Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
chapter
Regulations Governing Local School Boards and School Divisions [8 VAC 20 ‑ 720]
Action Amendments Regarding Use of Controversial or Sensitive Instructional Materials
Stage NOIRA
Comment Period Ended on 1/15/2014
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12/21/13  8:55 am
Commenter: Ben Shewbridge/ LCPS

"Sensitive Material"
 

If we are to truly educate our children and prepare them for the future than we must expose them to the world as it is. Allowing them to live in a bubble, thinking everything is rainbows and unicorns is paying them a diservice and preapring them for failure. Children are already too sheltered as it is, and chaning  the language of this admendment will only make it worse. I see no benefit that can come from allowing to students to remain ignorant of the world around them. If they are not exposed to how things really are in the world than we will fail as a civilization. Education and learning should be froth with conflict and situations that force people to question their beliefs and ideals.People grow intellectually and emotionally through conflict, and allowing young people to grow in their formative years will only further stunt them as intelligent and emotional heathly adults. Forcing teachers to follow this new admendmant only cripples us more in our jobs. It is already difficult enough to expose students to literature and ideas that force them to become active participants in the world they are growing up in; this will only make it more difficult and will eventually lead to the uneducation of our children. We cannot shelter our young people from the world for their whole lives and then expect them to be functional and intelligent adults when they graduate. Everyone must grow up. Reviewing a list of banned books by various education districts in previous years, shows that anytime censorship is forced upon education it deters learning and is done by the ignorant. If we are truly a society of free men and women than we must follow that ideal and allow freedom in our schools. Censorship only leads ignorance and immprisonment. 

CommentID: 29763