Literature’s Secret Scandal: Encouraging Print Literacy

When parents walk from the kitchen to the living room, they will often find their children rapidly changing channels in an attempt to prevent the authoritative eyes from glimpsing the latest reality television shows or disreputable talk shows. There are few people in this world (including children) who are not drawn to a scandal; the evidence for this statement can be found in popular television series, the movies, and even in the news. While this can be very disconcerting in many aspects of life, there are actually times when teachers can make use of this impulse. Why not harness this characteristic and apply it to the problem of encouraging children to read?

In an article entitled “Banned Books Week: It’s Your Freedom We’re Talking About” that appeared in the CSLA Journal, Caroline Gill “introduce[s] the concept of intellectual freedom and censorship” and encourages students to read by making use of the wide variety of banned books that can be found in the Palms Middle School library (15). The school teaches the students the key information associated with the banned books in their library. For example, the students can identify challenged books by “[y]ellow labels on the spines” (15). Also, there is a bibliography of banned books to which the students can refer. Each book has a card with it that explains why it is being challenged. The students then browse the books and pick one they would like to use for a report. They read the book “with the purpose of understanding both what the author wanted to communicate and what words or ideas censors found to be objectionable” (15). After the report, the students write the author of the book a letter explaining what they thought was good about the book. Gill concludes by discussing a “suggested timeline for Banned Book Week” that may help other schools and teachers become involved in a similar project (16).

While Gill mainly uses her unit on banned books to teach about freedom of speech, I believe that this kind of unit could be even more useful if implemented as a way to help motivate students. It appeals to the students’ interest in scandal. The knowledge that someone out there does not want them to read the book makes the book sound enticing. (I admit it: when I was reading about the different challenged books, I immediately picked up The Catcher in the Rye and began reading.) This is one time when librarians can take advantage of students’ need to challenge authority. While some parents may object at first, I think a well thought out response will definitely help sway them because most parents want their children to enjoy reading. The teacher just needs to explain that if the students are actually interested in the book and curious as to why it was challenged, they will feel much more motivation when it comes to reading. This curiosity can drive them to actually completing and enjoying a book that otherwise would have failed to spark an interest.

Work Cited

Gill, Caroline. "Banned Books Week: It's Your Freedom We're Talking About!." CSLA Journal 29.1 (Fall 2005): 15-16. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.