Let's call book banning what it is

My life has been shaped by words and literature. I’ve been an avid reader from a young age, and my parents (my dad especially) and my teachers encouraged me to explore diverse authors, titles, and subjects. Reading helped me explore other worlds and perspectives. It helped me develop critical thinking skills. Most importantly, it helped me understand myself and the world around me.

Iowa Public Radio reported last week that school district officials in Urbandale have made a list of nearly 400 books that are no longer allowed in classrooms or libraries.

The list features titles that may be unsurprising to those following the culture war arguments about what’s appropriate for school-aged kids to read, but many others are shocking. Hemingway. Salinger. Knowles. Atwood. Orwell. Acclaimed works by writers of color including Mya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker.

The article quotes school board members who express frustration over the lack of guidance at the state level and no explanation from the Iowa Department of Education on the law’s boundaries.

Urbandale school board member Daniel Gutmann says, “In that vacuum of leadership, school districts are fearful and they’re putting out lists that are exhaustive and possibly exceed the scope of Senate File 496. It’s infuriating as a parent, it’s infuriating as an educator, and it’s infuriating as a board member tasked with the oversight of a school district.”

Infuriating doesn’t begin to describe it for a host of reasons. Let’s start with the “law” that was slapped together to score political points (on brand for this recently concluded legislative session), resulting in a profound lack of clarity for those responsible for carrying it out. How about the rationale behind violating the First Amendment rights of students, couching it under the more palatable guise of “protecting children” and “parent choice?” We could talk for days about how the subjectivity of some shouldn’t guide decisions for everyone else, to say nothing of the focus on LGBTQ+ literature or titles by authors of color.

A Separate Peace and A Farewell to Arms were required reading for me in ninth grade. The need not have required them – I loved both titles. Yes, they’re both by white male authors, but both are beautifully written and explore themes of how history and relationships shape who we are.

I remember the first time I read The Color Purple. I was a sophomore in high school and its powerful depiction of struggle and bravery and resilience powered by connection and companionship resonated with me in a way that made the violence and sexual content in the book simply details. (I have since then seen far more explicit content in any number of more accessible ways than reading a book. Statistically, kids have already accessed porn online by sixth grade. The Color Purple and porn are in completely different stratospheres.)

A Separate Peace has been dubbed “a classic American novel.” A Farewell to Arms is considered a classic. The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize.

All three of the aforementioned novels are on Urbandale's list.

I don’t read all books, and there are some genres I just don’t care for (brace yourself – I never read Harry Potter. I just didn’t get into it). Other books I have found to be violent or gratuitously sexualized and I just stopped reading them. I didn't tell other people they shouldn't read them. I just decided they weren't for me. I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Its themes elevate a different set of beliefs than mine, but it was well written, and I learned something by reading it. This discernment has been my practice all my life, and it was taught by my parents and my teachers. 

I talked with Shannon Horton, our school librarian. I liked her before she told me about her job, and I absolutely adore her after I learned what she does for kids. Students have asked her for more Christian-based literature. She researched it and brought in additional titles. Others asked her for hunting books. Again, she researched them and brought in titles that her students love reading. (Read that again: students love reading.)

There are more books written for young adults available today than any time in history. Shannon actively researches a wide range of subjects and titles and works to learn what’s important to students and connects them with books they may enjoy.

She describes reading as an avenue to parent conversations. Parents have a right to tell their kids they can’t read something, but it’s an opportunity to open a discussion.

Bans shut down discussion. Children can’t learn critical thinking skills if they’re never exposed to ideas they don’t agree with. “Indoctrination” comes up a lot in debate. Development of critical thought is a tool to fight indoctrination if that’s what we’re truly talking about.

It's not.

Banning access to information is a tool of control. It is un-democratic and anti-American. 

Last spring, I wrote a Facebook post about Iowa's proposed legislation banning books at public schools. A friend I grew up with challenged me, saying it was “toxic” that I called the legislation banning.

My key takeaways from that exchange: 1) How effective the carefully-designed conservative messages are – people saying, “Hey, this isn’t what you think it is” when it absolutely is what it is, which is book banning, and 2) As such, some people have no problem with shoddy legislation, an absence of leadership, and having basic rights just swept away when served up as “parents should decide what's right for their kids" and "our schools shouldn't provide porn for kindergarteners." 

Calling this banning isn't toxic. The fact it was written into law is what’s toxic. 

These are all tactics designed to restrict and control, and we've gone from "that would never happen here" to "it's the law" in one legislative session. 

We should be infuriated.

What are we willing to do to ensure our children have access to books that reflect the nuance and complexity of the world around them?

The time for action is now.