Recently, a high school in the next town over from me in Connecticut removed the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky from the school curriculum. The book will remain in the library, but after one parent complained about the content, the school board decided to remove it. Cases like this make me angry, as it seems such a senseless and uneducated thing to do. When one parent objects out of an entire class, is it fair to deny the rest of those students that book to read? Why can't the one student read something different?
We are in an age now where teenagers are exposed to everything through TV and social media. Is anything in The Perks of Being a Wallflower any worse than what they might watch on MTV or the news? Is it better to shelter teenagers, or have them read "real life" young adult novels?
I became extremely interested in the act of banning and challenging books is schools and libraries after I started working as a children's assistant. I knew of Banned Book Week, but after putting up a display with commonly challenged books I started following the stories more closely. I was amazed at some of the children's books that are challenged or banned. Books such as Captain Underpants, The Giver, And Tango Makes Three, and almost every Judy Blume book. I believe in the freedom to read, and to expand the minds of young people. That is not to say that familiar and great classics such The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird should not be taught, but that times are changing, and perhaps the reading lists should reflect that. In the high school I work at, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, a book about sexual assault and bullying, is required reading by freshmen.
That is not to say our library doesn't have its challenges. We have to tread lightly with certain books, especially manga and comics, for "mature content." The Walking Dead collection was taken off the shelves, and certain manga titles I donated from my own collection were not fit for the shelves. When I questioned my supervisor on this saying, "But we have Gone Girl and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," he understood my confusion. He pointed out that "the parents can't see pictures of what is going on in those books-if they look over their child's shoulder and see a zombie attack or sexual content in The Walking Dead, they will complain." It confused me, all right. Parents will only pay attention to pictures, and not words in some cases?
It bothers me that parents would want to shelter their teenagers from "real world" problems and issues, such as mental health, drugs, or sex. If they can't read about it in a well-written young adult novel, is it better they are exposed to it through MTV or reality TV or movies? The books in the high school aren't exactly Fifty Shades of Grey. They are intense, intelligent, and worth reading.
In conclusion, I was happy to read that people were protesting the removal of the book from the curriculum. Do I believe it will be reinstated? Sadly, no. But it makes me happy that people are taking notice and expressing their disappointment, and fighting for their right to read. Articles are below if you are interested in reading them.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2015/0319/The-Perks-of-Being-a-Wallflower-is-taken-out-of-classrooms-at-a-Connecticut-high-school
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/wallingford/wallingfordnews/7048470-129/groups-protest-wallingfords-decision-to-remove-the-perks-of-being.html
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