Book censorship influences the way our young children learn and how schools educate students. Censorship often forms from concerned parents that do not want their children exposed to any other views but their own about the world. Recently, Highland Park Independent School District has been focused on a censorship battle between two parental groups on books taught in Highland Park High School. One program is a nonprofit organization, the Highland Park Kids Read, which is dedicated to protecting literature that is challenged within classrooms at Highland Park. Another group who challenges literature within the classrooms is Speak Up For Standards, with the goal of removing “offensive” literature from the course curriculum. Although some adults would like to shelter our child and have them remain pure, it affects their education by misguiding them about the realities of life.
Officials or parents may challenge books based on some of the material seems to be inappropriate for the students’ age group. Many books have been censored due to offensive language, sexually explicit content, homosexuality, violence, drugs, and religion and minority rights. According to the former chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee states, “[The HPHS current curriculum’s] goal is to expose students to all kinds of literature and all ways of life.”
One of the books parents would like to see banned from the school’s curriculum is “The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David Shipler.” In this book he examines the “Forgotten America,” reflecting how millions of people are scarping by, while the American Dream is out of reach no matter how hard one works. This book allows students to see how living close to the poverty line can cause a struggle to survive when a minor obstacle occurs. It allows these students to be exposed to those who are stuck at a dead-end job providing no benefits or advancement. However, parents reported to CW 33, that they do not want their children reading about the “realities” that include sexual abuse and abortion. Students disagree with what parents think about the material and actually found it beneficial. One student, Maddie Kelly, states how it opened her eyes and could never imagine going through things that happen in this book. “I think any kid that couldn’t read it in the future might miss out on the facts it was trying to portray,” says Kelley (CW 33). Many find this challenge ironic, considering the fact that Highland Park Independent School District is one of the richest in the state of Texas. This allows us to conclude that parents want to shield their children from anything less than their standard of living. This book can educate students about the reality of their consequences as a young adult to motivate them to stay on track for success.
Book censorship has played a major role in the school’s curriculum for students. Each year the policy for books gets stricter, limiting teachers materials to teach from. Although parents feel that