latest cover. the pontiff is a familiar surveys on u.s. magazine covers. last month pope francis appeared on time magazine as man of the year. that's if for this newshour, i'm thomas drayton from new york. of books challenged or banned is on the rise much we look at why, and the intersection with community values. clr >> our digital producer is bringing in all your live feedback. all of us at one point or another read a controversial or banned back.

it's hard to believe that books like "to kill a mocking bird" is on the list. >> i have read all. check out my facebook page, "captain underpants" all the books challenged or banned. jim says: >> what is graphic, what is objectionable, who decides? >> that is the big point, is it being decided in a vacuum. how does a book become off limits.

you may be surprised. books like "captain underpants" and "kite runner". there was a 53% increase in challenged books. and for the same period in 2013. bans are requested by concerned parents to restrict books they find to be inappropriate. before being banned it has to go through a process. objecti objectionable content ranges from sexually explicit material or violence. a complaint can include multiple objections. in response students and the authors are speaking up. >> books are only coercing coerced. >> it doesn't are to do with literacy qualities as much as deepest prejudice and fears. >> do the restrictions protect students.

we have a student among our guests, a college freshman, challenging the removal of two books from his high school's reading list, and carr jol the author of "the earth, my butt and other big round things", she's a parent and a challenged author in the past decade. in denver, jim, who participationed her district to remove "the bluest eye", and christian johnson - a former middle school english teacher supporting age-appropriate scandal, and on skype an eighth grade literacy teacher and objected to her school removing a book from its curricula. >> calls to ban books is not new. what seems to be is the number of books hitting the list. since yours are some of the most controversial, what do you think the reasoning is behind the list

of challenged books increasing. >> well, it's - it's a tough one. when i found out that my books were banned, which is the first year i published my first novel, i was shocked because i write frank novels about teenage experience. every time i hear about a ban it lifts reasons why. it's always hard to know why a particular book is banned when the response from readers is phenomenal that the book saved their lives or helped them through depression or see something from a different perspective. why does this increase now? the national coalition against censorship confronted 53% more challenges. the american library association noticed 500 challenges in 2012. no one knows why. could it be a more conservative climate. could it be that the economic

downturn made more scared. i think it's fear, fear of talking to the children. fear of our children acquiring knowledge. conversations. >> is it fear or something deeper than that. >> well, i think this is very important to make the distinction between book banning and standards in the classroom. this is where i need to make a big point here that i oppose book banning as a teacher and a parent. i oppose the book banning. this is the problem. you polarize your audience into two camps. there's a huge variety of opinion. it's not about book banning but wanting rigorous standards. >> i'm going to jump in and say signing a petition to request

"the bluest sky", that is saying room. >> i would add that it's interfering with a teacher's discretion with a student. a lot of times from my personnel experience a teacher feels victimized and their discretion of educators is infringed upon. don't parents have a say in what their kids are exposed to. >> it's an insular environment. academic environment providing wholistic and presencive channel for you to discuss issues in an academic sense, something a lot of parents don't do or distil things into themes or plots. >> if i may go back to the original question as to why we see an increase in these challenges, we have surveys that indicate and show us valuable information. i think we need to pay attention to it.

that is since 2010 we see the increase in challenges. we have an increase across the nation in the number of students and high schools that will enrol in ap english classes. in the classes is more mature material. >> you have an increase number. they don't believe that it is age appropriate for the high schools. concerns. >> high school is not college. because something has literary merit and may have a reading level that is apt for the students that are advanced doesn't mean that it is matching developmental levels. >> i'll jump in and say the troubling trend within that trend of the increase in challenges, the troubling parts are yes, more books are banned in classes.

the books that are banned are more books written by authors of colour, by authors they address gay and lesbian issues. >> i want to clarify something here, both with caroline and jill. we are talking here, correct me if i'm wrong, about the difference between books being available in the library versus books used for instructional purposes in the classroom, is that would you are getting at. >> we are talking about materials, not the libraries. i stand in favour of having the right to read, and a diverse amount of - type of reading material in the library, public library, the school library. the classroom is a unique environment, and teachers do not have freedom of speech for example. school boards have...

