# data[].attributes.body
Religion is a very touchy subject especially since there is a large amount of diversity throughout it. Some parents, schools, and etc cause banning of material an example of this being Harry Potter, on of the most famous book series. One study found that reading J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, which is frequently challenged for religious concerns about witchcraft, "improved attitudes" about immigrants, homosexuals, and refugees." So many aspects of different books cause controversy on what should be registered and read.

# data[].attributes.body
A part of education is helping us as people become socially capable. When we don't have things we need it makes teachers jobs more difficult. Sure there is always alternatives to lessons, but the true lessons depicts on what the learner experiences through genuine resources.

# data[].attributes.body
"Books are a portal to different life experiences and reading encourages empathy and social-emotional development." Taking away these resources, takes away from the understanding of each other. Reading stories some fictional, some true filling us with the missing puzzle pieces of adventure helps us develop a sense of sympathy and expression.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Pro 1

Parents have the right to decide what material their children are exposed to and when. Having books with adult topics available in libraries limits parents' ability to choose when their children are mature enough to read specific material. "Literary works containing explicit sex, oral sex, explicit & violent descriptions of rape, masturbation, vulgar and obscene language" were on the approved reading list for grades 7-12, according to Speak up for Standards, a group seeking age-appropriate reading materials for students in Dallas, Texas. If books with inappropriate material are available in libraries, children or teens can be exposed to books their parents wouldn't approve of before the parents even find out what their children are reading. "[O]pting your child out of reading [a certain] book doesn't protect him or her. They are still surrounded by the other students who are going to be saturated with this book," said writer Macey France.

Con 1

Parents may control what their own children read, but don't have a right to restrict what books are available to other people. Parents who don't like specific books can have their kids "opt out" of an assignment without infringing on the rights of others. The National Coalition against Censorship explained that "Even books or materials that many find 'objectionable' may have educational value, and the decision about what to use in the classroom should be based on professional judgments and standards, not individual preferences." In the 1982 Supreme Court ruling on Board of Education v. Pico, Justice Brennan wrote that taking books off of library shelves could violate students' First Amendment rights, adding that "Local school boards may not remove books from school libraries simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books."

Pro 2

Children should not be exposed to sex, violence, drug use, or other inappropriate topics in school or public libraries. Books in the young adult genre often contain adult themes that young people aren't ready to experience. Of the top ten most challenged books in 2018, six had LGBT content, and three were sexually explicit. According to Jenni White, a former public school science teacher, "Numerous studies on the use of graphic material by students indicate negative psychological effects," including having "more casual sex partners and [beginning] having sex at younger ages." The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that exposure to violence in media, including in books, can impact kids by making them act aggressively and desensitizing them to violence. Kim Heinecke, a mother of four, wrote to her local Superintendent of Public Schools that "It is not a matter of 'sheltering' kids. It is a matter of guiding them toward what is best. We are the adults. It is our job to protect them - no matter how unpopular that may seem."

Con 2

Many frequently challenged books help people get a better idea of the world and their place in it. Robie H. Harris, author of frequently challenged children's books including It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing up, Sex, and Sexual Health, stated, "I think these books look at the topics, the concerns, the worry, the fascination that kids have today... It's the world in which they're living." Many books that have long been considered to be required reading to become educated about literature and American history are frequently challenged, such as: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Group's "Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century" are frequently challenged; banning them would deprive students of essential cultural and historical knowledge, as well as differing points of view.

Pro 3

Keeping books with inappropriate content out of libraries protects kids, but doesn't stop people from reading those books or prevent authors from writing them. Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council noted that removing certain books from libraries is about showing discretion and respecting a community's values, and doesn't prevent people from getting those books elsewhere: "It's an exaggeration to refer to this as book banning. There is nothing preventing books from being written or sold, nothing to prevent parents from buying it or children from reading it." What some call "book banning," many see as making responsible choices about what books are available in public and school libraries. "Is it censorship that you're unable to go to your local taxpayer-funded branch and check out a copy of the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion'? For better or for worse, these books are still widely available. Your local community has simply decided that finite public resources are not going to be spent disseminating them," Weekly Standard writer and school board member Mark Hemingway stated.

Con 3

Books are a portal to different life experiences and reading encourages empathy and social-emotional development. One study found that reading J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, which is frequently challenged for religious concerns about witchcraft, "improved attitudes" about immigrants, homosexuals, and refugees. Another study found that reading narrative fiction helped readers understand their peers and raised social abilities. A study in Basic and Applied Social Psychology found that people who read a story about a Muslim woman were less likely to make broad judgments based on race. Neil Gaiman, author of the frequently challenged novel Neverwhere, among other books, stated that fiction "build[s] empathy... You get to feel things, visit places and worlds you would never otherwise know. You learn that everyone else out there is a me, as well. You're being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you're going to be slightly changed. Empathy is a tool for building people into groups, for allowing us to function as more than self-obsessed individuals."

Source: American Library Association, "Top 11 Challenged Books of 2018," ala.org (accessed Sep. 18, 2019)

Footnotes:

1. Loris Vezzali, et al., "The Greatest Magic of Harry Potter: Reducing Prejudice," Journal of Applied Social Psychology, July 23, 2014

2. Raymond A. Mar, et al., "Bookworms Versus Nerds: Exposure to Fiction Versus Non-Fiction, Divergent Associations with Social Ability, and the Simulation of Fictional Social Worlds," Journal of Research in Personality, 2006

3. Dan R. Johnson, Brandie L. Huffman, and Danny M. Jasper, "Changing Race Boundary Perception by Reading Narrative Fiction," Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Feb. 10, 2014

4. ALA, "Top 11 Challenged Books of 2018," ala.org (accessed Sep. 18, 2019)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Banned Books - Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pro 1 Parents have the right to decide what material their children are exposed to and when. Having books with adult topics available in libraries limits parents' ability to choose when their children are mature enough to read specific material.

# data[].attributes.body
Book banning can lead to restriction of education. It's just like in certain school districts they ban watching PG rated movies or block certain educational videos. Books are restricted for foul language, inappropriate topics, and controversial situations that stop teachers from providing, sometimes necessary material. The frustration of trying to teach and develop young minds from confined material.

# data[].attributes.body
Some might say book banning is against your freedom of speech. Obviously this leads to arguments of peoples rights.  "Although free speech is highly valued in the United States, many questions about the limits of free speech exist."