Censorship Speech

Good Evening school stakeholders,
We are all here for the same reason: We want the best possible education for the children of our community. We want them to be successful in higher education and in life. Where we differ at this moment is our definition of what is best for the kids.

You have chosen to send your child to our school. You have put your trust in this establishment and they have entrusted that huge responsibility to me, the classroom teacher. What I teach is different every year because my students are different every year. I specifically tailor my instruction to my students. If the district were to give me a list of books I was allowed to read in my classroom, and read those books only with my class year after year, the school and I would be doing a severe disservice to your children. The district does not know your children like I do. I do not take instructional decisions lightly. A great deal of planning and forethought goes into every choice I make in the classroom.  

This year I have chosen to incorporate Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling into my curriculum for a myriad of reasons. The first is high interest. Students know Harry Potter, talk about Harry Potter, and have seen the movies. When a student is interested in the topic about which they are reading it makes a world of difference. Some can argue that Harry Potter books have done more for literacy than any other book or piece of legislation has since they were printed. They made kids want to read, myself included. In going up against the growing illiteracy rates in this country, we need the biggest and best tools we have, and Harry Potter is among them. Secondly, I teach Harry Potter as a study of literary elements. It is a perfect example of the fantasy genre. It has great themes of good triumphing over evil. The characters are inherently good and they posses morals and character that I want to encourage in my students. They are extremely loyal to their friends, brave and courageous, diligent in their studies, and firm in their quest for good. Yet these are characters students can relate to. They aren’t perfect. They struggle in school with classes and bullies. This is a story of hope for kids that are struggling with the same things. Harry Potter books have timeless messages of love, friendship, family and overcoming adversity.

            You are trying to censor this book from my classroom. In the article Is It Trash Or Insightful, the author quotes the Webster Dictionary's definition of censorship as, "examining in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable." If we follow through with this definition, we could literally censor everything. One of our basic freedoms in this country is the ability to read and write whatever we please. There are many countries around the world without such a luxury, and I think we should indulge in that freedom.

Things often get fuzzy when we bring these freedoms into schools. In Emma Harger’s article in The Signal newspaper, she argues that banned books should be taught in schools and teachers know what they should teach based on age and maturity.

A quote from a recent article in the Denver Post about censorship in the Adams 12 School District reads, "We do understand this book has themes and content that are really challenging, but that's why it should be taught," foundation spokesman Drew Courtney said. "An important role of classrooms is to help students and young adults deal with that, to have those conversations in an intelligent way in the classrooms.”

You are trying to censor this book from my classroom because of the witchcraft content. My response to that is talk to your kids and read with your kids. As long as we talk to our kids about the difference between fact and fiction, fantasy and the real world, there is no chance of them thinking they themselves are witches and wizards. I am teaching students how to think critically and analyze the world around them, with the help of this book. Neither Harry Potter nor I am teaching students what to think, we are teaching them how to think for themselves. Different books present different and diverse viewpoints on life: experiences that students could not experience for themselves but must live vicariously through the characters of a book. Children have so much to learn from these books. Please do not deny them of that.

We cannot shield our children from the world. They are in it every day. We need to walk through it with them and provide them with the tools to be able to make sense of it.