Florida students protest their school district’s book ban : NPR
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Learners in the St. Petersburg spot are protesting a e book ban imposed by a faculty district working with a new state legislation. A new instruction video for librarians warns not to shelf books that could be challenged.
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Resource hyperlink In an effort to challenge an outdated policy, students in Florida protested in the Collier County School District on Thursday morning against the recent school district book ban. The group of student protesters showed up at district offices to fight for the reinstatement of banned books, citing the policy of censorship as something that needed to be addressed.
The Collier County School District recently enacted a 14-year-old policy which bans certain books from school libraries and classrooms. This policy was originally put in place as a way to combat what school officials deemed to be “inappropriate material”. Unfortunately, in the time since, the policy has excluded many acclaimed books from approved student reading lists due to the restrictions of overly broad language within the district’s own guidelines.
The students of the protest saw that this policy was preventing the student body from enjoying reading titles recommended by both the American Library Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. The group noted that many of these books are recommended by educators and teachers, as they are both enlightening and challenging, while informing readers in an age-appropriate manner.
The student protesters saw the book ban as a form of censorship, noting that “knowledge and opinion are the two greatest tools of humankind.” They stated that any form of censorship, no matter its origin or consequences, is wrong and that to prohibit reading material based on false ideas if potentially damaging to their education and development.
The Collier County School District has yet to comment on the protests directly. However, this type of demonstration of knowledge and activism is sure to effect positive change in the near future. The recent stand against the book ban taken by the students of Collier County was an effort for progress, one which we should all applaud and support — and hopefully, one which will ultimately lead to the overturning of a ban that has gone in effect for far too long.
