Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was an American author and humorist. One month after an English teacher at Drake High School in North Dakota decided to teach Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five in his classroom, Charles McCarthy, the head of the school board, decided that the novel's "obscene language" was not appropriate. Every copy of Slaughterhouse-Five at Drake High School was burned in the school's furnace. In response, Vonnegut wrote this letter to McCarthy.
Pair “I Am Very Real” with “How Search Engines Spread Misinformation” and ask students to consider how controlling what students read shapes the way a society develops as a whole. Is it better to have unfettered access to all information without regard for accuracy or appropriateness of content, or should the content of what is available online be regulated in some way? If so, who should be the one to decide what information and stories are true, valid, or appropriate?