Twilight books banned from primary schools

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This is all true. But what I was driving at was that simply censoring materials then staying silent is useless and does more harm than good. Now I see that I may need to be a bit more direct ; talk to your kids about this.Talk to them about what healthy relationships look like, about respect,about trust.

*sigh*

I suppose sometimes I hesitate to state my opinion directly because I don't want to preach at anyone--I want to give them room to grow and find their own way.

And don't forget the Montagues and Capulets try and murder each other too. Dreadful

Twilight probably is rubbish, however put most of the classics under the microscope and they are none too healthy. I should think these particular books are not meant to be suitable for very young children, however I read everything and anything I could get my hands on as a child (Actually, considering it was Poe and Peake whilst still at primary school, I may not be a shining example of unrestricted reading).

I think if the vocabulary and characterisation is complex enough, that tends to act as a sieve for whether you are mature enough to read a book. However, if the content is unsuitable, but the language dumbed down that could be an issue.

Dark_Red_Beloved:

Talking to your kids about healthy relationships is perfectly fine, and I think it should be mandatory anyway. The problem with Twilight is that it's so popular that it could easily be taken as "right" whereas the parents are "wrong", because Twilight's (allegedly) "cool". My point is that if he outright beat her several times and it wasn't preached as bad, people would be up in arms about it. Instead, they rely more of subtle forms of control, so nobody really notices it or thinks about it. Should parents talk to their kids? Asbolutely. But even if they do (and especially if they don't), the Twlight series poses more harm than good in that age group.

Anway, stating your opinion is a good thing. I don't think you're going to find too many easily swayed people around the boards, just because of how rigid we can be. Debates can be fun; I enjoy a healthy one occasionally.

Absolutely. But like you pointed out, the language prevents most people from reading the classics (especially Shakespeare) at a young age. Even in high school, I don't know of too many kids who are chomping at the bit to read most of them. I'm about on the same level with reading anything and everything as a child; I was religiously reading murder mysteries at the age of ten (actually, probably around eight, but those were more aimed towards teens, so they might not count). Fun times in fourth grade when I'd show up with a book: "Is there a dead person on the cover? Um, is she wearing anything? You really need to cover that before you come in." It's not something most kids did though, and the message was clear: murder is wrong. Even in Romeo and Juliet, to some extent, the message is that what they're doing is wrong. There is no such message in Twilight (as it's been noted several thousand times by other people, it seems that she imagines herself to be the main girl and that's kind of like her fantasy).

Twilight is written in a language that kids can understand though. I don't think Ms. Meyers recognizes how to use different words enough; learn a couple of defintions, and you're good to go. And because it is so popular amongst people (I still, honestly and completely, cannot figure that out, so if anyone would like to enlighten me, I'd appreciate it), there's more of a push for them to read it. You're not going to find too many people in primary school (or high school, really) saying, "You know, you should really read Hamlet. It's a great story." You're more likely to hear, "God, Hamlet sucks," even amongst those who like reading in general. Heck, even our teachers (advanced English and regular) would talk about how unpleasant those books could be to read, considering the language difference.

Beyond that, the teachers are another big factor. I don't think many schools include Twlight in their courses, but most do use the classics. A big part of our essays were writing about the relationships between characters and how they were dysfunctional. A lot of our discussions centered around the fact that some of them were obviously unhealthy. Kids aren't going to get that with the Twilight; the only conversation they're going to get is from their friends, and it's likely to be about OMG, the vampires are so hot and awesome! Or whatever.

So... no, I don't really have a conclusion there. But I see the reason for banning Twilight (maybe not the one they're stating, but one nonetheless).

Can I say, by the way, that I hate that it's called Twilight? I used to really like that word.

Hamlet totally sucks.

Shakespeare, whilst hard for younglings to read due to the figurative language (needed for plays though), wrote about your usual human comings and goings, which bore the hell out of...me, and they're about as deep as the TV you see on during the days.

Totally overrated by ten zillion academic points.

I was reading Starship Troopers in year 11 instead of Macbeth; Macbeth was about as enlightening philosophically as pondering the point of my post here.

There was news floating around of a student that set up a library of banned books in a few lockers to lend out. I am not able to confirm if this is true or an urban legend.. but I love the idea.

I am a Christian, but in 100% support of free speech, and I oppose book banning.

I learned Latin from Sister Mary Barbara in the middle of Georgia in the 1970s, funny they would omit that particular definition in that locale.
(popular dorky joke there - why are all the Nuns 80? Because "old habits die hard")

Okay, I'm not picking on LostAlien, only using the idea as a reference
Well, damn, ban the Bible for the same reason. It's probably been tried or done, actually

But yeah, this banning books, or anything else, from everyone else because of your beliefs often, if not always, goes over the top of reasonableness.

Parents, be a parent of your kids.
Oh, wait, you're too busy with yourself to mind your progeny.

^ "Parents, be a parent of your kids.
Oh, wait, you're too busy with yourself to mind your progeny."

As for the above, considering your progeny is 50% from you, it's kind of as if you were concerned by half of everything that happens to your kids were to happen to you. <.< Logical reaction, really.

Good riddens. School Libraries should be careful with what they stock. Not repressive, but careful to the point that they don't place a load of junk and trash on their shelves.

The pure ignorance in some posts are scary.
Kids don't belive everything they read.

good riddence, twilight.

now our kids wont be persuaded to play vampire baseball anytime soon. hallelujah!

I support this motion. The less people that read Twilight the better. It's an awful series.

Frog baseball is always good.

Twilight is corny, but censorship is even cornier.

My thoughts precisely (though 'crappy' is far more diplomatic...).

The brain cells of primary schoolchildren are better wasted on books OTHER than Twilight anyway.