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Kentucky Joins Slew of States Attempting to Ban John Green’s “Looking for Alaska”

Looking for Alaska is a staple novel in many high school curriculums.
According to a recent article published by The Guardian, a high school in Kentucky has joined the list of schools attempting to ban John Green's Looking for Alaska. As in similar cases of attempted curriculum censorship, a parent wrote the school stating that the novel encourages students "to experiment with pornography, sex, drugs, alcohol and profanity."

 See articles detailing similar cases in New Jersey, Tennessee, and Alabama.

 I could say what many high school teachers have said: this is ridiculous. To assume that teenagers know nothing about sex, drugs, alcohol, and profanity is ridiculous. To claim that a novel which accurately examines the teenage mind while simultaneously delving into the complexities of grief and loss will preach unhealthy behaviors is ridiculous. To state that teenagers are so mindless and impressionable that they would blindly follow in the footsteps of the protagonist (which, honestly, would be better footsteps to follow in that those which are preached by many of their favorite musicians) is ridiculous.

 However, that is not what I wish to present you with here. This is a book I am currently teaching to my high school freshmen at a Baltimore City Public School. It is not a part of the curriculum, but rather a novel I chose to teach when I elected to venture away from the curriculum and into texts which engaged and stimulated the minds of my students. Do my students sometimes go, "Ooooh, he said 'sh*t'"? Yes. Do they reliably giggle at "erection,"penis," and "porn"? Absolutely. But something they're getting from this book — something they did not get from A Raisin in the Sun or To Kill a Mockingbird — is relatability. 
Jordan M., 14, created a poster on drunk driving in preparation for this unit.
My students love this book. They love Miles's awkwardness, Alaska's hot-and-cold personality. They love the Colonel's insistence upon getting booted from basketball games and they understand Lara's sexual uncertainties and confusion. They laugh at the funny moments, and they cry for the sad. When Alaska dies (a point we have not yet reached), I have no doubt that that moment will ignite a discussion about drunk driving (which we have already discussed in this unit, in preparation for the upcoming seen) and suicide, about love and loss, and about everything in between. And in ways such as these, this novel begins to teach my students not just about citations and comprehension, not just about textual evidence and foreshadowing, but about life; about crisis and confusion, about strength in times of despair. And this, I believe, is the best we could ask for for our students.

 But enough about what I think. See what some of my freshmen think:
Anita D. states: "I think it's important to learn about the book because the kids [are] going to learn about [sex, alcohol, etc.] anyway because the kids [are] going to do it regardless. 90% of kids already got exposed to drungs, drinking, or sex in middle school. I think it depend[s] on what type of parents the[y] got or who they hang around, also what they see around them. So I think it should be read in school so that the kids can learn what they stuff do[es] to you."

Esko C. states: "This book should be taught in school because some people got to learn about stuff like sex and stuff so they can grow up and have more thoughts about it and this book also should be taught because of the stuff in the book. One day somebody is going to be like the person that [is] in the book."
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