Manga banned in school...!

[Dark_angel]

Ok, my school has officially banned all manga books,:banned: (regardless of ratings), from the class rooms an all school grounds. Apparently anyone seen "in possesision of" such books will be confiscated and their parents will be contacted. What the...? The school did not have any valid reason to ban personal items like those from school grounds, I see the reason to confiscate them if they were interrupting school activities and studying, but my friend's books were taken up during lunch period when he had left them in the classroom. The teacher did not have any right to search the students belongings, then take them without reason. His books Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Fruits Basket were taken up, and the teacher refuses to return them unless a parent-teacher conference be scheduled and the student received detention....and now they are taking up any books with "pictures" in them (comics, manga, etc) because it is apparently "inappropriate".
stupid school board....

[Debitt]

o_o; odd and quite sad, really. Do you attend a private school? Did they give any reason aside from manga being "inappropriate"?

[Dark_angel]

nope...public school, which make it all the weirder....-_- well, they said it "interrupts the learning process", which is not true, because alot of straight A students read it and it had absolutely no effect...but that's all I heard, not an extremely valid reason...

[Sam*ron]

Thats annoying, I will pray that you can figure things out... And not go insane.

[livxamlis]

that's odd. they should have a valid reason to do it. my school has a public library attached to it and they have a section just for anime and manga...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

i seriously recommending getting one of the higher-ups in the school (like a school president) to assist you in this. And in a professional manner, talk about this to the school board... and get some followers with you

im not saying get picket fences and chant around the school... but i find it INCREDIBLY unfair

[Jasdero]

........>.> yucky

[Joshua Christopher]

Well, draw your own instead of paying attention to what they're trying to teach.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Heretics! They must burn!!!! Burn I say!!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

*cough*

Oh, er..... I mean.... we must pray for them..... yeah... that's what I meant to say....

Seriously though, I'm not very sure even the higher ups might assist you, but it's worth a shot. As long as it's done in a mature appropriate manner.

It certainly is bizzare though for a public school to be that extreme about it in my opinion.

[agasfas]

I know some schools can make certain rules if they see it as a clear threat to the learning environment, but I can hardly say this is (unless it's a mature manga). If you wanted, you can also goto the School Districts board meeting. Raise the question that how can mangas be distrubing the learning environment, because it's reading materal just like a book. I mean, I'm sure the library has a thousand books that talk about more controversal topics. And given it's not a private school, it makes no sense. Then again hats, sodas and card playing aren't allowed in many of Austin high schools anymore either.

If you really want to get your voice heard, I would suggest going to a board meeting, or setting up a appointment to chat w/ the principal about it- get his imput on why he made that decision; it couldn't hurt. Though, sadly usually the principal has the say-so.

[Locke]

Thats like *o*///

With a bit of >.~

Picket signs arent a bad idea. Just get the word out that this is happening( If negotiations fail that is)

[Arnobius]

You know, I bet someone got busted with a more explicit title and set this off. I doubt this would otherwise go so extreme.

Of course, I'm also of the mindset that school isn't for reading manga anyway

[Ingemar]

nope...public school, which make it all the weirder....-_- well, they said it "interrupts the learning process", which is not true, because alot of straight A students read it and it had absolutely no effect...but that's all I heard, not an extremely valid reason...

Yet you provide no concrete link between reading manga and getting straight A's. I know a lot of idiots that read manga, and a lot of geniuses that do too. ANYTHING that isn't schoolwork, that also isn't (in)directly related to assissting school work (sleep, proper diet, perhaps execise and classical music, outside research) necesssarily "interrupts the learning process." Going to CAA (unless you have a salient question about homework (and not, "Oh, this essay topic sucks)) would also qualify.

IF it is any mitigating factor, in the days of our parents, comic books were considered a big no no.

[Yojimbo]

Wow that's pretty ridiculous. So I could go to your school and read...oh some Penny Vincenzi novel with sex and all that jazz, but I can't read a Superman comicbook?

