VOA教育报道2022--关于学校禁书的争议

US Parents Oppose School Book Bans

The number of book bannings around the country has reached a level not seen for many years.

Censorship efforts have happened in places like Florida and Tennessee. One Tennessee school board banned Art Spiegelman's graphic¹ novel about the Holocaust², Maus. Other states have tried to pass similar measures.

There have also been strong reactions from individuals and free speech organizations. Stephana Ferrell is a mother of two in Orange County, Florida. At a local school board meeting, some officials criticized Maia Kobabe's graphic novel Gender³ Queer: A Memoir⁴. The county decided⁵ last autumn to remove it from high schools.

Ferrell said, "By winter break, we realized this was happening all over the state and needed to start a project to rally parents to protect access to information and ideas in school."

With another Orange County parent, she founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project. The group works with other parent groups in the state on a number of educational issues. Ferrell said they also work to "keep or get back books that have gone under challenge or have been banned."

Over the past year, book challenges and bans have reached levels not seen in many years. That information comes from officials at the American Library Association, the National Coalition⁶ Against Censorship, or NCAC, and other supporters of free speech.

"There are some books with pornography and pedophilia that should absolutely be removed from K through 12 school libraries," said Yael Levin. She is a spokesperson for No Left Turn in Education. The nationwide group opposes what it calls a "Leftist agenda" for public schools.

Bills have been proposed that restrict classroom reading and discussion around the country, says PEN America. The group works to defend free speech in the U.S. Almost all of the bills, it says, center on sexuality, gender identity or race.

In Missouri, a proposed bill would ban teachers from using The 1619 Project. That is a special project of the New York Times Magazine that centers around slavery in American history. It was released last year as a book.

In an answer to such moves, group like the American Civil Liberties Union, PEN America and the NCAC have been working with local activists⁷, educators and families around the country.

The head of book publisher Penguin⁸ Random⁹ House, Markus Dohle, has said he will personally donate $500,000 for a book defense¹⁰ fund. Hachette Book Group has announced "emergency donations" to PEN, NCAC and the Authors Guild¹¹.

In Missouri, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, sought action in federal court last month. The organization was hoping to prevent the Wentzville school district from removing books including Gender Queer, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Keise Laymon's Heavy.

Vera Eidelman is a lawyer with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. She said the U.S. Supreme¹² Court ruled in 1982 that "local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books."

However, Eidelman said, school officials are permitted to ban books for reasons other than not approving of the ideas in the books. Officials might decide, for example, that the book uses too much vulgar language.

But the meaning of vulgarity can change and be unclear, she said. And that can be used by the government to ban books.

Two anti-banning measures were started in Pennsylvania. In Kutztown, student Joslyn Diffenbaugh formed a banned book club that began with a reading of George Orwell's "Animal Farm." And the Pennridge Improvement Project has started a drive to purchase books that have been removed from schools and put them in small free libraries around the area.

Words in This Story

censorship – n. the system or practice of censoring¹³ books, movies, letters, etc.

graphic novel — n. cartoon drawings that tell a story and are published as a book

access — n. a way of being able to use or get something

challenge — n. an action, statement, etc., that is against something : a refusal to accept something as true, correct, or legal

pornography— n. movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement

pedophilia — n. sexual feelings or activities that involve children

agenda— n. a plan or goal that guides someone's behavior and that is often kept secret

gender — n. the state of being male or female

district — n. an area established by a government for official government business

vulgar — adj. not having or showing good manners, good taste, or politeness

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。