Censorship in education

TASK:

ESSAY

COURSE: ENG: 2206: COMPOSITION II

SEMESTER:

FALL2015

INSTRUCTOR: PETER MBUGUA

ADM NO:
NAME:

Censorship in education

Is Censorship Necessary in education?

Through out of history censorship has been part of human society as far back as the biblical
times. Censorship has a substantial role in affecting the world we live in. Censorship is when a
person or group of people successfully imposes their values upon others by stifling words,
images or ideas and preventing them from reaching the public marketplace of ideas. Around the
world many governments restrict access to certain kind of material for their citizens they range
from movies deemed to be sexual, political ideas and textbooks. The debate on censorship in
education is a thorny issue and would cover volumes of law books by itself. Censorship has the
positive effect of protecting children from harmful influence, but it can also have negative
effects. Censorship on the other hand has the negative effect of suppressing the spread of ideas
and new knowledge. Censorship is a threat to education and this essay will examine the
arguments for and against censorship in education.
First and foremost the most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning
of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish.
Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with
artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what
others read. A good example is William Shakespeare though his work is regarded as a
masterpiece; it is often banned in most schools throughout the world. The root of bigotry and
illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and
unconditional. (Bily, 2012) Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of
our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First amendment. In reference to the American constitution
the First Amendment, states Congress shall make no law infringing the freedom of speech, or of
the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances. (Pilon, p. 13). However, censorship, such as the banned books list,
infringes this freedom. It decries what cannot be said and studied in school, so it limits
education. Thus in this regard it violates the freedom of speech and if that freedom is taken away
from students it affects their learning capabilities. Students should be given the right to selfcensor and let them read whatever they wish to read as this will make them more wiser and
knowledgeable i.e. know what is good and bad.
It is easy to see why many people are opposed to Censorship in education as censorship favors
the elite. In modern society the ruling elite maintain their grasp on power through suppression of
new knowledge and spread of ideas. The ruling class knows that that the rise of an educated class
is often a breeding ground for revolutionaries something which is detrimental to their survival.
To stay ahead of their game they devised one of the most ingenious methods known to man that
is indoctrination through the education system and also hiding the truth from the mases (Jansen,
1988). As children go through an education system a ruling class can indoctrinate and censor
whatever they deem dangerous to their establishment and thus they bring a zombie like
generation which abides by their rules regardless of their draconian nature as that is what they

Censorship in education

grew up learning and the truth was hidden from them. This in turn causes developmental
stagnation in society as the masses are uneducated.
Some people feel that censorship in education is pointless today. The world today is a global
village thus suppressing of ideas and reading materials will amount to nothing as people i.e.
student especially scholars can travel to other countries to access what is censored in their
motherland. For example there has been an influx of Asian mainly of Chinese descent flocking
western universities as they are more liberal thus they bypass their countrys censorship. It is also
impossible to block content on the internet. The current generation i.e. the millennials are said to
be the smartest of any preceding generation and what governments censor from the curriculum
can easily be accessed on the internet. The recent widespread hack attacks on government
websites worldwide are a testament that censorship in education is pointless.
Those in favor of removing censorship in also claim that the type of content chosen is often for
the wrong reason. For example many very violent movies are allowed in many cases but
intellectual films and books are banned due to some minor sexual content.
On the other hand, good portion of the masses also are in favor of censorship in education as
they believe that children should be protected against vices such as violence and pornographic
content. First children are great imitators. They readily assimilate and imitate what they see and
hear, this can negatively impact their behavior. This also in turn causes desensitization i.e. that is
when a child becomes emotionally and physically unresponsive to the violence they see on set. I
bet that no one would like his or her children to gain access to hardcore pornography and
magazines. I also acknowledge that pornography has a huge impact on the brain of a child.
Pornography can scar a child for life due to its effects on the brain and also parts of the human
body. One of the feared effects is erectile dysfunction which is known to cause a domino effect
on a person life ranging from failed marriages, depression, suicidal thoughts and the list goes on.
This shows that censorship might have some credibility but still censoring education will violate
the rights and freedom of people thus this issue should be left to an individual to self-censor as
students are mature enough to know what is good and bad.
Censorship in education is viewed as essential by many people in the society as many advocate
for limits on certain kinds of material for religious or cultural reasons. People expect the
government or relevant authority to act as a watchdog to protect their children from illegal
activities or items. They also expect the government to prevent the distribution of forbidden
material so as to shield their children. In this regard, the government may ban books which
advocate and support forbidden material. For example many governments today have done away
with books that advocate racism and religious extremism. In this situation censorship in
education is necessary as to protect the children from negative influence. The government may
also censor books to avoid offending certain cultural group cause of the content published
pertaining that ethnicity may be offensive. In most schools today the demographics are often

Censorship in education

multicultural therefore any material considered offensive must be censored to avoid any unrest in
the school.
Censorship may also be necessary in education as children are not educated enough to really
understand complex political ideology. Allowing politics and books of political orientation to be
discussed in institutions of learning is a recipe for disaster. First most students lack background
knowledge about political ideology and are ignorant thus this can cause a lot of unnecessary
tension. Therefore the government has to step in and censor what information is being in stilled
on students to avoid breeding of bad elements in school and society at large. The fact that the
majority of leaners in education are young and immature exposing them to complex political
ideas may destabilize the society as young people are radical in nature. However, the truth should
never be hidden from the masses.
In conclusion, people are strongly divided on the issue of censorship in education. While some
people have solid reason to support censorship and others against censorship in education,
personally I feel that censorship in education is unnecessary and pointless. The government
should give students space to practice their right and freedom. We live in a free world and people
should make their own choices.
References
1 Bily, C. (2012). Banned books. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
2. Jansen, S. (1988). Censorship: The knot that binds power and knowledge. New York: Oxford
University Press.
3 Bird, L. (2006). The First Amendment on campus: A handbook for college and university
administrators. Washington, D.C.: NASPA.

Censorship in education