Words are powerful. The American Revolution was won as much with the words of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine and John Adams as it was with the soldiers of George Washington. Ruth Minsky Sender survived the Holocaust because she wrote poetry that touched the heart of the camp Commandant. (Read about it in her memoir The Cage). There are many more examples of words that have inspired change throughout our history.
There are books today that are inspiring change in the people who read them. Too many times, censors want to pull these books from libraries and schools because they fear the power of words and find these books dangerous. Ellen Hopkins is one writer who inspires and encourages students with her books, but finds them challenged. This past summer Ellen was disinvited from a teen literary festival because some adults found her books objectionable. Just this past week, the school district where she lives pulled all of her novels off the library shelves of its middle school in a knee-jerk response to one parent’s complaint (and without following district policy on challenging books).
Ellen’s books are powerful, but they are not putting the students who read in danger. Yes, they deal with difficult subjuects: meth addiction, incest, abuse. Hopkins in no way glorifies these difficult problems, but instead offers hope and encouragement to her readers. Unfortunately, too many of our students live in these difficult situations. Reading Hopkins’ books offers a way out of their isolation by showing they are not alone. For students who have been blessed to be born in healthy families, these books can awaken empathy for classmates. They also offer strong discouragement. I have not had a single student read Crank (the story of a girl sucked into meth addiction) come up and say, “That sounds like fun.” No, the universal reaction is the opposite: I never want anything to do with meth after reading what it can do to you.
Wha powerful books have you read lately? What will you do to keep those books in the hands of the readers who need them?
Saturday kicks off Banned Books Week (September 25 – October 2) sponsored by the Americal Library Association. No it’s not a week to throw your least favorite books on a bonfire. Instead it is a week to call attention to the fact that a few people would like to determine which books are available for everyone else to read. I don’t know about you, but some of my favorite books are on the most banned books list. Which of your favorite books are on the lists?
This year the book banning started early. Wesley Scroggins, a professor of management at Missouri State University wrote an opinion piece for the News-Leader of Springfield, MO, that calls for several books to be pulled from school classrooms. One of these books is Speakby Laurie Halse Anderson. I have not read the other books he criticizes, but I have read Speak and shared it with students. Scroggins characterizes Speak as “soft pornagraphy.” As I read his comments on Anderson’s book, I wonder if we read the same book. I wonder if he read the book at all. If you haven’t read Speak, go get it from your library now (before it is banned) and read it. You won’t regret it. Besides, the rest of this post will contain spoilers. Go read it before I ruin the suspense.
In Speak, Anderson does deal with tough stuff–rape. Melindea, the main character, is traumatized by being raped by a classmate at a party before her freshman year. In her fear, she calls the police, but flees before they arrive. She starts high school ostracized by her classmates (many of whom were busted at the party where she called the police). Alone and afraid, she spirals downward and withdraws deeper into herself because she is terrified to speak the truth about what happened to her. An art teacher gives her a way to express herself through working on a drawing of a tree. Slowly, Melindea gains the courage to speak out about what happened to her.
I wish I could say that these things don’t happen to my students, but they do. I have taught students who have been raped and worse. My students live in some tough situations of physical and sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness and more. The stories they tell break my heart. The stories told by authors like Laurie Halse Anderson won’t make their problems go away, but they can provide hope for these students. Living through such trauma makes one feel isolated and alone. Reading Melindea’s story can ease the isolation and give students the courage to find their own voice and ask for help. Taking these books off of school shelves won’t protect students from harsh realit. These books give them hope and courage.
If you doubt the power of this book, listen to Laurie Halse Anderson read a poem she wrote based on letters from readers of Speak: