Banned Books Week 2023

Last week, MS343 celebrated Banned Books Week and Right to Read Day with a "Banned Book-Tasting" during Targeted Instruction class. With more than1,500 books being challenged and/or banned in schools and libraries around the country in 2022 alone, the American Library Association and Unite Against Book Bans campaign organized this call to action to protect our freedom to read. The Targeted Instruction department brought this initiative at 343 in support of a recent unit called “The History of Censorship, and The Censorship of History.” The team was pleasantly surprised to learn that nearly all titles listed on the most commonly banned books lists were part of the school’s inventory or even part of the Humanities Department’s curriculum. During the event, students had an opportunity to sample banned books and to discuss why they were challenged and what censorship means for their lives.