My son brought home a permission slip for a book for his English class. The book is called "American Gods" and is written by Neil Gaiman, and Gaiman has won quite a few awards for his writing. However, the book contains "sexual encounters, graphic violence similar to crucifixion, and strong language throughout". I have to admit that my first reaction was to be upset that my kid needs permission to read. He is almost 17 years old and a junior in high school. I cannot think of a book out there that I wouldn't let him read. I've always been very against censorship of any kind. My thinking is this: How can you expect people to make informed decisions and learn to think for themselves if you limit what information they have access to? So, of course, I signed the permission slip and returned it to my son.
Today, I thought about it some more and realized how much I've changed over the years. When I was my son's age, they had just started talking about using a rating system for music. It was during the time that people were boycotting Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Metallica and others. They were saying that this type of music promoted drugs, suicide and satanism...and this was the music I loved. I was very passionate about it, and no one was going to tell me what I could listen to, or read. I thought these people were idiots. They didn't understand, and wouldn't take the time to listen to find out what the music really was about. I was never going to be like that!
Fast forward many years to when my oldest son was little and just starting to find out what kind of music he liked. He wanted to listen to Rap: Eminem, Snoop Dog, Lil Bow Wow...stuff I didn't listen to at all. By this time, the rating/warning system was in place and I hated to admit it, but I was grateful for it. Now I knew which CD's contained explicit language or strong themes and it was helping me to decide what to let him listen to. After all, he was still little, only about 7 or 8 years old, and I didn't want him hearing the profanity or other things. Now we could buy clean versions of music - it was a compromise of sorts. He wasn't always happy about it, but he could still listen to some of what he wanted and I didn't have to sit and listen to hours of music that I could barely tolerate. That's when I realized that the issue wasn't nearly as black and white as I thought it was. We have been using a rating system for years for movies, and while it isn't perfect, it's better than nothing. These systems have given me, as a parent, a better opportunity to learn with my son while still protecting him and not having to shelter him from everything.
So, is the permission slip a good thing? I looked the book up and read a summary of the plot and decided that it probably was. While I no longer limit what my son has access to, I could see why some parents might have a problem with this book and want their children to read something else. I believe that I have given my son the decision making skills to choose his own path, but I am also glad that I still know most of what is going on in his life. I do believe that this is a good book for him, as it is something that may challenge his thinking while keeping him interested. It's the kind of book I would choose for myself, and I do plan on reading it. But I've also realized that the permission slip is not the same thing as censorship - it's just giving an option and opening up dialog, which in my opinion is always a good thing.
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