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On blocking access to books
Mar. 12th, 2012 02:18 pmJohn Green's book, "Looking for Alaska" has come under fire for containing sex and language inappropriate for the dinner table.
What bothers me here, the same as with most every banned for book whose access has been blocked in some way, is that instead of trying to discuss the subject matter that is making the parent/adult uncomfortable, instead of turning this into a teaching moment, we decide as a culture to sweep it under the rug.
"What literary benefit would my son gain from reading this book? It is pure porn" says Seal. To say a book has no literary benefit is to not have read it. Literary value is what the reader brings to a book, and takes from it. It is in the ingestion and digestion of words and ideas. A book's value will vary wildly between readers. Which is the crux of my objection with blocking teen access to books. It is the howling cry of uncomfortable adults who don't want to deal with their own discomfort by talking to the youth that rely on them for those sorts of conversations. Ignoring it will not make it go away in the world at large. Blocking a book with teen sex does not make teens suddenly stop having sex. Labeling it as porn is not going to cause avoidance, it is going to raise interest among teens, and will prompt them to seek the book out on their own.
Avoiding conversations about sex and its consequences, about sex and safe practices, is sending your young unprepared into the world, to fumble through as best they can. The sex is still there, and unless we talk about it it remains a mire of complications and danger.
I had books taken away from me when I was younger- books involving swearing, homosexuality, rape. This did not make me less aware of these things, did not take them away. I was definitely less prepared for dealing with sexual pressure and forced sexual encounters once I hit college. It definitely made me into a statistic as my experiences were something I was ashamed to talk about, scared to talk about.
Raising your child in a 'Christian home' as Ms. Seal states she is trying to do in her objection to the novel is not a reason to avoid the concepts and ideas raised in "Looking for Alaska". Your child eventually leaves that home, and will have to deal with the world at large. Discuss the differences between the decisions made and actions of the characters in the book and what your home expects, but do not just take the book away.
Don't get on a high horse and take an opportunity for dialog and learning away from other children just because you do not want your child exposed. Exposed. Like a book is some sort of disease. No book is going to infect your child with insidious, irreversible ideas that will somehow corrupt them into a monster you no longer approve of.
Unless you neglect to talk to them. Locking these books and ideas away just means your children will hear about it, experience it, somewhere else.
What bothers me here, the same as with most every banned for book whose access has been blocked in some way, is that instead of trying to discuss the subject matter that is making the parent/adult uncomfortable, instead of turning this into a teaching moment, we decide as a culture to sweep it under the rug.
"What literary benefit would my son gain from reading this book? It is pure porn" says Seal. To say a book has no literary benefit is to not have read it. Literary value is what the reader brings to a book, and takes from it. It is in the ingestion and digestion of words and ideas. A book's value will vary wildly between readers. Which is the crux of my objection with blocking teen access to books. It is the howling cry of uncomfortable adults who don't want to deal with their own discomfort by talking to the youth that rely on them for those sorts of conversations. Ignoring it will not make it go away in the world at large. Blocking a book with teen sex does not make teens suddenly stop having sex. Labeling it as porn is not going to cause avoidance, it is going to raise interest among teens, and will prompt them to seek the book out on their own.
Avoiding conversations about sex and its consequences, about sex and safe practices, is sending your young unprepared into the world, to fumble through as best they can. The sex is still there, and unless we talk about it it remains a mire of complications and danger.
I had books taken away from me when I was younger- books involving swearing, homosexuality, rape. This did not make me less aware of these things, did not take them away. I was definitely less prepared for dealing with sexual pressure and forced sexual encounters once I hit college. It definitely made me into a statistic as my experiences were something I was ashamed to talk about, scared to talk about.
Raising your child in a 'Christian home' as Ms. Seal states she is trying to do in her objection to the novel is not a reason to avoid the concepts and ideas raised in "Looking for Alaska". Your child eventually leaves that home, and will have to deal with the world at large. Discuss the differences between the decisions made and actions of the characters in the book and what your home expects, but do not just take the book away.
Don't get on a high horse and take an opportunity for dialog and learning away from other children just because you do not want your child exposed. Exposed. Like a book is some sort of disease. No book is going to infect your child with insidious, irreversible ideas that will somehow corrupt them into a monster you no longer approve of.
Unless you neglect to talk to them. Locking these books and ideas away just means your children will hear about it, experience it, somewhere else.
