The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank is a detailed journal kept by Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who lived with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The journal describes her feelings on her family, the other family in hiding with them, her thoughts on the war, and more importantly, herself and her life as she grows up in a very short and strange time.

* For a more detailed description - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl

One would think that a book that is so historical and so acclaimed would not face challenges or bannings in schools. One would think a story such as this would be important to tell. Sadly, not everyone feels this way. There are two main reasons that schools have banned this book: one, being the sexual content in the original, unedited version in which Anne describes her vagina and her sexual feelings; two, and this being voted as one of the "Worst Reasons to Ban a Book," because it is a "real downer." Apparently, no matter how true a story is, if it's sad some people would prefer to ignore it.

* For more information on the bannings and challenges of this book - http://www.thenation.com/blog/anne-franks-diary-too-explicit-school
* And here - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012804001.html?hpid=sec-education

Do you think that a book with this much historical value should be banned from schools? Do you think that a story being sad is a reason to keep it away from students?

* 5 points extra credit