Traf Voices

List of 1 news stories.

• The Cost of Censorship in the Classroom

  9/5/2025
  Annie Brown
  Version française ci-dessous
  
  A proposed book ban in Alberta classrooms has caught the attention of many people in the Trafalgar community. Recently, the province listed more than two hundred titles that were to be removed from schools and libraries for people under the age of 18. The Premier of Alberta has since asked for a review and possible rollback of the new policy, but the conversation about what young people can read is taking place across the country. 
  
  

  Annie Brown is the Head of the English Language Arts department and has been teaching reading and literature for two decades. While not entirely surprised when she read about the censorship in Alberta, she was definitely disheartened. Ms. Brown points to the idea that people are reading less and less, which she finds concerning. “If kids are reading less because of phones, then why on earth are we making it even harder for them to connect with literature?” she wondered.
  
  

  Annie’s philosophy on the subject is that young people are usually capable of critically reading challenging material if it is presented in a safe and accepting environment. 
  
  

  “Schools and libraries are places where books are equally accessible to everyone so the idea of taking away choice in these places is upsetting,” she says. 
  
  

  “If kids are reading less because of phones, then why on earth are we making it even harder for them to connect with literature?”
  
  

  A peek into the Trafalgar bookroom will find several books that have been challenged or banned at some point. That isn’t a deterrent for Ms. Brown, though. 
  
  

  “We teach The Handmaid’s Tale in Secondary V, for example. The conversations we’ve had with that novel are so rich. It was written in 1984, but it’s relevant to the modern world, and if someone told me I couldn’t teach it anymore, I would be fit to be tied because what has come out of those literature discussions has been brilliant. The students really make amazing connections with the story.”
  
  

  “With censorship, you are assuming you have the right to make choices for other people, but we believe that in spaces where there is free discussion and critical thought, students can choose for themselves.”
  
  

  “I really feel for the teachers in Edmonton (and other places with heavy classroom censorship) because it feels like the city, the community and their administration won’t necessarily have their backs.” Ms. Brown continues to say she appreciates the professional respect found at Trafalgar to choose classroom texts. 
  
  

  “With censorship, you are assuming you have the right to make choices for other people, but we believe that in spaces where there is free discussion and critical thought, students can choose for themselves.”
  
  
  Lire en français