"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.