An Alternative To Book Bans

When I taught in a school without an up-to-date library, the English teacher across the hall and I stocked our own shelves. Before I put any book on the shelf, I read it. Teachers who read the books that they offer to students are equipped to challenge challenges to the books.

I learned this in my first years of teaching. I read the first volume in the Harry Potter series aloud to my seventh and eighth graders. When we were finished with the first volume, I couldn’t keep the subsequent volumes on the shelf. We had great discussions instead of book reports. We became a community of readers.

A parent confronted a fellow teacher about the Potter books, claiming they promoted witchcraft. Because she hadn’t read the book herself, how could she defend it? I decided then that I would never put myself in that position.

When I moved from the middle school to the high school, I lent one of my IEP students the first volume of Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust. I was hoping the format would make reading easier for him. It did. His reading took off.

Imagine my surprise that Maus appears on Walters’ banned books lists. Yes, the holocaust is a difficult truth, but I have no idea why he thinks Maus is inappropriate for high school students. I wonder how many books, like Maus, have been removed from shelves because the challenger has no idea what the book is about?

Knowing that there are gay students in every school, why would he suggest that books with gay characters are automatically on the banned list? Has he read them?

What about students with difficult home lives? Should they be denied books that let them know that they’re not alone?

How should parents respond to book bans? They can check out the books for themselves. Parents and teachers can get ahead of the problem. Read with your children. Read aloud to your students. Know the books that those who fear educated citizens are trying to remove.

Let’s nip Walter’s plan to dictate not only what books students can’t read, but also those that they must read. Making lesson plans and choosing the books in a school library are not his job. Educating students is the job of teachers, parents, and administrators. We have to be prepared for it.

If you need some book suggestions, there are people you can ask. Oklahoma has a vibrant writing community. We have librarians who know the books on their shelves and teachers who do their homework. We are here to help.