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As a society we want our young
people to be literate, thoughtful, and caring human beings; but we also
attempt to control what they read, think, and care about. We feel the
need to "protect" children from dangerous or disturbing ideas
and information. Of course, what is dangerous or disturbing to one person
or segment of society may be exciting and innovative to others and perhaps
just "the truth" to still others. This combination of multiplicity
of values and concern for young people keeps censorship alive in school
and public libraries.
Current concerns for literacy
and critical thinking in education may actually increase incidents of
censorship. Literacy assumes the power of texts and encourages exposure
to competing ideas and beliefs. Critical thinking implies questioning,
the analysis and evaluation of those beliefs to come to a personal judgment
that empowers young people to take ownership of ideas and control of their
own intellectual and moral lives.
New technologies are also causing
an increase in incidents of censorship. The history of communications
technologies, from the written word to modern electronic media, has been
written with fear as critics contemplate the most dire consequences of
each move that takes us farther from the personal one-on-one interaction
with another human being in real time and space.
The internet and the world
wide web are especially problematic. In the virtual world of these media,
there is a potential for a kind of anonymous intimacy that can be very
seductive in our often fragmented, disconnected lives. Young people, often
very comfortable with and eager to explore these new media at the same
time they are coping with the myriad problems of coming-of-age in our
society, may be especially susceptible to such seduction. Like most things,
this can be either good or bad.
I am encouraged and impressed
by students who have exhausted traditional school and library resources
who discover new and more current material on the internet and the web.
At times they even participate in dialogues that move knowledge to new
dimensions. I am even more impressed to see previously unmotivated students,
seduced by information and ideas, discovering the power of their own intellects
through electronic exchange. For me, the question becomes: Are we willing
to give up this potential (if we could) to "protect" young people
from "dangerous" encounters?
For the most part, I can make
the analogy to other media and decide that, if we are not willing to eliminate
books and libraries because they may contain "dangerous" ideas,
why would we attempt to keep young people from the internet and the world
wide web? Obviously, however, we do attempt to "protect" young
people from much that is available in traditional print media, and various
types of filtering software are now available to "protect" young
people in the electronic world as well.
Ironically, some of the most
powerful and positive learning sites (according to my value system, of
course) are filtered out using such software. For example, CyberPatrol
blocks access to the Ontario Religious Tolerance Site because it includes
Wicca among its 62 religious and ethical systems. This site also includes
information of abortion, cults, the death penalty, and satanism.
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