Reading & Literacy

If You Ban Them, Readers Will Come

February 09, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

There is a fairly regular stream of stories in the news about schools and districts tackling requests to ban or restrict students’ access to books that a parent or community member finds offensive or inappropriate. I wrote about one case in Fayetteville, Ark., that sparked heated debate over dozens of books, including classics and young adult literature.

Banning books seems to have become a time-honored tradition in some places, and challenges happen so frequently that the American Library Association began commemorating the fight against unreasonable censorship in schools more than 25 years ago with Banned Books Week.

The latest effort in the news is in Stanislaus County, Calif., where the Newman Crows Landing Unified School District voted this month to remove Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima from the reading list for high school sophomores. The superintendent of the district outside San Francisco argued that the vulgar language in the critically acclaimed book—which has earned recommendations from former first lady Laura Bush and the National Endowment for the Arts—offended him.

This Los Angeles Times editorial, however, suggests there were broader issues of religious sensitivity. When school officials start to make such decisions based on complaints from particular interest groups, it can be a slippery slope in which academic considerations are undermined by the demands of vocal outsiders.

What usually results is greater interest in the books deemed inappropriate, as the editorial notes.

“Ever since school officials took aim at Bless Me, Ultima, the local library has been doing a fire-sale business lending it out,” it states. “Young people who are told it won’t be assigned in the classroom, where a teacher presumably would offer some guidance, instead are reading it on their own and delighting in precisely what offends their elders.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Classrooms to Careers: How Schools and Districts Can Prepare Students for a Changing Workforce
Real careers start in school. Learn how Alton High built student-centered, job-aligned pathways.
Content provided by TNTP
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Reading & Literacy ‘A Good Deal of Nostalgia’: New York’s Uneven Embrace of the Science of Reading
Educators say that they're mixing new approaches with the curricula and teaching strategies they've previously used, a new survey finds.
6 min read
Dylan Mayes, left, reads from a book about Willie Mays during a reading circle in class on Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Dylan Mayes, left, reads from a book about Willie Mays during a reading circle in class on Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. After the state launched a "science of reading" initiative in 2024, implementation has been piecemeal, a new survey finds.
Joshua Bessex/AP
Reading & Literacy How a Teacher Used an AI Tool to Help Her Students' Reading Comprehension
A 6th grade language arts teacher discusses how AI image creators can help boost reading comprehension.
2 min read
Jessica Pack, a 6th grade language arts teacher at James Workman Middle School in Riverside County, Calif., speaks on AI and literacy at the ISTELive 25 + ASCD Annual Conference 25 in San Antonio on July 1, 2025.
Jessica Pack, a 6th grade language arts teacher at James Workman Middle School in Riverside County, Calif., speaks about AI and literacy at the ISTELive 25 + ASCD Annual Conference 25 in San Antonio on July 1, 2025.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Early Literacy Learning?
Answer 7 questions about building strong family and school connections.
Reading & Literacy Popular Reading Programs Feature 'Multisensory' Instruction. Does It Help?
Many elementary school classrooms incorporate touch and movement into reading lessons. But research on the practice is inconclusive.
6 min read