I feel that teens are portrayed as more than what we are. People act like teenagers are such a pain and put of control. Yes, some people are, but not everyone. It isn't fair to us regular kids. All teens are labeled dumb and reckless. Teenagers are always doing something wrong in movies and t.v. shows. Teens are always having sex or doing drugs. When actually us teens are just stressing over high schools and trying not to get pimples.

          Teenagers are portrayed differently according to race. Black people are always ghetto, Chinese People are always Smart, White people are always rich, and all Spanish people all speak Spanish. The sad part about all these stereotypes is that teens hear this and think that that is the way they have to act. Just because someone expects you to act a certain way, doesn't mean you should give them the satisfaction of letting them judge you. This is what is wrong with the world. People can never stop judging. People don't handle knowing someone is different or can be different. Teens find it easier to just go with the crowd than be different because that is how we are stereotyped. Anyone different is a loser.

          Teenagers in movies and t.v. shows have a lot of influence on little kids. They see that behavior and think that when they get older, that is how they're supposed to act. This is how bullying and peer pressure occurs. People don't realize what a big influence teenagers are on little kids. We are their present and they are our future.

Dear Ms. Berner,

 

Every year new sixth graders come into the school and they're all excited and ready to learn, and you just want to squeeze them and not let them go. But this is what middle school is, preparing young kids that just came from fifth grade to go to high school. You can't protect kids from life, kids read about bad experiences and it's better to read them than  go through them, even though most kids go to these experiences during middle school. Books give kids an opportunity to learn from other people's experiences and think about it for themselves. And saying this, I think you should not ban books in sixth grade the libraries. 

       

I have done a lot of research on this very important matter. I have watched videos, read articles, looked through magazines this topic is a very worldwide and important. One  of the articles that I have read that really sticks out is "Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie is the author of the book  "The Absolutley True Diary of a Part-Time Indian". This book is about Shermans true life experience as a kid. Sherman was a mentally challenged addict who tried to make a better life for himself. In his article Sherman talks about how kids in life go through these experiences and need books to learn and conquer their experience to get out of what they're in. People can't protect kids from life it just happens, the best thing to do is to prepare them for it. Sherman visit schools and talks to kids about their experiences and how his book has helped them and when he heard that they were trying to ban his book he wrote this article to show that kids need his book, well they don't need his book but like kids can use his book as a guide to to figure out what they have to do and to make a better life for themselves. 

        

I have also read articles about why books should be banned to get more of the perspective of the other side and to evaluate both sides equally and to make sure I know what I'm talking about and to make the correct decision. One of these articles is "Darkness Too Visible" by Megan Cox Gurdon. Megan starts off her article with a story about Amy Freeman a 46-year-old mother who was trying to buy her 13-year-old daughter a book but couldn't find it because everything was too dark and not a single thing that she could imagine giving to her daughter could because it was all vampires and suicide and self-mutilation and very very dark stuff. Megan argues that if books show what life is teen fiction can be like a hall of fun house mirrors constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of life is. I feel that Megan doesn't realize that not everybody's life is the same most authors write off of their own experience or other peoples experience so it's not like they just need something up to scare children or rather young adults which are supposed to be mature enough to read these books. Young adult books are in between children's books and adult books but there's a difference adult books don't always have to have a happy ending some young adult books don't but most do because young adults most aren't mature enough to process that life doesn't always have a happy ending so that can be mind-boggling to young readers and can affect their perspective. 

        

 Young adult books are like a heads up for teenagers that life isn't what you may think it is, it can get crazy, it can be depressing, it can be infuriating but books are meant to prepare you for that to set you up for for real life and to help you think about your experiences and to learn from them and make your way through life without without fear. Sixth graders need to mature for high school because high  is going to be very very very tough and if they're protected all their lives then what are they going to do in high school? What are they going to do in college? How will they manage a job? Sixth grade  is very crucial because that is when the maturing process begins.

         Sincerely, Amiya Castro