US Parents Oppose School Book Bans
2022-03-06
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1The number of book bannings around the country has reached a level not seen for many years.
2Censorship efforts have happened in places like Florida and Tennessee.
3One Tennessee school board banned Art Spiegelman's graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus.
4Other states have tried to pass similar measures.
5There have also been strong reactions from individuals and free speech organizations.
6Stephana Ferrell is a mother of two in Orange County, Florida.
7At a local school board meeting, some officials criticized Maia Kobabe's graphic novel Gender Queer: A Memoir.
8The county decided last autumn to remove it from high schools.
9Ferrell said, "By winter break, we realized this was happening all over the state and needed to start a project to rally parents to protect access to information and ideas in school."
10With another Orange County parent, she founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
11The group works with other parent groups in the state on a number of educational issues.
12Ferrell said they also work to "keep or get back books that have gone under challenge or have been banned."
13Over the past year, book challenges and bans have reached levels not seen in many years.
14That information comes from officials at the American Library Association, the National Coalition Against Censorship, or NCAC, and other supporters of free speech.
15"There are some books with pornography and pedophilia that should absolutely be removed from K through 12 school libraries," said Yael Levin.
16She is a spokesperson for No Left Turn in Education.
17The nationwide group opposes what it calls a "Leftist agenda" for public schools.
18Bills have been proposed that restrict classroom reading and discussion around the country, says PEN America.
19The group works to defend free speech in the U.S. Almost all of the bills, it says, center on sexuality, gender identity or race.
20In Missouri, a proposed bill would ban teachers from using The 1619 Project.
21That is a special project of the New York Times Magazine that centers around slavery in American history.
22It was released last year as a book.
23In an answer to such moves, group like the American Civil Liberties Union, PEN America and the NCAC have been working with local activists, educators and families around the country.
24The head of book publisher Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, has said he will personally donate $500,000 for a book defense fund.
25Hachette Book Group has announced "emergency donations" to PEN, NCAC and the Authors Guild.
26In Missouri, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, sought action in federal court last month.
27The organization was hoping to prevent the Wentzville school district from removing books including Gender Queer, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Keise Laymon's Heavy.
28Vera Eidelman is a lawyer with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
29She said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that "local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books."
30However, Eidelman said, school officials are permitted to ban books for reasons other than not approving of the ideas in the books.
31Officials might decide, for example, that the book uses too much vulgar language.
32But the meaning of vulgarity can change and be unclear, she said.
33And that can be used by the government to ban books.
34Two anti-banning measures were started in Pennsylvania.
35In Kutztown, student Joslyn Diffenbaugh formed a banned book club that began with a reading of George Orwell's "Animal Farm."
36And the Pennridge Improvement Project has started a drive to purchase books that have been removed from schools and put them in small free libraries around the area.
37I'm Dan Novak.
1The number of book bannings around the country has reached a level not seen for many years. 2Censorship efforts have happened in places like Florida and Tennessee. One Tennessee school board banned Art Spiegelman's graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus. Other states have tried to pass similar measures. 3There have also been strong reactions from individuals and free speech organizations. Stephana Ferrell is a mother of two in Orange County, Florida. At a local school board meeting, some officials criticized Maia Kobabe's graphic novel Gender Queer: A Memoir. The county decided last autumn to remove it from high schools. 4Ferrell said, "By winter break, we realized this was happening all over the state and needed to start a project to rally parents to protect access to information and ideas in school." 5With another Orange County parent, she founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project. The group works with other parent groups in the state on a number of educational issues. Ferrell said they also work to "keep or get back books that have gone under challenge or have been banned." 6Over the past year, book challenges and bans have reached levels not seen in many years. That information comes from officials at the American Library Association, the National Coalition Against Censorship, or NCAC, and other supporters of free speech. 7"There are some books with pornography and pedophilia that should absolutely be removed from K through 12 school libraries," said Yael Levin. She is a spokesperson for No Left Turn in Education. The nationwide group opposes what it calls a "Leftist agenda" for public schools. 8Bills have been proposed that restrict classroom reading and discussion around the country, says PEN America. The group works to defend free speech in the U.S. Almost all of the bills, it says, center on sexuality, gender identity or race. 9In Missouri, a proposed bill would ban teachers from using The 1619 Project. That is a special project of the New York Times Magazine that centers around slavery in American history. It was released last year as a book. 10In an answer to such moves, group like the American Civil Liberties Union, PEN America and the NCAC have been working with local activists, educators and families around the country. 11The head of book publisher Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, has said he will personally donate $500,000 for a book defense fund. Hachette Book Group has announced "emergency donations" to PEN, NCAC and the Authors Guild. 12In Missouri, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, sought action in federal court last month. The organization was hoping to prevent the Wentzville school district from removing books including Gender Queer, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Keise Laymon's Heavy. 13Vera Eidelman is a lawyer with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. She said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that "local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books." 14However, Eidelman said, school officials are permitted to ban books for reasons other than not approving of the ideas in the books. Officials might decide, for example, that the book uses too much vulgar language. 15But the meaning of vulgarity can change and be unclear, she said. And that can be used by the government to ban books. 16Two anti-banning measures were started in Pennsylvania. In Kutztown, student Joslyn Diffenbaugh formed a banned book club that began with a reading of George Orwell's "Animal Farm." And the Pennridge Improvement Project has started a drive to purchase books that have been removed from schools and put them in small free libraries around the area. 17I'm Dan Novak. 18Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English from reporting by The Associated Press. 19____________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21censorship - n. the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc. 22graphic novel - n. cartoon drawings that tell a story and are published as a book 23access - n. a way of being able to use or get something 24challenge - n. an action, statement, etc., that is against something : a refusal to accept something as true, correct, or legal 25pornography- n. movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement 26pedophilia - n. sexual feelings or activities that involve children 27agenda- n. a plan or goal that guides someone's behavior and that is often kept secret 28gender - n. the state of being male or female 29district - n. an area established by a government for official government business 30vulgar - adj. not having or showing good manners, good taste, or politeness