I'll ban their Teacher's Editions.

I have to admit I was really taken back at the Fox News article detailing the banning of the Dictionary in California schools. I wonder just how far it will go. Running their logic to its conclusion; they should also ban the Thesaurus, any Human Anatomy book, any Biology book, any book relating to physical health or well-being.

Hmmm.... that will really lighten the students' course load.

While I understand that some books are not for younger kids, I also see a real value in classic literature and how literature itself has evolved in the history of humanity.

I went to the ALA's top ten most frequently challenged books by year page and I have to say I was more than a little surprised. Looking only at the books that have been challenged since 2001, I saw several that I had read in high school. When I see the reasons for the challenges and reflect back on the books, I rarely remember a point that would fit under any of the challenges. This leads me to believe that either I was way more mature than I should have been at that age or that the passages simply didn't have an effect on me.

The book that I was the most shocked to find was "To Kill A Mockingbird," by Harper Lee. This book was challenged on the basis of racism, offensive language and being unsuited for the age group it was taught to.

While I do remember themes of racism and some fairly mild language (which was usually to demonstrate the level of racism) these were inserted to be struck down. You have to show the evil in order to display overcoming it.

I know another very important book that had been censored for ages due to its provocative content. The Song of Solomon from the Bible. For ages Jewish boys were restricted from this book of the bible due to the descriptive nature of a man's relationship with his wife. The symbolism was so strong that it was labeled as pornographic. While I do agree that there is some pretty provocative stuff in that book, you have to look at context.

Is it not OK for a man to pine over his wife?

Is it not OK to paint a community as racist so that one man can stand up to them?

If we ban books for having evil of any kind or "bad words," we will be left with nothing. Even true stories would be banned or made completely nonfactual. Our history as we know it would be lost.

Should some books be kept out of schools? Yes, I don't think the 50 Years of Playboy book should be in our schools.

But... when a book is a proven accurate portrayal of society and our protagonist has to overcome the shortcomings of this society. Then a, within reason, description of the dark side of that society shouldn't send everyone into a censorship hissy fit.