Daniel Asher Greenman

802

Wednesday, 1•7•14

Banned Young Adult Fiction Books Letter

Dear Mrs. Berner,

I understand that some parents of children in this school have complained about mature content in certain books in the school library, and have requested that those books be removed from M.S. 51. Censorship is what happens when people are not confident in the mental capacity of others. In a school, you can teach children how to understand certain material so that they will learn from it, and not be offended by it. Therefore, there is no need to remove titles deemed controversial from the school library. These books, while introducing some children to darker topics, are enlightening and enhance empathy.

Young Adult fiction books with touchy topics teach children about the problems of the world. Titles like Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games teach kids about inequality and corruption; John Greene’s A Fault In Our Stars deals with loss, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon talks about mental disabilities. Says the Alan Review in the article  “A Case for Cultivating Controversy: Teaching Challenged Books in K–12 Classrooms,” “When we deny children access to stories about people who have faced struggle and trauma, who have felt different and alone, we deny them the chance to learn about–and talk about with their teachers, their peers, and their parents–struggles from a place of safety, and we deny them the chance to learn that the struggles they themselves have faced are shared.These books all discuss important issues, teaching children about essential problems on a personal level.” This is why these books belong in an educational environment.

These books also increase empathy, a necessary thing for the emotional advancement of all children. According to a study conducted by the University of Buffalo, children associated more with literary characters after reading J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. Says Gabriel Young, one of the conductors of the experiment, "My study definitely points to reading fulfilling a fundamental need – the need for social connection." This illustrates that the situations described in books of this genre help children develop emotionally. hen growing up in the world, which is expected of a child in the transitional period of middle school, they should be able to understand the feeling and opinions of others so that they can revise their own.

However, some argue that exposure to texts with themes like violence, drug use, and the sexual activity encourages participation in them. For example, in the article “Does Constant Violence Desensitize or Bore Teens?,”Jordan Graffman, head of the cognitive neuroscience division at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland was quoted as saying, “‘...in the course of life with repeated exposures to violent media, you are shaping your brain networks to be more accommodating to aggression...‘“ This would seem to suggest that exposure to mature topics makes it alright. But if they were taught correctly, they would know what is wrong and what is right. They would aso be encouraged to do the right thing if they were taught how to correctly interpret the books’ messages.

In conclusion, Young Adult fiction books are educational, and should be in a school. They teach empathy and understanding, which all people need to have a functioning adulthood. If taught not to impersonate characters with bad morals, children will have a well-built moral compass. Therefore, these books should be available to children at M.S. 51. When you censor, you limit minds.

Sincerely,

Daniel Asher Greenman