Doll, Jen. "The Banned Books We Have Loved." The Atlantic Wire. N.p., 12 Apr. 2012.
Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970. Print.
Monday, November 18, 2013
"Should IKWCBS Be Banned?"- Second Draft
Everywhere in the United States parents and teachers are attempting to ban books from middle schools that have taught children important lessons over the years. These challenged books include the tragic classic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. It's the touching autobiography of a girl who was raped as a young child and is forced to deal with that and racism throughout her life. Because of these mature themes, many people think that IKWCBS should be banned from middle school libraries. I disagree. I think that it is important that this book stays on the shelves in middle schools. It is important for kids at that age to learn about real-life issues such as those presented IKWCBS. Besides that, many children are already exposed to these issues. Banning books has also proved to be ineffective in many situations.
IKWCBS should not be banned from middle school libraries because children in middle school need to learn about real life issues like those in the book. For example, in the book, the main character Maya deals with a lot of racism aimed towards her and her family, since they are black and living in the era of the Great Depression. These are unavoidable subjects in life even today, and the best way for a child to learn about these issues through reading about it. And either way, it's not as if children haven't already been exposed to racism. Some experience it firsthand, while others learn about slavery in school in as low as 2nd grade. In the book, Maya's grandmother takes her to be treated by a white dentist, but the dentist says "I'd rather stick my hand down a dog's mouth than a n*gger's". This may seem extreme to some parents and teachers, but IKWCBS is an autobiography, and it gives kids a real look into history and what life was like for black people at that time.
This book also shouldn't be banned because banning in general is ineffective. According to the article The Banned Books We Have Loved, "banning doesn't... hurt the [banned books] much at all. If anything, it may even inspire more interest....and sales, too." Banning certain books just makes books more intriguing and kids more interested.
Some people want to ban IKWCBS because it was a couple of sex/rape scenes in it. But this is not a good reason to ban the book because most middle school kids have already been exposed to this through books, movies and media. Sex Ed or Health is also taught in many schools, so it is not an unfamiliar topic with middle school kids. Also, if rape scenes make the child reading the book uncomfortable, they should know when to put it down. it should be an expectation for kids of that age to know what they can handle in a book. If a child reads the blurb/content of a book such as IKWCBS and is uncomfortable with it, he/she should be mature enough to stop reading it.
In conclusion, limiting kids from reading certain books such as IKWCBS is wrong. IKWCBS specifically has important themes that kids should learn about, and even if it was banned it would be ineffective.
IKWCBS should not be banned from middle school libraries because children in middle school need to learn about real life issues like those in the book. For example, in the book, the main character Maya deals with a lot of racism aimed towards her and her family, since they are black and living in the era of the Great Depression. These are unavoidable subjects in life even today, and the best way for a child to learn about these issues through reading about it. And either way, it's not as if children haven't already been exposed to racism. Some experience it firsthand, while others learn about slavery in school in as low as 2nd grade. In the book, Maya's grandmother takes her to be treated by a white dentist, but the dentist says "I'd rather stick my hand down a dog's mouth than a n*gger's". This may seem extreme to some parents and teachers, but IKWCBS is an autobiography, and it gives kids a real look into history and what life was like for black people at that time.
This book also shouldn't be banned because banning in general is ineffective. According to the article The Banned Books We Have Loved, "banning doesn't... hurt the [banned books] much at all. If anything, it may even inspire more interest....and sales, too." Banning certain books just makes books more intriguing and kids more interested.
Some people want to ban IKWCBS because it was a couple of sex/rape scenes in it. But this is not a good reason to ban the book because most middle school kids have already been exposed to this through books, movies and media. Sex Ed or Health is also taught in many schools, so it is not an unfamiliar topic with middle school kids. Also, if rape scenes make the child reading the book uncomfortable, they should know when to put it down. it should be an expectation for kids of that age to know what they can handle in a book. If a child reads the blurb/content of a book such as IKWCBS and is uncomfortable with it, he/she should be mature enough to stop reading it.
In conclusion, limiting kids from reading certain books such as IKWCBS is wrong. IKWCBS specifically has important themes that kids should learn about, and even if it was banned it would be ineffective.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
"My Favorite Children's Book"- A Monday Muse About a Favorite Book
My favorite book from my childhood is probably "Where the Wild Things Are". I've always loved the illustrations in it and it's been close to me for a long time. I believe that everything in your life affects you somehow and this book taught me that it's okay to be in your own world sometimes. I also think a theme in this book is that your family will love you no matter what.
This lesson of coming back to reality is relevant in my life because I often get worked up about nothing and just need to be alone for a while. In the book, Max starts to miss home after spending time with the Wild Things. This teaches that it's important to come back to reality after a little bit, because it will always be more important.
The book also teaches that your family will love you no matter what. When Max's mom gets mad at him, she sends him to his room without dinner. This makes it look like she's angry with him, but when Max comes back from Where the Wild Things Are there's soup waiting for him in his room. This shows that his mother still loves him even though she was upset.
