A Texan teacher was recently fired after assigning their 8th grade students to read Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, adapted into a graphic novel by Israeli filmmaker, Ari Folman.  This specific adaptation of Frank’s diary has come under scrutiny, even being banned by some counties in Florida, as it includes entries of the original text relating to Frank’s sexuality which have often been left out of its various other adaptations.

  The Diary of Anne Frank has been an excellent way to teach students about the Holocaust for years. Mr. Southerland, who teaches a class here at Millbrook that focuses heavily on the Holocaust says, “It has been an accepted book to use for middle schoolers for decades.” He goes on to explain that previous versions of the diary have left out entries relating to Frank’s sexuality “as it did not necessarily serve the purpose of Holocaust education.”

  It’s said the teacher, whose identity has remained private, had their students read passages from this unapproved version of Frank’s diary to the class. The school district sent out emails to parents explaining that the teacher has been replaced with a substitute until a permanent one can be found. The district’s emails also assured parents they will be receiving an apology from the fired teacher soon. 

  Back in 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that limited what teachers could say about topics such as race and gender in class, which has restricted what can be taught about American history and current events. Since then, there has been a big increase in book bannings and censorship across America, limiting what can be displayed in school and public libraries. 

  Mrs. Genesky, an English teacher at Millbrook says, “As a teacher, I really struggle with banning books. I think that my whole job is to introduce students to a lot of different perspectives, and by banning books it kind of starts to limit those.”

  The American Library Association reports that from January 1 to August 31 of this year, there has been a 20 percent increase in the number of attempts to censor library materials and the number of challenges made to unique titles from last year during the same reporting period. Many pushes to take books off the shelves of school libraries come from the right side of the political spectrum. Several right-wing activist groups such as Moms for Liberty  have targeted books centering the LGBTQIA+ community,  people of color/race, history, and reproductive health. 

  When asked why he believes book banning has become more common in recent years Mr. Southerland stated that, “Book banning has become more of a debate because of the fear people have developed on both sides of the political aisle about indoctrination of concepts and ideas and, in some cases, facts, that do not mesh with their personal beliefs.”

  With this overwhelming desire to limit what students have access to, one must wonder if it’s actually good for them. When asked if book bans protect students Mrs. Genesky says, “Oh no, absolutely not.” She goes on to talk about a book that has recently been in the news that centers around gender identity and sexuality and says, “I think when you take that [representation] away, it doesn’t actually protect. It just censors, it erases somebody’s identity,” Is the rise of censorship causing more harm than good to students?