Watched my niece lose access to a book she loved

She was reading 'The Hate U Give' for a school project last semester, then the school board banned it in February citing 'divisive content.' The difference in her interest in reading before and after that vote was night and day, she went from loving the story to feeling like her opinions didn't matter. Has anyone else seen a kid's excitement for a book just get crushed by a ban like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_johnson8212d ago

Tell me the school board actually thinks banning a book mid semester is a good idea. Had them pull 'Maus' from my cousin's class last year and the teacher had to scramble to find some random civil rights biography that put everyone to sleep. Now the kid refuses to touch anything assigned by the school and just reads dumb fantasy novels on his phone during class. Great way to encourage reading, really top notch strategy.

faithf7712d ago

28 books were pulled from our county library's young adult section last fall. I used to think book bans were just parents being overprotective and kids would find the stuff anyway. Then my own nephew couldn't finish his assigned reading because the district yanked it mid-semester. He was halfway through 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' and had to switch to some bland substitute with no plot. Seeing him lose interest in reading completely over the next month changed my mind. It's not about the content, it's about telling kids their choice to read something is wrong.