The First Amendment clearly states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

However, our very first rights as citizens of this country are violated every day. Though we supposedly live in ‘the land of the free,’ there are some that find a way to limit our exposure to certain subjects or ideas simply because of personal issues. While our  laws are not as strict as, say Vietnam once was, I find great trouble in the fact that religious groups, or bored housewives have the ability to restrict children from reading certain books. 

Perhaps even more frustrating, some have found ways to edit, change, or eliminate names, words, and topics from certain stories deemed ‘offensive’ or inappropriate’. While the argument remains that, “Books usually are challenged with the best intention ”to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information” (ALA) I have to question why we would have the first amendment at all. These groups and individuals seeking controversial material and attempting to prevent its circulation is in direct violation of our most coveted right. It would be obscene for somebody to paint over the naked body of one of Michelangelo's statues, yet we allow the defacement of Mark Twain’s literature because a word is currently and socially considered a racial slur. 

I want to teach children to love books because I think it is so important in terms of developing an imagination, and crucial in learning to speak with a better vocabulary in addition to familiarizing themselves with proper grammar age and sentence structure.  I refuse to accept the fact that a protesting religious group who has never met me or visited my classroom to decide what I can and cannot teach my students. We live in America, and that means any book can be chosen for curriculum. I understand not wanted to scare children, or teach them things they might not learn otherwise. I myself would probably not teach certain books to certain demographics or age groups based on content, but this decision should not be something a group of soccer mom’s or church group has control of. 

I would like to put commonly challenged and/or banned books in front of each student in addition to demonstrating many of the common controversial subjects in an effort to raise awareness about how and why this is happening.  I think many of us will be suprised at a lot of the content that is repeatedly challenged and banned.