By Angelixa Montijo Vazquez
Since high school graduation, I’ve read books to expand my mind—one of them being the Bible. But recently, I’ve learned that it was one of the thousands of challenged books last year in Florida.
This made me wonder if the challenging or banning of books has negatively affected the public. Should banning be allowed, or should there be a proper solution?
Gov. Ron DeSantis recently celebrated the Trump Administration’s move to “dismiss the… [public’s] complaints” on book prohibition. While there’s some debate on whether Florida should ban books academically and publicly, there should be a solution on which ones should be kept and prohibited. For this to happen, the Florida government and the Department of Education should consider the public’s opinion, carefully deciding which books are necessary and correctly making peace with them.
The ban has become a national topic, leading to many controversies. Recently, the Florida Department of Education released a list of over 700 books that were ‘removed or discontinued’ from districts throughout the state. Another group, PEN America, counted over 4,500 banned books, leading the country. While the purpose is to ban explicit content from schools, it should be carefully addressed.
Some argue book banning is negatively impacting students. St. Cloud High School English teacher April Isaacs said banning specific books would “Kick those kids out early if we don’t keep their interest with [them].”
Additionally, the director of the Florida Freedom to Read Project states that the prohibition has also affected their education, noting, “A lot of them removed many, many books, including classic literature and literature that regularly appears on the AP exams and prepares our students for college level coursework.”
Although book banning already exists in Florida, the government should’ve properly predicted the objections. While some show concerns about the “Diversity of race, religion, and sexual orientation in school curriculum literature,” a graduate-level research project has noted that, “Most students see no issue with such topics and actually encourage the inclusion of various identities and backgrounds.”
With this in mind, “Everyone should learn to respect each other’s viewpoints,” Isaacs said. “We need to find the ‘happy medium,’ which would solve a lot of things.”
Instead of arguing whether prohibition is crucial, we need to consider each other’s viewpoints and educationally discuss which books are graver than others.
Florida, as well as America, is slowly dividing due to debates toward or against book banning. But since these are our circumstances, it doesn’t mean the prohibition is purposeless. The Florida government and the Department of Education can consider the public’s opinion and properly decide which books are forbidden. This doesn’t mean instantly banning books due to fear of talking about their content, but they should educationally discuss which books are right for everyone to read while still respecting their viewpoints— finding the “happy medium” for the state as a whole.
So, after understanding why the Bible became one of Florida’s challenged books, I’ve comprehended that if someone disagrees with me, I can calmy and respectfully talk to them while standing firm on my belief. Forcing my viewpoint isn’t the goal, but being openminded and understanding can bring togetherness and peace, even if we disagree. The key is to have respectful conversations.
Montijo Vázquez is an English student at Valencia College.
