This in-depth package was edited by Audrey Park
There were 67 attempts to ban books in Illinois in 2022 alone, according to the Chicago-based American Library Association. Many targeted books include identities and themes from the LGBTQ+ community and communities of color.
But within the Laboratory Schools, students have access to commonly challenged books in the high school library and even in the classroom. In English classes, students do more than just read these books. They often partake in discussions about their complex themes, requesting students to think and reflect on deeper levels.
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We try to find ourselves connecting to characters and seeing our own story reflected.
— Rachel Nielsen, English teacher
English teacher Christine Himmelfarb teaches “Passing” by Nella Larsen, which contains a racial slur and depictions of sexual assault. Ms. Himmelfarb said she believes her discussions around the book build student engagement.
“The classroom is a great place to have these discussions because it’s both not about us, and it is about us,” Ms. Himmelfarb said. “In life, we hold our opinions and keep them to ourselves when we get the sense that no one is in agreement, but the classroom doesn’t really let you hide in that way. It’s like a safe place to not be safe.”
Ms. Himmelfarb said as an English teacher, she chooses books that she believes contain educational value, and that discussing those as a class can benefit students outside of the classroom.
“I would never pick a book because it’s controversial or because it exposes students to really difficult things,” Ms. Himmelfarb said. “But I would argue that if you can’t talk about these subjects in these fictional contexts, are you going to ever be able to talk to them in the real world, when it even counts more?”
Expressing similar ideas to Ms. Himmelfarb, English teacher Rachel Nielsen said, “Nobody is teaching a book because it’s banned. We pick things because we believe there’s something of literary merit and there’s something with the characters’ experiences that’s enriching.”
Ms. Nielsen teaches “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, categorized by the ALA as a “Frequently Challenged Book with Diverse Content.” No matter how difficult they might be to grasp, Ms. Nielsen said she believes these books are designed to provide readers with new perspectives.
“We try to find ourselves connecting to characters and seeing our own story reflected,” Ms. Nielsen said. “Avoiding that is insulting to students and the complexity of their lives.”
Senior Marlena Leuz read the graphic memoir “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel, also commonly challenged and banned, for an English class. Marlena said her in-class discussions were positive spaces for understanding content.
“These books are written for a reason,” Marlena said, “and by allowing the space to read them, we can look at different perspectives than our own. The way we talked about the more uncomfortable parts of ‘Fun Home’ made it less awkward because those parts are just as important to the book. By processing them, we got more out of the story.”
Marlena said she feels the ability for classes to explore and discuss these books is an example of the emphasis Lab places on inclusion and belonging.
“It shows that Lab is a space that allows for this diversity and encourages talking about the more ‘taboo’ subjects,” Marlena said. “It allows us to get more out of the community itself as well. Having been at Lab for a really long time, even in lower school, banned books were a topic we talked about. It reflects our values of trying to create an open environment.”
Laboratory Schools Director Tori Jueds said she agrees with the idea of an educational aspect to teaching books that require tougher moments of discourse for students.
“Whether the subject matter is controversial or well accepted, it’s about building and exercising all of the muscles that are needed by a true scholar,” Ms. Jueds said. “It’s about how to be flexible in one’s thinking, and how to be open to new ideas. In a way, it’s about personal and intellectual resilience, too.”
Yuli Arseniy • Dec 9, 2023 at 12:55 pm
nobody cares.
Look at the entire wikipedia about the book which details who and why they are banning it. The book even includes messages of pedophilia, refer to the “sexual imagery” section.
the bans concern themselves primarily with elementary and lower school children, and it is a pretty objective agreeable standard to exclude them from accessing pornography in their own libraries.
stop trying to connect this to “oppression of gays” when there is inherent evidence that the bans are about much more than the gayness.
the notion that “It’s ridiculous to tell people what they can and can’t read, If you don’t want to read a book, that’s fine. But you can’t tell someone else not to read a book.” is a severely misled outlook, just look at where the bans are taking place, nobody is trying to ban the books from the general population.
pretending otherwise is a dangerous narrative that enforces the exposure of pornography to the youth and withholds parents of their right to choice of education.
cut it out.