It’s one of those stories that never quite goes away: controversy over the challenging and banning of books. To be sure, we’re not revisiting Nazi book burnings or reliving this society’s response to Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. But it’s a matter–both legal and pedagogical–never to be taken lightly in a “free speech” democracy.
That’s certainly the case now in Pasco County, where popular author John Green’s coming-of-age Paper Towns has been quickly reinstated on the eighth-grade summer reading list after having been summarily removed in response to a parental complaint. Among those weighing in against removal: the National Coalition Against Censorship.
As it turns out, Pasco County had a reasonable, detailed review process–one that allowed for varied input and appeals on controversial books–that was not followed. And, as it also turns out, the teacher assigning Paper Towns had never read it. Oops.
Sounds like an appropriate forum for a teachable moment.
Surely, we’ve come a long way since The Catcher in the Rye. Books and societal eras have context. So do impressionable students of varying maturity levels. The onus will always be on teachers to exercise prudent judgment and know what envelopes they might be pushing.
But whether it’s Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and N-word context or it’s John Green’s Paper Town and F-bomb/sexual context, it would behoove teachers to actually read the books they assign–and officials to re-read their memos on the review process.