By: Valerie Kniazeva

Edited by: Olivia Yzerman

Censorship is not an unfamiliar term, and one many hoped to leave behind in the 20th century. Yet in 2025, debates over recent book bans in Alberta classrooms raise concerns about whether censorship has truly been left in the past, or whether the impulse to control knowledge remains firmly present. As teachers and schools continue to navigate the post-COVID educational landscape, priorities appear to have shifted away from support and funding toward the policing of learning materials and the content deemed acceptable for students. Sudden changes to content and library standards not only put educators on trial, but also raise questions about what students are “meant” to read, impacting their understanding of our world and development. 

In July 2025, Alberta’s Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides issued Ministerial Order 030/2025, directing school boards to remove “materials containing depictions of explicit sexual content” from K-12 school libraries by October 1. The mandate did not provide a fixed list of titles but tasked local boards to assess materials and measure them against new provincial standards. This move alone provoked strong reactions from boards and educators, as it created more work, without reflecting on or considering other growing concerns and conversations, such as class sizes and teacher stress. Because of this, the mandate resulted in immediate controversy among educators, schools, and parents. Trustees in Edmonton compiled lists of more than 200 books that technically met the criteria, which included well-known classics such as The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, Brave New World, The Color Purple, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Global News reported how “Edmonton’s public school boards is yanking more than 200 books from its library shelves this year … to comply with provincial directive on banning books containing inappropriate sexual content.” However, officials and supporters defend the policy as it aims to “[ensure] young kids are not exposed to sexually explicit books.” Working to the favour of socially conservative parents and trends, the lack of clarity for “explicit” has left educators sorting through literature which has been quintessential to curricula for decades, specifically for their provoking themes which spark meaningful conversations about society and the human condition. 

This conversation further bridges into a resurging question over social science and humanities studies, as trends tend to be shifting away from funding and supporting these subjects, focusing resources on the sciences. Premier Danielle Smith later clarified how the ban should be rewritten to be more specific to “pornographic images” and that the “classics” should be left alone. Yet, the message has already been sent. Many critics and associations, such as the Association of Canadian Publishers condemned the government’s approach and warn how the removal of these texts take away valuable and inclusive resources from schools and libraries. As we finally reach an era where inclusivity and race, gender and sex positive literature becomes widely available and recognized in education, it is once again being taken away, sending a harmful message that these stories are supposedly deemed inappropriate and unwelcome in our classes and societies. Especially in such a technologically advanced society with artificial intelligence taking over critical thinking, students are at a severe disadvantage and decline in their understanding and ability to dissect complex themes and topics. In the removal and censorship of such literature, educators are only further limited in their ability to help develop these declining skills, and students are left even more blind and helpless in society.

The United States of America has become a prime example of the continued use of book banning as social control, with fluctuating numbers over the last few decades. PEN America shows resistance against these policy enforcements, and to what extent it has become systemic: during the 2024-2025 school year, they recorded almost 6,870 instances of book bans in the USA across 23 states, affecting over 3,752 unique titles. 

With rising stress levels and declining job satisfaction, battling increased workload, stricter standards and inconsistent changes in education policy and public scrutiny, these implications have severe impacts on educators. When public policy dictates teaching and learning to these extremes, the professionalism and professional judgment of teachers are questioned and narrows the scope of learning that can happen in schools. Books are not just entertainment; they are windows into real experience, culture, history, and human complexity. Removed, they restrict our understanding of these crucial experiences, limiting empathy and ways that students are able to engage with perspectives in their immediate environments and beyond. 

 

 

Image Citation: Ramspott, J. (2022, February 12). File:Book Banning Protest, Atlanta, GA 2-12-2022 P2120082 (51878091336).jpg. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Book_Banning_Protest,_Atlanta,_GA_2-12-2022_P2120082_(51878091336).jpg

 

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