Back to the dark ages in George County
By Staff
Jan. 12, 2003
The George County School Board has taken a giant step back to the dark ages by banning three books, including John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men.'' This is an unfortunate way to start the new year because it deprives students of a great piece of American literature that actually could contribute positively to their education.
When school boards limit literary options they close out reading opportunities that could make students do the one thing that seems to be required far too little in contemporary education: Think. Helping students develop the ability to think for themselves is a greater challenge than simply teaching by rote.
School boards ought to be broadening the scope of reading opportunities, not shrinking them. The real purpose of education should be to enlighten and enrich, not limit, creative horizons.
The problem with starting to ban books is where does it end. Will "Gone With The Wind" be next because it depicts politically incorrect themes of slavery and civil conflict. How about Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" with its tragic Depression-era savagery? And this says nothing of network and cable TV, some video games and the Internet with their programming that portrays violence, sexuality and drug abuse. Shall we ban these, too, or simply have the good sense to push the "off" button or change the channel.
We remind school board members in George County and elsewhere that even the Bible depicts scenes of violence, chicanery, deception and corruption, of tragedy and triumph.
We think the practice of banning books is a throwback to an era when some select groups of people foolishly believed they should control the flow of information. That flow is, simply put, not controllable.
School boards should be more concerned with adopting policies that help instill in young people the ability to think, to discern right from wrong, to make intelligent decisions. That can only come after exposure to a wide variety of information.
To ban literature that can stimulate young minds is never the answer.
