Administrators should not have the right to ban books from school libraries. Banning books from libraries deprives students of the privilege of exploring new thoughts. Administrators should provide alternative choices, so that students can still explore new literature. Although some argue that administrators have a responsibility to protect their students from inappropriate material, they should not have the right to ban books from their school libraries because banning books is an affront to the First Amendment and prevents students from gaining knowledge about the world they surrounds them. Nazi, communist, and extremist governments in the Middle East ban books from their citizens. As Americans we view this as an attempt to violate our First Amendment rights by giving people little choice in what they can legally read, and administrators who ban books from students are no different. According to administrators, their responsibility is to prevent students from reading or viewing inappropriate material. John A. Miller gives his opinion in his article “Banning Books Is an Affront to the First Amendment” stating “I doubt if any adolescent much above the age of 13 is unaware of the words and situations most frequently cited as the evils prohibited." books” (Miller). Students already hear this violence or inappropriate language at home and even at school from other students. Additionally, students can choose whether or not they want to check out a book from the library. Students are not forced to read obscene material. Students feel very offended by banning books because it takes away their freedom of speech. Banning books does not make the student feel like they have power or control over what they read. In “Students Turn Book into C...... middle of paper ......would rather read, parents should be asked to give their approval. Works Cited Bowean, Lolly, and Kim Geiger. “Students turn book into lawsuit.” Chicago Tribune: March 6, 17, 2013. SIRS Issues Researcher. Network. November 12, 2013. DiBlasio, Natalie. “Schools once again face the constraint of censorship over book lists.” USA TODAY. August 19, 2011: A. 1. Researcher on SIRS problems. Network. November 15, 2013.Falk-Ross, Fran and Jeanettea Caplan. “The challenge of censorship”. Reading today. 30 April 2008: 20. SIRS Issues Researcher. Network. November 15, 2013. Miller, John A. "Banning Books is an affront to the First Amendment." Morning call: A.21. October 18, 2012. SIRS Problem Researcher. Network. November 12, 2013 Wordsworth, Matt. “Forbidden books offered to teenagers”. AM-Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 04 February 2012: np SIRS Issues Researcher. Network. November 12. 2013.
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