“You Better Not Make the News”: Exploring English Teachers’ Experiences with Censorship and Book Banning

• In Event: Teaching Under Surveillance: Censorship, Book Bans, and the Struggle for Educational Freedom

Abstract

This project explores the ways that censorship and book bans/challenges impact middle and secondary ELA teachers demonstrates ways that ELA teachers can resist censorship. By examining the impacts and lived realities of current teachers’ experiences with book bans or challenges, this project asks the following questions: To what extent are middle and secondary English Language Arts teachers experiencing censorship, both external and/or self-censorship, in Wisconsin public schools? What can teacher educators and teacher candidates learn from middle and secondary ELA teachers’ experiences with censorship? We theorize ways that teachers can create an ethic of mattering when selecting texts for their classrooms.

Authors

• Emily Freeman, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

• Logan Ackerman, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

• Scout Feldman, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

• Alyssa Greenwood, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire