Censors in the Classroom

This concerned review demonstrates through the weight of evidences that censorship is unrestrained by geographic, economic, religious, or political boundaries—it pervades the United States. From Maine to California books are be­ing wrested from the hands of teachers and pupils to be edited with magic mark­ers, mutilated by razor blades, and burned. These events are ordered by lo­cal school boards after they have been informed of the books’ “questionable content” by parent groups. Administrators of a midwestern grade school hired an artist to pencil pants on cherubs in a Maurice Sendak tale while in West Virginia police escorting school buses filled with children through par­ent picket lines were fired upon by snipers. Books written by individuals judged to be homosexuals are removed from li­braries and schools as “it is time that, along with thieves and murderers, they be branded for the sinners they are and removed from society.” Some of the writers whose work was considered ob­jectionable by this “Save Our Children” group were John Milton, Emily Dickin­son, Walt Whitman, and Hans Christian Andersen. It is not enough to portray the excess­es of such movements. Only through calm, informed discussion of the issues and a keen awareness of the organization and goals of the pressure groups can their efforts be effectively countered. Jenkinson offers some suggestions for concerned teachers, librarians, and par­ents who would have an active voice in the decision of who will guide the minds of children. “Keep those teachers on their toes. Let them know you are there and watch­ing!” advises the “Plan of Action” of the Parents of Minnesota, Inc. And they do.