Many school districts in Texas, including some local South Texas schools such as West Oso ISD have sent out a list of books that are now banned from being available at their school libraries. Flour Bluff ISD also had a group of people with concerns over books that they have available in the school libraries speak up at a school board meeting.
While some people agree with this new list of banned books, others are concerned, as I am. What is even more concerning is that a lot of these people that are for banning these books do not even have children in the school district.
Many of the books that are being banned are LBGTQ+ community based, and have other references to sex, drugs, slavery and other deep topics. It seems as if these groups that are pushing the banning of these books have their own personal agendas, and truly do not care about the student’s safety and well-being.
Students, especially teenagers that may be going through a lot mentally, and/ or hormonal changes, or any major change in general in their lives, often read these books and may be able to connect to them and feel like they are not alone in whatever situation they are going through.
By reading these books they realize that others have felt and or experienced the same challenges they do. Without these books being available to them may cause their mental health to deuterate and cause other major problems such as depression.Most of the people that want these books banned have no education or professional background. They come from distinct groups, or local churches. I believe anyone deciding about curriculum or about what should and should not be in a school library should be educated and have some kind of educational background. Not someone who has their own personal agendas that they want to fulfill.
I t’s important to know that this is happening not just in Texas but around the world. One day you’ll possibly have children in the school system, and you may not want them to be deprived of major parts of history that these people are trying to erase or deprived of a book that can help them deal with personal problems that they may not feel comfortable talking to someone about.
My hope is that by the time my son is old enough to attend public schools he is not deprived of books that can help his mental health, or not have true history hidden from him.
