Book banning and censorship has increased in recent years, particularly in the United States, as conservative state governments target literature and wider discourse around various matters of diversity. The team of authors—an honors scholarship mentor and two honors students—engaged in a critical reflection around the issue of book banning and its impacts on their disciplines of teacher education, biology, and elementary education. Interviews with educators and authors from episodes of the lead author's podcast, some of which were facilitated by the honors students, are cited to illustrate the authors' individual reflections. Conclusions and implications for the authors' future lines of inquiry and, more broadly, future practice in honors education at postsecondary institutions are disseminated.
I walk the corner to the rubble.
That used to be a library, line up to the mind cemetery now.
What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin.'
They don't gotta’ burn the books; they just remove 'em. - Rage Against the Machine (1996)
TopIntroduction
In post-2020 times, culture clashes have persisted in the American political discourse, and schools have become arenas for debates and legislation on how matters such as race, culture, gender identity, sexuality, and diversity, in a broad sense, are discussed. Historically, political reforms are funneled down to public education institutions as policymakers and authoritative forces seek to instill specific values and educational practices to implement wider social changes (Meyer, 1979; Ornstein, 1990; Penuel & O’Connor, 2018).
One type of political reform, in particular, that has been increasingly leveraged in recent years throughout U.S. public schools is book banning. PEN America (2024) has provided a following working definition of “book banning:”
A school book ban [is] any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished. Diminished access is a form of censorship and has educational implications that extend beyond a title’s removal. (PEN America, 2024, para. 4)
The American Library Association (2024) has tracked instances of book banning for over 20 years. According to their most recently available data, 3,923 total titles were challenged in 2023, “a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022, which saw the highest number of book challenges [up to that point in time]” (para. 3). Book bans have occurred in the past two years in at least 33 states, primarily ones with conversative legislatures (e.g., Florida, Missouri, and Texas), with topics such as “race, gender, American history, and LGTBQ+ identities” (PEN America, 2023, para. 3) most frequently targeted.
In 2022, the Georgia legislature passed several laws that impact how diversity is discussed and how literature can be challenged. Georgia House Bill 1084 (2022) details how teachers in Georgia public schools can discuss and teach about “divisive concepts,” which mainly relate to matters of race and diversity. Georgia Senate Bill 226 (2022) provides procedures for how book complaints are reviewed in Georgia school districts before they are banned from a district’s schools and library spaces. Finally, Georgia House Bill 1178 (2002), known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” stipulates and reinforces parental input on a child’s education, including the power to review teaching and learning materials. Combined, these laws placed great restrictions on teachers’ practices in Georgia public schools.
In 2023, Katie Rinderle, a fifth grade teacher in Cobb County, Georgia, was terminated for reading aloud bestselling author Scott Stuart’s picture book, My Shadow is Purple. Rinderle purchased this book, which focuses on gender identity and acceptance, at a book fair event at her former school. Sherry Culves, the lawyer for Rinderle’s former district, noted, “The Cobb County School District is very serious about the classroom being a neutral place for students to learn, [and a] one-sided viewpoint on political, religious or social beliefs does not belong in our classrooms” (Suliman, 2023, para. 8).