Censorship in Schools

  I believe censorship is important but I am kind of in between both sides of the argument. After reading these articles I think that some of the things said by students were taken out of context while other things written by students may have been a little bit more serious. I am all for students having a voice but I think there should be a bit of censorship since it is a school environment. I think these days people are afraid to express themselves because of how seriously certain topics are taken.  I know for myself I find it difficult to actually write what I want for school because of how the teacher may react to it. These students who took the chance and wrote about what they wanted got in trouble for it and honestly most of these pieces aren't even that bad, they are just taken out of context.
The dinosaur story involving the gun was ridiculous. The student was at an age where they were more than able to understand what they were writing about, and so were the rest of the students who got in trouble. Even the mother in the story mentioned how dinosaurs were extinct and that her son wouldn't have been able to purchase a gun. I don't believe the student had any harm in writing about a gun and a dinosaur.
The next article was about the student who was suspended for a poem about Sandy Hook, I think one of the students verses in this poem was taken out of context and the student didn't mean any harm by saying she understood why the killer pulled the trigger. Just because she wrote dark poems doesn't mean she was dangerous. She gave a good example of how Stephen King is able to write about crazy topics and no one really questions him, he's considered a brilliant writer.
I think the student who wrote about a student murdering their teacher should have known that his story's subject matter wasn't appropriate for a school environment since a teacher was targeted. However, expelling him wasn't necessary, the students future could have been ruined simply because of something he wrote.
 These articles showed that censorship can sometimes be taken a little too seriously, but in some cases it should be used. Assuming a student would commit a crime of some sort, or wanted to hurt others because that's what a character in their story did is a little ridiculous. I think there is a time and a place for different types of topics and students should know this, but if what the student wrote isn't actually threatening anyone, they should be able to express their ideas without harsh punishment.

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