In a recent article by the Los Angeles Times, it is brought up that John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, as well as Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner could be banned in both Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Asheville, N. C., respectively. Parents claim that Of Mice and Men is too negative, depressing and contains excessive bad language, whilst other parents claim that The Kite Runner contains too strong of adult themes, demeans women, and also has excessive bad language.
This, of course, touched off debate over the rights of the school districts to censor what their students read. I agree with the general consensus that profanity and controversial actions are things that high school students will be exposed to in the near future, if they haven't already, I believe schools simply cannot force a student to read something they or their parents object to, as it borders on violating constitutional rights. If there is a legitimate moral objection to a required reading in school, then it should not be a required reading.
Compare this situation to watching a PG-13 movie in class. It is optional as to whether the student watches it or not, a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian is required, and there often isn't a grade attached to it. In other words, if a student or parent feels that the content is inappropriate or offensive, they have every opportunity to not partake in it with no grade penalty. With required readings, this is a different story. The student has no choice but to read the assigned book, and this can be problematic if it makes them feel uncomfortable. Required readings have to be inclusive to all students and parents, and as a result, these controversial novels can and should be banned by schools.
Original article: http://goo.gl/gXPb68
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