Banned Books are not Bad Books: Digitial Storytelling Week 1

Hello all, 

My name is Haylee Cannon, and I have the ever-entertaining career of teaching 8th grade English in North Texas. I love my job because I am continuously impressed by my students and their ability to bring joy and laughter into any situation. As a teacher, my main job is to help students think critically and emphatically about their world and to replace their empty mind with an open one. 

Because one of my main goals is to help students think critically, I am particularly heartbroken, frustrated, and confused about the book banning agenda that is developing within our country. I firmly believe that books teach us some of the greatest lessons we can ever learn, even when those lessons are hard to hear. It’s baffling that we are trying to get rid of these books because they may act as a social or political critique. Being difficult to hear does not mean it shouldn’t be heard. Oscar Wilde explains, “The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame” (Wilde, 1890). So many of these banned books are filled with pages and pages of infinite wisdom about how to be better and do better for both ourselves and our world. Banning books is a slippery slope to creating an ignorant society which carries dangerous potential. These classic novels are important in a much deeper way than most realize. Ray Bradbury, in his commonly banned book Fahrenheit 451, notes how important the lessons within books are, “There must be something within books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house” (Bradbury, 1953). Bradbury uses his novel to explain how banning books is an attempt to control and limit people.

As someone with a degree in English who now teaches secondary English, the book ban is heartbreaking. Students are losing exposure to some of the best lessons and opportunities for critical thinking. Some of these novels contain powerful lessons about oppression, bravery, and navigating difficult situations. Within their pages are vast ideas of wisdom, and these books should not be taken away. Books are some of our best teachers for learning how to improve. 

Because I believe books and critical thinking go hand in hand, I have a couple ideas for how I will present my story for this class. Digital storytelling is a great way to present information to foster high levels of thinking. Kubravi, Shah, and Jan elaborate on this concept in their article, "Digital Story Telling: The Impact on Student Academic Achievement, Critical Thinking and Learning Motivation" by noting, “Digital storytelling in classroom teaching and learning has become a powerful and effective learning tool in developing academic achievement and critical thinking” (Kubravi et al, 2018). I am excited about the opportunity to bring such a meaningful story to life. I am still thinking about how I want to create my story, but I am working through the following ideas: 

1. Create an online children’s book with lessons from commonly banned books. The pages will put the lessons in kid friendly language. I’m thinking of creating a project that is “little book, big lesson” themed.
2. I also like the idea of creating a virtual museum where commonly banned books act as different exhibits. This would provide a great way to include the history and key information for each book.

Both of these ideas seem great for what I’m wanting to do to bring my story of the importance of banned books to life. I’m planning on working through the different resources and feedback to narrow down my decision. I’m looking forward to shining light on the importance of the value within books that have been unjustly removed from the spotlight. 

References 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. (1953).

Syed Uzma Kubravi, Seeret Omar Shah2, Khushboo Jan, (2018). Digital Story Telling: The Impact on Student Academic Achievement, Critical Thinking and Learning Motivation.  International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science, and Management, 1(12), 787-791.        

Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray. (1890).