Banned Book Week sheds light on problems of censorship in libraries, schools

In response to pressures to remove books across the country, the most recent being Menomonee Falls High School pulling 33 texts, many libraries and schools are fighting to keep literacy on the shelves. Banned Book Week, which was held on October 1-7 of this year, was organized to bring awareness to the erasure and censorship of certain works of literature. Books have been censored widely over the course of time, with an estimated 6,000 titles facing backlash in the United States school system as of 2021. 

English teacher William Brydon found the week was a time for readers, authors, and educators to get together and oppose censorship.

“Banned Book Week is the week to celebrate access to banned literature that in the past has challenged the freedom to choose the kind of sources we want to interact with,” he said.   

Fellow English teacher Lori Moder sees the week in a similar light.  

“The purpose of the Banned Book Week is to highlight these particular texts that have been banned, and just to bring awareness to censorship,” she said. “I would suggest trying to avoid censorship, and show that it is not really appropriate to take away somebody’s freedom to read.”

To Moder, banning certain works of literature from classrooms makes it more difficult for students to access sensitive material in a way that can be used for educational purposes. 

“Banning books, or taking them out of a curriculum, takes away a safe way for students to experience a text that might have some challenging issues in it,” she said. “The censored topics are still out there whether you are allowed to read them or not. We’ve  always tried to approach a challenging text in a way that is safe and respectful and allows for understanding of why that issue might be a little bit contentious.” 

As an English teacher who has had controversial texts in his classroom before, Brydon takes a similar approach.

“Never has it ever been my intent to expose students to salacious or challenging material with the intent to traumatize, or indoctrinate,” he said. “It’s all about exposure to critical thinking.”

Although the topic of banned books has been coming up more frequently recently, the practice isn’t new and has occurred for a variety of reasons over the years. Numerous classical titles have notably been banned from shelves for possibly questionable content. 

“There have been challenges to types of literature since the start of the public education system,” Brydon said. “Historically, you have To Kill A Mockingbird and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” 

However, the topics that are considered problematic change as well.

“Most of them are books that deal with more sensitive topics, whether it be racial issues, or sexuality and gender issues,” Moder said. “Topics that people tend to get more emotional about.”

Brydon credits the influx of recent conversations regarding banned books as one factor in particular. 

“Nationally and across the world, the challenges towards books have been on the rise due to the really heightened political climate,” he said. “People are taking a more invested interest into what kinds of materials people have access to.”

Interest in banned books has been increasing, as the next election year approaches and political affiliations become more heated. 

“Censorship becomes a more hot-button issue as we ramp up towards those congruent political systems,” Brydon said. “People will become more entrenched in their current ideals, and the world is really set up in the sense of echo chambers of where extreme sides of those spectrums get encamped in their ideals and are unable to compromise or empathize with the other side, and that’s where problems really come to pass.”

Though the future is never guaranteed, the Oshkosh Area School District has proved to provide a fairly safe environment for works of literature in the past. 

When asked about her experience in the district, Moder had mostly positive occurrences to share. 

“In the past, I’ve had a few parent complaints here and there, maybe three times in 20 years,” she said. “So literary censorship is not that big of an issue here.”

But the words of authors and requests of educators are not the only things protected by administration. According to Brydon, parents are typically given a voice when expressing their concerns for what students are exposed to. This equilibrium and respect for parent-to-student controls, as well as that of the curriculum, has fostered a system that is widely respected. 

“I think our open-mindedness is another reason why this district has been successful,” he said. “We don’t just dismiss challenges outright, we bring those individuals into the conversation so that we can work together so we can get common understandings and middle ground. That’s really a success story for the OASD.”

by Phoebe Fletcher

Published October 30, 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue 2