Intellectual Freedom means just that, the freedom to use our intellects to learn and think about what we want to learn and think. It鈥檚 a right to know鈥攁 simple concept but not a concept simply understood.
起点传媒is clear that
Students have the right to materials and educational experiences that promote open inquiry, critical thinking, diversity in thought and expression, and respect for others ().
and that
Teachers, for example, deserve 鈥渢he right to teach so as to provide educational experiences that promote open inquiry, critical thinking, diversity in thought and expression, and respect for others.鈥� ()
Some, however, believe that what they think is good enough for everyone else to think. And, so . . .
Nazis burned, in particular, 鈥搘orks on transgender, homosexual, and related identities and human expressions.
In the late 1940s in the United States, a moral panic about sexuality and juvenile delinquency lead to the .聽 (from )
Just recently, .
A state Senator in Arizona has proposed .聽 Also, the teachers would have to undergo ethics training to prepare them for this new way of teaching. Remember that Arizona was the state that 聽and that recently had that banning overruled by the courts.
A bookstore shelved YA books it thinks are too adult for kids where those kids who want to read them can鈥檛 find them:
Not too long ago, I was in a bookstore and was puzzled to see that it featured three sections for young readers: children, teen, and young adult. I asked the owner how they distinguished between books for teens and young adults. He said the teen books may be more appropriate for middle school, and books with 鈥渢ough topics鈥� go in the young adult section. I asked how they defined 鈥渢ough topics鈥� in this context. He mentioned issues including teen suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and sex and sexuality. This is an alarming practice, but bookstores have the right to run their businesses the way they choose. However, I think it may cause censorship issues that they believe they are avoiding.鈥� ()
A high school administration .
The D.C. Commission on the Arts , stating, 鈥淣o project may be 鈥榣ewd, lascivious, vulgar, overtly political, and/or excessively violent,鈥� according to the amendment鈥攊ncluding the projects that the commission had just rewarded.鈥� Later, the mayor revoked the amendment.
A.
And on and on.
These are all examples of one or more individuals impinging on the intellectual freedom of others. And the fact is that whether the individuals like something or not, according to the First Amendment, they don鈥檛 have the right to take away others鈥� intellectual freedom.