Censorship: An unnecessary evil
- Dashboard
- Censorship: An unnecessary evil
Most Recent Score Report
| Questions Correct | Questions Answered | Time Spent | Status | Attempt Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Previous Score Reports
| Questions Correct | Questions Answered | Time Spent | Status | Attempt Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Censorship: An unnecessary evil
Array
(
[passage] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 559764
[post_author] => 12815
[post_date] => 2025-01-02 10:40:32
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-01-02 15:40:32
[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-4)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
Today’s parents face a tough battle. Neighborhoods are a lot more complicated than they were in the 1960s: every culture, every religion, every idea, every different standard, lives right next door. Information is received at lightning speed via the Internet, and children can be caught up in this whirlwind, subjected to things that they are still too young to understand or are emotionally unfit to handle.
Censorship seems to be an answer to the growing problem of how to care for and watch over our children. But books are meant for exploration, for questioning. Within a book’s pages, children are safe to explore their feelings and reflect on their own situations. Putting the right book into the hands of the right child has great value and changes lives. It can be empowering, motivating, and inspiring.
Here in the United States, an ostensibly free country, one where people are encouraged and given the legal right to speak their minds, we have been balancing personal freedoms and rights. But our media challenges this balance every day. As consumers, we respect artists and allow them the freedom of expression. At the same time, we are aware that children are seeing some unsuitable situations—but we are not always in agreement about what we want our children to watch, hear, or read.
One political solution is rating systems, intended to help parents pick appropriate material for their children based on content, theme, violence, language, nudity, sensuality, drug abuse, and other elements. However, the rating systems have not stopped today’s lyrics from becoming more explicit, our cable television system from containing more swearing and sexual content, and our movies from becoming bloodier and more violent. And despite all the warnings and all the ratings, children are still listening to these songs, watching these television shows, and renting these movies. The rating system may have convinced politicians, parents, and librarians that it could do the job of protecting their young. It may have given people a false sense of security. But in reality, it means nothing when no one is there to monitor children’s actions and discuss appropriate behavior.
Parents have a vested interest in their children. Creating a home in which a child feels safe is their responsibility. Creating a home where a child can safely make mistakes is their responsibility. Home is the first place where a child learns right from wrong, good from bad, healthy from unhealthy. It is the parents’ job to give their child a good defense by helping them establish boundaries.
School helps to reinforce these lessons. Teachers help children by challenging them, instructing them, and helping them move on to the next level of maturity and understanding. A teacher may know, before a parent, when a child is ready for the next level or is mature enough to handle a theme or topic. When there is communication and respect between parent and teacher, the child’s development is the winner.
America is a free society and has plenty of forums where people can express their views: newspapers, radio, billboards, and the Internet. People can discuss their differences and learn from each other. Why shouldn’t we allow our children that same rich experience? Banning a book is about as helpful as using a match in a hurricane. It does not shed light on anything and gets blown around by a lot of wind. Nor does sticking a label on a problem make it go away. Only in discussing, in sharing comments and concerns, is there growth and understanding. Let us show our children that knowledge is the most empowering censor they can use.
Adapted from L. Caravette, “Censorship: An unnecessary evil,” The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's Literature. ©2008 New Perspectives on Children's Literature.
[post_title] => Censorship: An unnecessary evil
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => censorship-an-unnecessary-evil
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-01-02 10:41:06
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-01-02 15:41:06
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://medlifemastery.com/?post_type=passage&p=559764
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => passage
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[questions] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 578908434
[question] => Which of the following explains the relationship between the claim “Children’s lives should be very structured, so that they cannot be exposed to any uncontrolled sources of information” and the claims in the opening paragraph of the passage?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
The opening paragraph describes a particular challenge of parenting as being due to children being caught up in a myriad of influences coming from their neighborhoods and community as well as from global sources accessed through the Internet. If children’s lives were very structured, so that they couldn’t be exposed to any uncontrolled sources of information, this would stand in juxtaposition to the situation described in the opening paragraph (option C). To the extent that parents face difficulty specifically because of uncontrolled sources of information, then that difficulty would be eliminated with this new situation. This also means that option D is incorrect since the claim “that parents face a tough battle” made in the opening paragraph would no longer have support. The new information would not provide an explanation for the current conditions (option A). The opening paragraph does not discuss the author’s view on censorship (option B).
