Recently two friends of mine got into a heated discussion about the effects of books on our children. Specifically fiction books that contain outdated information. For the better part of two hours, I listened to them go back and forth until finally, voices were raised and I stepped (verbally) to suggest we agree to disagree and leave it at that... I am interested now, to find more opinions on the matter. Here are the two views...
Books with outdated information are harmful to children who are just stepping out and learning about our world. We've come leaps and bounds since the 1950's and no child should regress back to a time of governmental fear and racism. False information is a slippery slope when young minds are so malleable. Outdated books, which contain outdated or false information should be destroyed.
I can understand this view to a point, however, destroyed? That reminds me of being in High School when we learned about what the Nazi's did to the Jews. I can see how parents may not want their children learning certain words or learning a particular viewpoint. However, I believe that if parents don't want their children reading/ learning about certain topics, the parents should monitor their reading material.
The second half to this argument and I think the topic I tend to lean towards, is that all books are beneficial in some way. Destroying them doesn't help solve a problem, it only seems to create more.
So, now I want to know what you think...
Books with outdated information are harmful to children who are just stepping out and learning about our world. We've come leaps and bounds since the 1950's and no child should regress back to a time of governmental fear and racism. False information is a slippery slope when young minds are so malleable. Outdated books, which contain outdated or false information should be destroyed.
I can understand this view to a point, however, destroyed? That reminds me of being in High School when we learned about what the Nazi's did to the Jews. I can see how parents may not want their children learning certain words or learning a particular viewpoint. However, I believe that if parents don't want their children reading/ learning about certain topics, the parents should monitor their reading material.
The second half to this argument and I think the topic I tend to lean towards, is that all books are beneficial in some way. Destroying them doesn't help solve a problem, it only seems to create more.
So, now I want to know what you think...