Shrine of Texas Liberty

Book censorship influences the way our young children learn and how schools educate students. Censorship often forms from concerned parents that do not want their children exposed to any other views but their own about the world. Recently, Highland Park Independent School District has been focused on a censorship battle between two parental groups on books taught in Highland Park High School. One program is a nonprofit organization, the Highland Park Kids Read, which is dedicated to protecting literature that is challenged within classrooms at Highland Park. Another group who challenges literature within the classrooms is Speak Up For Standards, with the goal of removing “offensive” literature from the course curriculum. Although some adults would like to shelter our child and have them remain pure, it affects their education by misguiding them about the realities of life.

Officials or parents may challenge books based on some of the material seems to be inappropriate for the students’ age group. Many books have been censored due to offensive language, sexually explicit content, homosexuality, violence, drugs, and religion and minority rights. According to the former chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee states, “[The HPHS current curriculum’s] goal is to expose students to all kinds of literature and all ways of life.”

One of the books parents would like to see banned from the school’s curriculum is “The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David Shipler.” In this book he examines the “Forgotten America,” reflecting how millions of people are scarping by, while the American Dream is out of reach no matter how hard one works. This book allows students to see how living close to the poverty line can cause a struggle to survive when a minor obstacle occurs. It allows these students to be exposed to those who are stuck at a dead-end job providing no benefits or advancement. However, parents reported to CW 33, that they do not...