Poll: Parent Censorship

[Xylon Lionheart]

There is a time and place for censorship. If I was a parent, would I want my five-year-old child to watch something like Saw or play a game like Condemned? Hell no. But according to the original poster, this is an academic situation where a fifteen year old is the one not being allowed to read the book. That's just stupid. At that age there really is no good reason to not allow her to read the book in class. The author makes it clear that he does not condone the main character's actions at all. Besides, at fifteen a person has already pretty much developed their personality and morality, so not much can be done to change that. A parent's job at that point is to try and lead them down the right path but not yank them down the exact path they want them to take. That generally just leads to rebellion.

 

[KurtzGallahad]

Firstly I guess it's okay as long as the teacher gets the child to read a book exploring similar themes though I'd have to say that the mother has some kind of childhood trauma involving loli-con. I was twelve when I read it, and there Is a whole lot of shit out there much creepier than it

 

[Pingieking]

I'm going to take a semi-hypocritical position. I completely disapprove of what that parent is doing, but I also want more parents to do the same thing.
The reason why I want more parents to do the same thing is because of the decline of competition it causes. If my classmate is being taken out of biology class, then I lol at them and their parents. It basically means that there's no chance of them getting that genetic research job over me. They can keep on believing that the Earth is a few thousand years old, I'll gladly take up that research position that offends them so much.
The reason why I disapprove of this parent is because her actions breaks the damn school system. As flawed as the school system is, it's still our only way of standardized minimal education. In this case it's fine because the girl is getting another curriculum, but what if people want to withdraw from stuff like evolution? What about people who are offended by the concept that the Earth goes around the Sun? Why the hell are those people allowed to get a high school degree when they don't know shit?

Your parents are where censorship should come from. Not school, not the government, not the church, but the people who have the responsibility of bringing you up right. I completely 100% approve of parental censorship and completely 100% disapprove of censorship in all other forms. I wouldn't do what this particular parent did, but it's her child so it's not my right to tell her what to do.

I would agree with you, under the condition that the child is to be completely removed from society for his/her entire life.
I think that if a person is to participate in society, then there are some generally accepted "truths" that they're going to have to live with. It doesn't mean they have to like it, believe it, or agree with it, they just have to live with it. If society deems that racism is wrong, then they can either prove society wrong, detach themselves from society, or just live with it.

I think all censorship is wrong. Everything should be free go. Any kind of censorship by anybody only leads to indoctrination.

 

[vorlors]

Ill be honest when I read the title I though it would be about so kids mom not letting them get a m game witch I would have voted yes but after reading it I have to say the mom has all right to protest her child reading it not that i agree mind you but parent should have some control over the kids tell the 18 or living on there own just think of all the years of free food stuff house they payed for when we grew or are growing up

on a side note I knew three kids that got a free bio 2 honers crd with out taking the class becuse their parents when hardcore religolists and there was 3 pages on darwins thory of evo

ps sry but the period key broken

 

[fontlas]

Do NONE of you remember being a kid?


People were fucking and smoking pot by the eight grade.

This wouldn't harm her.

 

[Tomster595]

I feel that it is a poor decision on the mother's part, but she does have the right to make it.

So yes, it's ok, but a very poor choice in raising your child.

 

[chickenlord]

i live in a f-ing free country people, they may have "authority" but i don't think they have the right to block me from the outside world!...

 

[benoitowns]

What that mother should REALLY do is go to all her friends, (if she has any) buy as many copies as possible, and BURN them. yes, burning the books burns the idea, and the daughter will then be safe from pedophiles.

 

[icyfresh]

y isn't there an option called F NO!!

 

[mrdude2010]

I think this was a bad decision on the mother's part

That said, I think it is completely justified that she has the right to control aspects of her curriculum like this. After all, parents are the ones that fund the public school system, they should without a doubt be able to exercise some control over the institution that they fund. I do not agree with the mother's decision in this situation, but I do agree with the principle of parents being allowed to influence the public school system. If they do not put checks on the schools, who will? I know this is not the case, but what if the school started passing out porn in the classes for all of the kids to read? The parents would not let that happen.

okay but parents controlling what is taught in schools to a certain extent is the reason America is one of the most poorly educated countries science-wise. When concrete science like evolution is banned because parents don't like it being taught, it's really the students who suffer. Likewise with censorship. Obviously it's a good idea to keep subjects age-appropriate, but trying to "protect" students from knowledge they should receive isn't a good idea.

 

[13thforswarn]

I'm divided on this one. While the parent has full right to do so if they fell it is fit, I personally, don't think it was a good idea. Shielding their kid from such literature isn't going make such things like rape stop. I think by reading the book makes the girl more aware and more careful. If the girl doesn't want to read it, that may be slightly different.

 

[Klarinette]

Parents withdraw their kids from shit like this because they want to shelter them and keep them hidden from corruption. What's sad is how futile that really is. It's called "Life"; welcome to it.

 

[shinigamisparda]

It's a weird situation. I think the girl should be allowed to not read the book if it truly offends her, but she should at least be aware that these kind of things happen/are written about. The big problem with censorship is that it keeps people from realizing just how disgusting this world can be, therefore making them more vulnerable to those aforementioned horrors.

And on the subject of religion, in my english class we were given (for educational purposes) a list of all the things that religion uses to decide wether or not to ban a book. Some are ridiculous but others, although they make sense, ban things that you wouldn't expect. Here's a few:

Cannibalism: Sure it makes sense, it's very gory action, but this covers ANY instance of eating people or mentioning of eating people. Because of this, Hansel and Gretel is banned.

Witchcraft: Yeah I'm sure we can already pick a book on banned because of this (Harry Potter) but this also includes just about any mention of magic not done by the will of God. So there goes The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Alladin...

Profanity: Again, it makes sense, but guess what book is banned because of it? THE DICTIONARY.

And my personal favorite, separation of church and state. Yeah, I'm not touching that one.

 

[scaevusxiii]

In this case, my answer is an emphatic "no."

However, there are some situations where parental censorship is all right- say, not letting a six year old watch something like "Hostel," or similar fare. That would not be a good idea.

However, by fifteen, such censorship- and towards a book that, from what I've heard, has great literary value- is pointless. The girl has almost certainly been exposed to worse (hell, I go to a private school, and plenty of people there smoke weed, drink, or get high off the Mucinex in their parents' medicine cabinet) or will be soon enough. And what better way to introduce her to good ole reality than through a learning environment where there are no real risks? It would certainly be better for her to learn about how the world works that way, than by being raped downtown or mugged in a back alley (or have that happen to a friend, or whatever).

 

[azukar]

That said, I think it is completely justified that she has the right to control aspects of her curriculum like this. After all, parents are the ones that fund the public school system, they should without a doubt be able to exercise some control over the institution that they fund. I do not agree with the mother's decision in this situation, but I do agree with the principle of parents being allowed to influence the public school system.

Nnno, you're thinking about this the wrong way around. Public education is education for all; education for the masses. If the mother wants to have some influence in curriculum design, she should send her daughter to a private school, where those lofty school fees really do fund the institution.

 

[x0ny]

And yeah, screw Lolita (it was an option for my Grade 12 final essay, heh), that girl's mom should try reading a Stephen King novel. Damn, I didn't sleep for a week after reading Cell.

I thought Cell was one of his weaker books, the use of language was weird, or really cheesy and unintelligent, sounded like it was something written by myself rather than Stephen King. I preferred most of his older stuff. I never could get into the wizards tower series though.