Protesters of the book have expressed concern over the language O’Brien uses, but as he writes, “Send guys to war, they come home talking dirty.” When my students read "The Things They Carried," they talk about the language O’Brien uses, realizing that the vocabulary of war is specific to the situation and O’Brien’s purpose. O’Brien, who served in Vietnam, writes vividly about the experience. Of all the banned books I’ve taught, I like Tim O’Brien’s "The Things They Carried" best. However, several of my choices have been banned in other schools. In my 35-year career of teaching high school English, I have not had a book I’ve taught challenged in my classroom. Teachers help students study why an author chooses to use the material they did, and the purpose behind the prose.īanned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students' First Amendment Rights (April 2022) In the hands of a competent teacher, however, potentially offensive material can be discussed in context, and explained, not sensationalized. There are so many things that can be targets for challenges: parents object to language usage, racial and sexual situations, religion and more.
#Banned books week for free#
I remembered most of the plot points about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the fictitious author Terence Mann, but I’d forgotten the fiery scene at the PTA meeting, where a parent protested a book for containing “objectionable content.” Kevin Costner’s wife argued for free speech, the Bill of Rights and anti-censorship, and, by meeting’s end, the book was not removed from the curriculum.įast forward 33 years later, and this fictional Iowa PTA meeting can be replicated into real-life local and national school board meetings.
#Banned books week movie#
Several weeks ago, in order to prepare for the Cubs-Reds Field of Dreams game in Iowa, I rewatched the 1989 movie of the same name. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. The theme of this year’s event (Sept. Editor's Note: This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read.
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