>> do you feel the classes are right - they have the right. >> lynn, you want to jump in. >> teachers are the personnel who have the expertise and the training to determine what is appropriate for the children sitting in front of them. i think basing a ban of a book based on age is ludicrous because children of all ages have different life experiences. they have different maturity levels. these children can meet the needs of every child. we need access to a wide variety of literacy to do that. >> we already have filters for media in schools. what are the foundations for certain ratings, movies appropriate for 10th graders and first graders. a lot is in place.

why not to books and english litter atture. >> as a stupid that took english last year, i developed a close bond with my teacher. the challenge of a public educator is to create public curric u lounge room that meet -- curriculum that meets all students. i argue that ap english is the most challenging course, and has the student set of the most mature and able to handle material. so to ban a book -- >> what about when the teachers' decision is not in line with the sensibilities. >> i think it happens a lot. in my home district it was a partisan school board member

manipulating concerned parents. the irony was that he was forced to resign because he was dating a minor, the demographic that was too immature. >> we'll take a pause. when we come back, is there a place for controversial books in the classroom. if so, how do you introduce them responsibly. we'll find out after the break. >> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world.

techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america again by having the president making this pointing continuously, it causes the people to say you know what, we should examine this issue. most of the jobs we are talking about you can't send those overseas. >> right, they have to be service jobs. in a sense though mr. anderson have you seen people galvanized, people wanting to work now to actually see if they can make the difference on this? maybe it wouldn't have happened before the government shutdown. >> before the government shutdown in the smithsonian, it took the government to see how serious this is, when you don't have a job and your next paycheck isn't guaranteed. now we have the majority and we are in negotiation with the union to actually bring the union in there to get a pay raise

and more benefits. >> thank you gentlemen for being with us. there's more to finical news than the ups and downs of the dow. for instance, could striking workers in greece delay your retirement? i'm here to make the connections to your money real.

consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the government shutdown. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what. >> antonio mora, award winning and hard hitting. >> we've heard you talk about the history of suicide in your family. >> there's no status quo, just the bottom line. >> but, what about buying shares in a professional athlete?

>> they express themselves one piece at a time. >> words mean more than what is set down on paper. it takes the human voice to infuse them with meaning. >> that was a clip from a retailer showing customers reading from banned books. no doubt they are an attraction,

and that is something one group is banking on. >> uprise, and they gave us a great video comment. >> i'm just stanley from uprise. we encourage under privileged skills to read by enticing them with banned books. it gives us a great way to attract attention with reading skills, the same teen who couldn't care less who thinks "the catcher in the rye" may banned. >> it goes to the addage all publicity is good publicity. when books are challenged and banned, does that increase the interest among young people. have you seen that. >> "the earth, my butt and other big round things." my novel and others -- >> how do you say that without

laughing? >> my 4-year-old things that too >> sorry, continue. >> it ha a hung banning in maryland. i had an email saying "we just shipped 1,000 copies in this distribute." who knows. it can have a chilling effect on the author, thinking that it's horrible to have a book ban, passages cited out of context and a book that wins a major award nod allowed in schools. it can have a bump in sales and a freezing effect on creativity. hard to know. >> what this is about, i think the big issue is not about your personal feelings, it's about the students. what we are talking about is literacy rates. >> excuse me. >> you are saying censoring books is increasing literacy

rates, and it's a good thing. >> i'm actually not saying that. sentence. >> what was that, sorry. >> to increase literacy rates, let's look at what successful states are doing. in massachusetts, if they were a country, they'd be fourth in the world with literacy. what are e -- they doing to be successful? we need to look at what is our purpose, and that is to fulfil knowledge, achievement gaps. what are the knowledge gaps. workforce are they saying they need to be attracted to more sexually explicit material. that's not what we are saying. we are saying they need critical thinking skills. well, let's look again at what massachusetts is doing. they are

proming classic literature. this has the rich vocabulary that they need to have the skills to be successful. >> i'll be quick. let me get community. gail says: >> we have about 25 seconds left. how do you balance it all, from your perspective? >> how do we balance it all? >> yes. >> every week i get an email saying, "thank you for writing your book." i sought help for myself, i stood up for myself. i write it for people who need an honest book. >> thank you to all of my guests. thank you to the community. until next time, we'll see you online.

check check >> the african president and the scandal of missing millions of aid. a corruption trial gets underway in malawi. >> this is al jazeera live from doha. also coming up dash -- >> it is american diplomacy that has halted the process of iran's nuclear program. >> barack obama claims the credit for the deal with iran in the