My research question is "how can a teacher promote freedom in the classroom, while also keeping the topics 'school appropriate'?". I didn't notice how important censorship was until I took Adolescent Literature and our teacher talked A LOT about banned book and censorship. The reality is that teachers are constantly being watched and monitored by faculty, parents, students and community members. A censorship challenge can potentially ruin a teacher's career and it is important to be aware of the legal restrictions and limits that are put on teachers and students in the classroom.
I took the idea of censorship a little further and applied it to writing in the classroom. Is it okay for students to swear in their writers notebooks? What topics are "off limits" in your classroom? In the school setting? These are all important decisions that we will have to make as teachers and it is EXTREMELY important to know if there are legalities.
The only knowledge that I have about censorship is from when I was in high school. There were many projects and writing assignments that had strict guidelines to prevent students from talking about "off-limits" topics. It didn't feel like I was being censored, it was just a specifically guided topic or assignment. In my high school creative writing class, my teacher introduced writer's notebooks and we flooded her with questions. We asked about swearing and she explained that it was okay as long as it was not excessive. For me, it was always known but never taught that violence and guns were not something that you wrote about in class. At the same time, I am positive that powerful pieces could come from even the worst topics. Unfortunatley, there are parents and faculty that would most likely disagree.
Have you ever felt censored?
Did your teachers ever explicitly censor your projects or writing?
Jess,
ReplyDeleteThis topic sounds like an interesting one to explore. I think that students should be able to express how they feel, but they have to know where to draw the line. Like you mentioned, students should be able to use expressive and vulgar language, as long as it is not excessive, or swearing for the sake of swearing. I find it hard to ask a student to write about something that may be meaningful and emotional, but put restrictions on what they can write. I will be very interested to see what you find during the course of this project.
Jess,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic choice!! I have personally felt that my teachers have censored my writing and have made comments that are insulting. I think that students should be allowed to express themselves in away that they are comfortable. Being labeled a good writer is something that takes a while for some, while others are just naturally good at it and by censoring thoughts, writing style, or word choice can be damaging to the writer.