Thus, option C is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. It provides an explanation for a difficulty implied in the opening paragraph.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. It illustrates an example of the author’s preferred solution.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. It both contradicts and resolves a difficulty implied in the opening paragraph.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. It neither supports nor challenges claims made in the passage.
)
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 3873426850
[question] => The author’s attitude toward the censorship of children’s books is one of:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question, which means that it wants you to understand the central theme or idea of the passage.
In the second paragraph, the author writes, “Censorship seems to be an answer to the growing problem of how to care for and watch over our children” which he then continues with “but books are meant for exploration, for questioning…” and a number of other counter arguments against censorship and rating systems. In the last paragraph, she summarizes her main views on censorship by stating “Banning a book is about as helpful as using a match in a hurricane. It does not shed light on anything and gets blown around by a lot of wind” (paragraph 7). Thus the author expresses general disapproval for censorship of children’s books. The author is not supportive (option A), neutral (option B), nor does the author express confused ambivalence (option D) on this point.
Thus, option C is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. cautious support.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. staunch neutrality.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. general disapproval.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. confused ambivalence.
)
)
)
[2] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 83407773
[question] => Which of the following is most like the rating systems described in paragraph 4?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
The rating systems described are a way of helping parents pick appropriate items for their children, however, “despite all the warnings and all the ratings, children are still listening to these songs, watching these television shows, and renting these movies” (paragraph 4). The author believes that rating systems “may have given people a false sense of security” (paragraph 4). Similar to protecting children from inappropriate media, many parents are vigilant about making sure that their children are protected from inappropriate foods. In addition, this is another area where content about “calories and vitamin content on children’s snacks” have not curbed the childhood obesity epidemic. The strong parallel between media rating systems and nutritional labeling makes this the most similar of the options. Teachers’ grades and comments do not protect the child from consuming inappropriate content (option A). Library catalogs help to organize books, but do not protect the child from consuming inappropriate content (option B). Road signs help drivers to travel more safely, but do not protect the child from consuming inappropriate content (option C).
Thus, option D is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. Teachers’ grades and comments that appear on student assignments.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. Library catalogs that classify books according to various fiction and non-fiction genres.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. Road signs that inform drivers of dangers and speed limits.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. Nutritional information about calories and vitamin content appearing on product packages.
)
)
)
[3] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 872728905
[question] => The author mentions both the legal right to speak our minds and our lack of agreement about what we want our children to watch, hear, and read most likely in order to:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question, which means that it wants you to explore the key idea, claim, or theme that is being expressed in a passage. You will have to evaluate the soundness of an argument, the reasonableness of its conclusions, and/or the appropriateness of its generalizations. It is crucial to carefully examine the strengths and weaknesses of the key ideas based on the information given.
The author describes the balancing act between “personal freedoms and rights,” and the desire to protect our children from unsuitable material in paragraph 3. Acknowledging people’s legal right to speak their mind is in direct opposition to the use of censorship, so this does not support option A. There is no proposal in this passage that librarians should monitor students’ choices, so this cannot be offered in explanation of that point (option B). and the same time as the There is no direct comparison made between the United States and other countries (option C). After mentioning the right to speak our mind, and our lack of agreement on what might be suitable for children in the third paragraph, the next paragraph begins, “One political solution is rating systems, intended to help parents pick appropriate material for their children” (paragraph 4). Thus, this information serves to introduce and explain why the United States has adopted rating systems intended to support parental choice over what their children are exposed to, while also preserving free speech (option D).
Thus, option D is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. illustrate the need for censorship.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. explain why librarians should monitor what children read.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. characterize the culture of the United States relative to that of other countries.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. explain why rating systems have been developed
)
)
)
)
[total_question] => 4
[correct_answers] => Array
(
[559764|1] => C
[559764|2] => C
[559764|3] => D
[559764|4] => D
)
[hide_display_feedback_settings] =>
[hide_solutions] =>
)