Has there been a sudden surge in the number of book challenges?

When I was in high school, I don’t remember anyone ever challenging the books we read in English class. Why has there been a sudden increase in the number of challenges? And what do I tell our English teachers who’ve become “gun-shy” about selecting books for their classes?

I don’t think there’s been a sudden surge of book challenges. I think we’re just doing a better job of keeping track of them. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the National Coalition against Censorship, and the National Council of Teachers of English each maintains a database of books that have been challenged or banned in schools and libraries. These resources are important sources of information and advice for those of us who are battling book challenges in our schools.

Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants have recently been challenged in schools. And there’s also a very tough battle being fought in West Virginia over two of Pat Conroy’s books—Beach Music and The Prince of Tides. Conroy’s novels, which were used in an elective AP English class, were banned because of their depictions of dysfunctional families and violent acts and their use of obscene language. The author has joined local students and teachers in asking the school board to reverse its decision.

It’s difficult to be brave when your book selections are being scrutinized by community members, but English teachers must not let these challenges discourage them from using quality books in the classroom. I’d encourage your teachers to visit NCTE’s Web site, which offers guidance in creating their own criteria for book selections. Ultimately, school-board-approved criteria are the best defense in dealing with book challenges.

A school board in West Virginia wants to label high school books—similar to the way that movies are now rated. If they do that, I’m worried it will have a negative effect on students.

It sounds like you’re referring to the case at Nitro High School in Charleston, WV, where two of Pat Conroy’s books have been banned. Apparently, the local school board thinks that labeling books will help parents make better decisions for their kids. But that’s opening a giant can of worms, and it raises some disturbing questions. For example, will a rating be determined, in part, by the number of four-letter words in the text? Will a book with a single sex scene be treated differently than one with three sex scenes? How will violence be defined? And what about thorny issues like abortion, euthanasia, and torture? Will contemporary fiction be scrutinized more closely than the classics or historical fiction? Will a story be allowed to include anti-American acts or anti-religious themes? And what about fantasy and science fiction? How will they be evaluated?

I can’t imagine school board members will take the time to read every book in the English curriculum. So most likely, the job of rating books will fall upon the teachers. I worry that top-notch English teachers who are asked to “censor” books will lose their passion for teaching the great works of literature. If that happens, then their students would be the real losers. Placing ratings on books is also an insult to students’ intelligence and could have a chilling effect on preparing them for college. Talking about books—not banning them—is the best solution, and students should feel free to express their opinions. The only way a young person can develop an informed opinion is to read widely and deeply. The irony of the situation in West Virginia is that students are likely to read all of Conroy’s works simply because they’ve been told not to read them.

Still, there’s a ray of hope. Historically, school boards that have embraced “unreasonable” ways of dealing with objectionable materials have changed their minds once the brouhaha died down and they discovered their policies were too difficult to enforce.

Will the West Virginia school board’s efforts to apply ratings to books eventually affect school library collections?

It could, but there’s no need to panic. The school board is likely to face a court battle if it continues in that direction. One student group has already threatened to take legal action.