Censorship in Schools Pros and Cons List

Many schools around the world experience censorship with varying degrees depending on the country they’re located. In these schools, teachers, parents, and administrators are in a battle over censorship, with one side claiming that it can be harmful to students and other saying that it can help children focus on their studies. Those who are curious about this debate should first do their research to know about the pros and cons of censorship and decide which side they should be on.

List of Pros of Censorship in Schools

1. It protects children from inappropriate content.
Children are impressionable, and they don’t have the mental and emotional maturity to distinguish between what’s good and what’s bad. So, if they’re frequently exposed to offensive concepts (such racial discrimination, pornography, crime, and terrorism), they will think that these are normal and won’t hesitate to adopt them in their lives.

This is where censorship comes in. By filtering the books and other media that are given to the children, schools can ensure that their students will be exposed only to good values and positive ideas. These, in turn, can help them grow into smart, wise, and responsible adults.

2. It gives parents peace of mind.
Parents often worry about what’s taught to their children in school. If a school has a censorship policy, parents have the assurance that their kids are exposed to positive values and principles and are learning to be good citizens of the country.

3. It can help make teaching easier.
Censorship in schools often results to having firm ground rules and a comprehensive list of materials that teachers can use in their classes. These can help teachers save a lot of time and effort since they no longer have to spend countless hours thinking if a certain book, CD, or DVD is appropriate for their students or not.

List of Cons of Censorship in Schools

1. It prevents the nurturing of ideas and opinions in students.
Opponents of censorship point out that, when students are prevented from reading certain books or having access to certain materials, they lose the chance to be exposed to learn about new things and ideas. They also miss the opportunity to form their own opinions and feelings about controversial topics and develop critical thinking skills. They might also fail to realize that the world isn’t a perfect place and might find it hard to adjust to an imperfect society as they grow older.

2. It can cause conflicts between parents and teachers.
Many times, censorship in schools has caused problems to develop between teachers (who would like to challenge their students’ mind by giving them free access to all kinds of media) and parents (who want to protect their children from morally wrong concepts). These conflicts can affect the children and their studies and leave them feeling confused as to why their parents and teachers are arguing.

3. It can create conflicts between the students and the school.
This is particularly true for middle school and high school students, who are old enough to think for themselves. Oftentimes, these children want to express themselves through school publications, events, and other outlets but won’t be allowed to do so by the school administrators.

Censorship in schools has both pros and cons, and parents, teachers, administrators, and students must look at these factors to decide if they should support censorship or not.