Trying to shelter kids from reality with book bans usually backfires

Generation upon generation of powerful people have gotten it into their heads that it is their responsibility to shield impressionable youth from controversy.

However, to quote a high school student from Granbury, Texas: “No government … has ever banned books and banned information from its public and been remembered in history as the good guys.”

While the absoluteness of such a statement may not be entirely accurate, the general principle rings true. I firmly believe that attempting to shelter children from the realities of the world will nearly always backfire.

This is not to say that parents should be handing their first graders copies of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” but rather that adults should give due credit to the critical thinking skills of younger people.

For instance, let’s look at the extreme example mentioned above.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” is a sexually explicit book that glorifies abusive relationships. For these reasons, it has been banned in several places. Certainly, it is not the type of thing you would want a first grader to read. When this is explained in a respectful, noncondescending manner, most first graders will agree.

But despite what some people may claim, we all know that the vast majority of people aren’t handing out erotic novels to 8-year-olds. That’s not what the controversy is about when it comes to acceptable books. It’s about complicated ideas that authorities don’t think youth can face.

But the truth is we’re already facing them.

Every day, America’s youth face school shootings, sexual abuse, police brutality and other things deemed “too mature” for us. The least we could get is the knowledge that we’re not alone and information on how to handle reality. Sheltering doesn’t protect us. It leaves us vulnerable.

It doesn’t take a Ph. D. to explain America’s lessthan-perfect history to a child: “Our ancestors did some bad things and they hurt people. We’re trying to be better than them. We still have some ways to go. But if we listen to people we’ve hurt and respect people we don’t understand, we can make the world better. I’ll try to be better than my parents and you’ll try to be better than me, because we can always do better and be kinder.”

That simplified explanation can lead into complex discussions and kids who will grow to have a better understanding of social issues.

I’ve always been an avid reader.

In fifth grade, I read every book I could find on the Holocaust. In sixth grade, I found an article listing statistics on the suicide rates of transgender youth. In seventh grade, I went down internet rabbit holes about torture methods used by government agencies. In eighth grade, I downloaded library books that addressed mental health issues without patronizing the reader.

How did these experiences affect me?

I didn’t gain a hatred for the German people; I gained a strong conviction that cultivating an “us versus them” mentality was the first step toward human rights violations.

I didn’t immediately form an opinion on every matter of trans rights that existed; I gained empathy for kids whose existence I hadn’t previously been aware of.

I didn’t take up waterboarding as an after-school activity; I learned that the government is not always infallible.

I wasn’t traumatized by hearing about other people’s struggles; I gained insight on how to deal with my own.

People are so afraid that “the other side” will indoctrinate their children. But the first step to indoctrination is isolating a person from outside information.

Communication – not blind restriction – is how we end up with a nation of socially aware young people equipped with emotional maturity and carefully considered beliefs.