[enishi]

banning manga? thats gotta be the dumbest thing ive ever heard a school ban, and i went to a private school were they were rule natzis. that.is.rediculous. you can read books like perks of being a wallflower, a good read, but content wise probally is the same as a OT rated manga and i bet they'd be thrilled because its a book. throw in that bit what yojimbo says, that oughtta throw a wrench in their logic.

sure, they'll probally ingnore this completely, but at least they'll be able to tell its an obvious double standard to students.

[IfIWereAnAsian]

Anything with images in it includes magazines and textbooks...
I like Yojimbo's point~ books without any pictures can be much worse*
pictures could even be helpful depending on what they are*

[desperado]

im glad my public school isnt like this, they even have mangas in the school library. the principle and v principle are christian to boot.

i agree with what was said, some kid had hentai or a super mature title (maybe even x hellsing or some other title that had some really bad fanservice/outright nudity or buckets of blood might have set that off.) i can also see the caught person say "its just a manga" or something like that wich, in the minds of the ignorant, would raise the comparison between that and all manga/anime (i know its happened to me people having that thought process (its hard to break down to because when some people get ideas in there head theres almost no way to change it (like showing them a clean one would make them think that the clean one was a fluke)) my suggestion to get it changed is this, i dont know how cool your school is about petitions, but if you get a TON of kids to sign it, you may get people looking back saying "if this many kids, and these honor role/valedvictorian like students support it and read this stuff it may not be bad" i know we did this and changed the schools rules on carring cell phones (but now people are abusing it and the rule may be changed back ~_~ ) or as people said go to the board meetings or go to the principle.
one other thing, one cant make much of a difference, but many can

[Sephiroth]

thats stupid.

what can i say some schools have idiots in positions of power, sounds like they take their ideas from politics...

[Mave]

You know, I bet someone got busted with a more explicit title and set this off. I doubt this would otherwise go so extreme.

Of course, I'm also of the mindset that school isn't for reading manga anyway

I studied in a public school where rules were pretty strict. Manga was definitely not allowed along with a whole bunch of other items (CD players, gameboys, cellphones, romance novels, pretty much anything that would 'disrupt the learning process'). So yeah I didn't have a problem with that since I'm used to it and...

Well, draw your own instead of paying attention to what they're trying to teach.

...I did this instead. Not that I'm encouraging it; I only did it when it was really boring.


Sorry to hear about the banning though, I would say it's quite unfair especially if it was mostly due to the reasons A-H said above. I also agree with his last statement as well. I usually keep my hobbies out from school.

[Hitokiri]

I can see why they banned it if it disturbed the learning process. They might of notice kids reading them while a teacher was trying to teach. To me that seems fair to ban it if the teacher are teaching but the kids are reading manga.

On what AnimeHeretic said, one person can spoil it for everyone sadly. I would find the details on this and get a peitition or legal backup if you think this is the reason other then the disrupting the learning process. You don't go to school to read manga, chat on cellphones, or play gameboys but to learn actually.

[Syaoran]

Ok, my school has officially banned all manga books,:banned: (regardless of ratings), from the class rooms an all school grounds. Apparently anyone seen "in possesision of" such books will be confiscated and their parents will be contacted. What the...? The school did not have any valid reason to ban personal items like those from school grounds, I see the reason to confiscate them if they were interrupting school activities and studying, but my friend's books were taken up during lunch period when he had left them in the classroom. The teacher did not have any right to search the students belongings, then take them without reason. His books Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Fruits Basket were taken up, and the teacher refuses to return them unless a parent-teacher conference be scheduled and the student received detention....and now they are taking up any books with "pictures" in them (comics, manga, etc) because it is apparently "inappropriate".
stupid school board....

Hay why don't you move to Squamish. My school dose not care about thos books. they will let you read them in school or out side of the school.