"Where the Wild Thing Are" is one of my favorite books because of the important lessons it taught me that i hope never to forget.
This lesson of coming back to reality is relevant in my life because I often get worked up about nothing and just need to be alone for a while. In the book, Max starts to miss home after spending time with the Wild Things. This teaches that it's important to come back to reality after a little bit, because it will always be more important.
The book also teaches that your family will love you no matter what. When Max's mom gets mad at him, she sends him to his room without dinner. This makes it look like she's angry with him, but when Max comes back from Where the Wild Things Are there's soup waiting for him in his room. This shows that his mother still loves him even though she was upset.
"Where the Wild Thing Are" is one of my favorite books because of the important lessons it taught me that i hope never to forget.
Monday, November 11, 2013
"Should IKWCBS Be Banned?"- Argument Essay (very very rough draft)
The classic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is the touching autobiography of a girl who was raped as a young child and is forced to deal with that, racism, and unfamiliarity throughout her life. Because of these mature themes, many people think that IKWCBS should be banned from middle school libraries. I disagree. I think that this book should not be banned. It is also important for middle school kids to learn about real-life issues such as those presented IKWCBS. Besides that, banning books has also proved to be ineffective in many situations.
IKWCBS should not be banned from middle school libraries because children in middle school need to learn about real life issues like those in the book. For example, in the book Maya deals with unfamiliarity and racism. These are unavoidable subjects in life even today, and the best way for a child to learn about these issues through reading about it. Maya says "These others, the strange pale creatures... weren't considered folks. They were whitefolks." Though some kids may not deal with unfamiliarity to this extreme, they could relate to Maya....(unfinished paragraph)
This book also shouldn't be banned because banning in general is ineffective. According to the article The Banned Books We Have Loved, "banning doesn't... hurt the [authors of books] much at all. If anything, it may even inspire more interest....and sales, too." Banning certain books just makes books more intriguing and kids more interested.
Some people want to ban IKWCBS because it was a couple of sex/rape scenes in it. But this is not a good reason to ban the book because most middle school kids have already been exposed to this. Also, it should be an expectation for kids of that age to know what they can handle in a book. If a child reads the blurb of a book such as IKWCBS and is uncomfortable with some of the content, he/she should be mature enough to put the book down.
In conclusion, limiting kids from reading certain books such as IKWCBS is wrong. IKWCBS specifically has important themes that kids should learn about, and even if it was banned it would be ineffective.
IKWCBS should not be banned from middle school libraries because children in middle school need to learn about real life issues like those in the book. For example, in the book Maya deals with unfamiliarity and racism. These are unavoidable subjects in life even today, and the best way for a child to learn about these issues through reading about it. Maya says "These others, the strange pale creatures... weren't considered folks. They were whitefolks." Though some kids may not deal with unfamiliarity to this extreme, they could relate to Maya....(unfinished paragraph)
This book also shouldn't be banned because banning in general is ineffective. According to the article The Banned Books We Have Loved, "banning doesn't... hurt the [authors of books] much at all. If anything, it may even inspire more interest....and sales, too." Banning certain books just makes books more intriguing and kids more interested.
Some people want to ban IKWCBS because it was a couple of sex/rape scenes in it. But this is not a good reason to ban the book because most middle school kids have already been exposed to this. Also, it should be an expectation for kids of that age to know what they can handle in a book. If a child reads the blurb of a book such as IKWCBS and is uncomfortable with some of the content, he/she should be mature enough to put the book down.
In conclusion, limiting kids from reading certain books such as IKWCBS is wrong. IKWCBS specifically has important themes that kids should learn about, and even if it was banned it would be ineffective.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"- Reading Response
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is a touching autobiography by Maya Angelou. In the blurb on the back cover, it describes a story of a young girl who was raped and has to deal with it for the rest of her life. There is a small part of the story that is about that, but the whole book is not based around that topic. Many people have challenged this book and want it to be banned, probably because of the two rape scenes, but otherwise the book addresses common and in my opinion, age-appropriate issues. These issues include hard-to-ignore and realistic problems like abandonment and racism. This book should not be banned in middle school libraries.
I don't think this book should be banned because it is a classic and everyone can learn something from it. It has two rape scenes which may be extreme or triggering to some kids, but the blurb does say the book has rape in it, and it should be an expectation for middle-school age kids to know what they can handle in a book.
This book also includes realistic issues like racism and abandonment- issues many kids are exposed to or have to deal with. IKWCBS gives kids dealing with these problems in their life something to relate to.
In conclusion, IKWCBS should not be banned because it is a classic that can help kids deal with real-life issues.
I don't think this book should be banned because it is a classic and everyone can learn something from it. It has two rape scenes which may be extreme or triggering to some kids, but the blurb does say the book has rape in it, and it should be an expectation for middle-school age kids to know what they can handle in a book.
This book also includes realistic issues like racism and abandonment- issues many kids are exposed to or have to deal with. IKWCBS gives kids dealing with these problems in their life something to relate to.
In conclusion, IKWCBS should not be banned because it is a classic that can help kids deal with real-life issues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)