about the learning process of her children, asked Julia Eccleshare (2012), “Could you recommend some books for my six-year-old son? He's already a "free reader" and I find it tricky to find him books that suit his ability but also appeal to his very normal six-year-old mindset. I feel as though I've made a few mistakes, for example allowing him to choose a Tracy Beaker book at the library. He devoured it but is quite gritty and perhaps not appropriate for his age.”

“He adores Horrid Henry books but has been stuck on these for a long time now. He's reading The Marble Crusher by Michael Morpurgo at the moment and, although seemingly enjoying it, I wonder if he is emotionally mature enough to understand the story. I wouldn't like to spoil the best children's books by him reading them too early, at a time when he cannot quite connect with the story emotionally” (Eccleshare, 2012).

Just like Katya, there are many concerned mothers looking after the satisfaction of their young readers. As a young reader myself, finding a book that can keep me interested is not always an easy task. There are different types of books for different types of audiences. Therefore, finding an adequate book for the youth can be a delicate topic to debate. Suzanne M. Kauer (2008) writes about this issue on her article, A Battle Reconsidered: Second Thoughts on Book Censorship and Conservative Parents (2008). On her article, she expresses her thoughts, beliefs and fears to defend her position about the censorship of some books for her students. Even though her arguments are credible and convincing to like-minded people and many teachers; these arguments can be considered insufficient and easily rejected by parents who may not always see the benefits of learning from a wide range of type of books.

Suzanne M. Kauer, a high school teacher who constantly deals with the issue of censorship. Shares her experience as some parents approach her with concerns about book assignments. Even though she tries to show parents the benefits of being exposed to different opinions, she often has to concede reason their concerns.

More than ever, parents and teaches struggle to get students to maximize their potential. There is a constant moral and ethical battle between when choosing a good book for our youth. Moral because on one side of the issue, it is not well seen by parents that children read books with explicit content. On the other side, teachers argue that children read these books as a result of their own desire to learn and question. Even though everyone entitled to their own opinion, parents do have the right to look after what they consider ideal for their kids. Teachers concede parents with the right to decide what their children will or will not read. That means that if a teacher is unable to convince parents that a book is worth caring about, they would offer a suitable alternative – even if they did not agree with the parent’s decision (Kauer, 2008, p. 57).

Kauer’s supports the philosophy that just as everyone has the right to read, view, and hear what they want, everyone has the right to abstain from being exposed to material they do not see as suitable. Despite her philosophy, she is aware of her limitation when working in a regulated environment. Her first justification is, “I believe that everyone draws lines-- Who would consider Playboy appropriate for a first-grade classroom library?-- but we draw them in different places. I believe everyone censors things, but I consider some forms of censorship dangerous” (Kauer, 2008, p. 56). To which Lisa Von Drasek (2012) adds, “To burden a child with scenes of brutality, slaughter or other types of viciousness when they do not have the emotional maturity to handle it is not only counterproductive but unconscionable…. Considering these points, the bottom line is to try not to yank a book out of a child’s hand. And if a parent or teacher is having concerns: this is the time for conversations, not proclamations” (Drasek, 2012).

When it comes to the education of our children and young people, we want them to be well informed. We want them to be prepared for their future problems. We want them to become critical thinkers, to seek the reason behind things, and to never stop their quest for more knowledge. We also want our youth to have a sense of equality, to become people who care for others.

On the other side, we fear that they may learn about certain topics too soon. We worry that they see inappropriate or contradicting ideas that may mislead them. But who are we to have a perfect knowledge of things? Who are we to decide what is good for others? Of course, that as a parent, all these fears increase and tend to overshadow our children’s desires of seek knowledge. However, by banning some books, we may be trading off parts of the learning experience that are worth caring about .

Kauer suggestion for teachers and parents, who are trying to open others’ minds, is that a few damns and hells are worth reading to get to the heart of a story (Kauer, 2008, p. 59). They are trying to argue that those stories, with explicit words and experiences, help the readers to understand the world’s reasons. It also help them to gain knowledge that their own experiences can’t give. In other words the characters go through certain experience so that the reader may reflect and learn from them. As Kauer afirms “…if parents just read the books they would see some of the value and see how little the "offensive" parts matter” (Kauer, 2008, p. 58). Susan M. Church (1997) invites to ponder on the knowledge that we gain by controversy. On her article she tells a story about how a conflict over banning books caused much anxiety and anger in her school district.

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