Nowadays, educational institutions reconsider their curriculum for children to derive maximum benefit from the process of learning. One of the controversial issues of education is whether children’s educational materials should be censored. Many people stand for directness in education, while others are afraid that insufficient censorship may harm pupils. It can be suggested that school materials need to be censored to some extent, and this point of view is going to be analyzed further.
The school does not only give children knowledge and necessary skills but also influences their psychological development. At the same time, some issues can be too harmful to children’s psychology. Such themes are usually connected with sexuality, racism, sexism, cruelty, and the criminal world. The advocates of censorship suppose that, for example, biology books in primary schools should not include pictures or descriptions of privy parts. The scenes of cruelty in history books may also cause anxiety, which can be dangerous at a young age. On the other hand, supporters of censorship claim that children should be prepared for adulthood, and therefore, should be aware of certain frightening or embarrassing matters. They claim that because of the excessive censorship, children may face difficulties in the future when delicate issues are no longer be hidden from them. This argument should be taken into account; however, censored educational materials establish certain moral values that are important in childhood (Dotts 36). These values may be destroyed by the untimely representation of cruelty, inadequate social attitudes, or intimacy.
In conclusion, although the young generation needs to learn about particular aspects of life, censorship allows avoiding unpleasant consequences. It is important to understand that uncensored education should be timely; otherwise, it may cause inadequate interest or early display of negative traits. Therefore, to achieve a better result, educators need to reconsider the school program and find ways to introduce delicate themes gradually and at a certain age.
Work Cited
Dotts, Brian W. Educational Foundations: Philosophical and Historical Perspectives. Cambridge University Press, 2018.