[Dante]

hmm... this is one more reason to go... Homeschool!:)

Actually I had this happen to me twice when I did attend public school, first they banned pongs, those flat disks that were the old pokemon, and second they banned me from selling tops to my fellow students because the revenue did not go to the school (little dictators) and then consequently banned the game I had invented to go with the tops, (which was quite popular and based off of a game from a movie, I believe the name of the game was called "killer", where two tops would battle it out to the death, the losers top would fall first). Anyways I am way off topic, but the moral of the story is public school is a fascist existance. lol

[Kisa]

Thats just dumb.... kids could be out doing worse things than reading manga... like... drugs?! I mean this is so dumb, it is really pointless to ban something which encourages reading.... ><

[Stephen]

If Public schools would take half the time they spend on cracking down on what the kids are reading, and spent that time keeping an eye on kids being bullied and taunted...Things like Minnesota Indian reserve shootings probably would not happen. Then again, since when has anyones focus in life been the problems? As a society we like ignoring things till they become an issue...then, quickly searching for a scapegoat. I am suprised they have not said the kid in Minnesota like anime and manga. We all know that makes you a crazy killer.

[Solid Ronin]

...Do the board members of your school do alot of sniffing?...Seriously if a teacher took my things for no reason like that I'd smack and acuus them or *racism against asian culture and thief.

* For lack of a better word

If they ban manga the should also ban people..Lord knows how many people go to school just to talk to thier freinds...
Food would have to go...some people really like food...
Breathing..that just takes up brain power that can be used for studing...

[Arnobius]

...Do the board members of your school do alot of sniffing?...Seriously if a teacher took my things for no reason like that I'd smack and acuus them or *racism against asian culture and thief.

* For lack of a better word

If they ban manga the should also ban people..Lord knows how many people go to school just to talk to thier freinds...
Food would have to go...some people really like food...
Breathing..that just takes up brain power that can be used for studing...

That does not logically follow. Manga is known to have nudity and sexual content. Not easy to tell by the cover. It's not the fact that people like something that is at issue, it's the disruptiveness of the issue.

And as for accusations of theft: Any school has the right to confiscate objectinable material

[Solid Ronin]

That does not logically follow. Manga is known to have nudity and sexual content. Not easy to tell by the cover. It's not the fact that people like something that is at issue, it's the disruptiveness of the issue.

And as for accusations of theft: Any school has the right to confiscate objectinable material

...Quite true....So Sorry...Yes we all know what manga contains and I agree that shouldnt be brough into a school...Now teaching people how to put on a condon...THATS important!

( Just to make myself I wasnt traying to attack you A.H..just stupid people)

[Kaligraphic]

What you should do is take your textbooks (at least all the ones with any sort of picture, no matter how small) and, at the beginning of the school day publicly surrender them to the administration, saying "I know that all books with pictures are now banned here, so I wish to turn these in. After all, rules are rules, and I wouldn't want to get into trouble or anything." - say it seriously, and slightly subdued. Even a little bit like you're apologizing for bringing them onto school property. See if you can get a bunch of people to join you, too, but don't look like you're protesting - try to look like you're simply trying to obey the rule.

[Arnobius]

...Quite true....So Sorry...Yes we all know what manga contains and I agree that shouldnt be brough into a school...Now teaching people how to put on a condon...THATS important!

( Just to make myself I wasnt traying to attack you A.H..just stupid people)

Hey, I agree with you there. Teaching kids about safe sex probably does more harm because it teaches them that it's OK if you use protection.

[heero yuy 95]

If they ban manga the should also ban people..Lord knows how many people go to school just to talk to thier freinds...
Food would have to go...some people really like food...
Breathing..that just takes up brain power that can be used for studing...

Here! Here! That sounds like something my dump of a school would do. One time I did a book report on a Robotech novel and the teacher said in her own words that we could illustrate the front page. So I drew a picture on the front page and she took, like, 20 points off for 'drawing in pencil'! What the heck does she expect me to use, Magic Marker???!!!

Anyway public schools will always do retarted things. It's inevitable. I think you should go to a board meeting and see if you can at least see why they are doing this. Heck, they might not even have a reason. Since when did public schools boards have to make sense?