Censorship in Education

Plato writes in Book Nine of â€Å"The Republic,† that in a good society there should be censorship, which should be determined by the ruler. Plato has a very strict view on what should be censored in education. For example, Plato believes that many sections of the Odyssey should be censored. I do believe in censorship in education, but I do not believe in censorship to the same level that Plato does. I believe that censorship should be considered at a much smaller level. Plato believed in censoring poets, especially for the use of education. Plato said that fables and legends that are normally told to young children give a false idea of gods and heroes. Plato believes that the only thing that poets or writers should write about is the â€Å"divine nature as it really is† (71). Plato believed that children should only learn the truth, because if they do not they are given a false idea of life. I do not agree with Plato and his idea that fables and legends should not be told to children. I believe that children need to hear fables and legends. The fables and legends help young children understand major ideas that they otherwise would not understand or be interested in. For example, the fable of â€Å"The Milkmaid and her Pail† makes it easier to understand the theme â€Å"don†t count your chickens until they†ve hatched. † If a child is just told that idea they will not automatically understand it. Children need to be able to relate to what they are being taught in order for them to stay interested and listen to what they are being taught. This story may not be the â€Å"divine truth,† but I believe that it still has an important lesson for children. There is no harm in fables or legends and I do not believe that they should be censored. Plato believes as children get older, what they learn should still be regulated. Plato believes that even the Odyssey should be censored. Plato does not agree with Homer when he describes Zeus as bestowing of both good and evil. Plato says the truth is that Heaven is only accountable for what is good, not what is evil. Plato therefore, believes that what Homer has written is false and should be censored. Also, Plato does not approve of the language used in parts of the Odyssey. Plato says, â€Å"the very sound of which is enough to make one shiver† ‘loathsome Styx,† ‘the River of Wailing†¦ â€Å"† (77). Another part of the Odyssey that Plato would censor is the â€Å"wailing and lamentations of the famous heroes† (77). Plato does not look at death as something to fear, so promoting death as a bad thing should be taken out of writing. I do not agree with Plato. I find nothing offensive about his writing and language. I also do not believe there is anything wrong with writing something that is not the â€Å"divine truth. It is the right of the writer to choose how he writes and what he writes about. Hence, I believe that it is up to the discretion of the reader to pick what they do and do not read. When it comes to education, each school should decide on what to censor. The individual schools will know what is and what is not appropriate for their students rather than the government. I also disagree with Plato†s idea of banning the weeping of the dead. Plato said that death should not be feared. This is an issue that varies on an individual basis. Sometimes these beliefs are religious beliefs and sometimes they are not; and I believe that these thoughts and ideas should not be restricted in any way. Plato believes that the ruling part should set restrictions and enforce them. Plato does not believe in a poetic license. Plato says, â€Å"You and I, Adeimantus, as not†¦ to invent stories ourselves, but only to be clear as to the main outlines to be followed by the poets in making their stories and the limits beyond which they must not be allowed to go† (70-71). Plato believes that it is the ruler†s obligation to state the limitations of the writer. He also believes it is the writers obligation to follow these limitations. Plato believes that these limitations are all focused on writing of the â€Å"divine truth. † He believes an artist should paint a picture exactly as it is seen, without any imperfections. Plato says this is also how writers should write, the truth without any imperfections. Once again I disagree with Plato. I believe that a writer should not be limited at all. A writer has the ability and the right to write whatever they want to and how ever they want to. I strongly believe in freedom of speech which Plato does not believe in. This does not mean that I believe that children can read anything, but I believe that it is the responsibility of the parents to watch what the children read. As the children get older and enroll into school, it also becomes the schools responsibility to censor what the child reads. I do not believe that the government has any right to censor or limit a writer in any way just so someone does not read it. If someone does not want to read what was written, then they do not have to read it. Plato has a very strict view on censorship. One that I do not agree with. One reason why my views are so different from Plato†s is because we are from different periods in time. This has a lot to do with the conflicts in our ideas. Plato believes that the government should regulate and enforce what writers write. I believe that writers should be able to write whatever they want to and that it is the reader†s responsibility to pick what they want to read. If the reader is a child then the parents and school should regulate what the child is reading. I do not believe that a writer should be restricted in any way. I believe that this is very important to our society today.