Presents four essays that discuss (1) the continued apathy of many English teachers toward censorship of textbooks, (2) the tenuous commitment of the general public to the First Amendment rights of speech and assembly, (3) feminists as censors, and (4) the tendency of conflicts between censors and anticensors to be dominated by the extremes. (RBW)

Surveys the textbook censorship picture over the past decade with particular attention to the activities of Tim LaHaye and Norma and Mel Gabler. Suggests 10 steps teachers can take to try and protect controversial texts from censorship. (RBW)

Presents a selection of books, articles, and other materials dealing with censorship chosen for their quality or provocative nature. (RBW)

Suggests that the notion that the young can be protected by denying them access to materials has been invalidated by the expansion of the electronic environment and changes in community standards. Argues that since students today cannot avoid exposure to questionable material, it is important to see that the exposure they receive is educated and…

Summarizes major court cases that have provided some sense of the extent to which teachers may legitimately select course content and teaching methods. (RBW)

Examines Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery," written against the background of the Holocaust. Suggests that its theme of mindless and unchallenged tradition, and its corollary theme of control, are meant as a warning that traditions ought to be examined from time to time. (RBW)

Offers a rationale that can be used to defend the assignment of Alice Walker's controversial novel for class reading. Indicates four issues that might evoke calls for censorship: (1) subject matter, (2) vocabulary, (3) grammar, and (4) the epistolary form of the work. (RBW)

Assesses extent and nature of cutss made in the version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" used in a 1980 Harcourt, Brace and World anthology. Suggests that rather than serving to shorten or clarify the play as claimed by the editor, cuts were actually made to clean up the text and eliminate any passages with a sexual connotation. (RBW)

Cautions that art has influence and that literature will change the way people think. Suggests that if vulgar and obscene literature is dignified by giving it a place in the classroom, it degrades the literary classics and debases their message. (RBW)

Recounts how students at Rutgers (New Jersey) Preparatory School used journal writing to explore their feelings about the disruption in their academic life caused by a fire that destroyed much of their school. (RBW)

Reviews "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" and its companion document "The Nation Responds: Recent Efforts to Improve Education." Suggests these documents overemphasize educational reform for the purpose of helping American businesses cope with foreign competition, and that they lack enough solid recommendations on how to…

Describes the Spoken Words Vocabulary Activity. Recommends ways to implement this activity in class and shows how to use it to teach students traditional strategies for determining word meanings. (RBW)

Describes a memorable year in the life of a high school drama coach and his 17-member acting troupe. (RBW)

Appraises the results of an exercise in which students in a composition class attempted to write detective stories. Concludes that many of their syntactic errors result from their intentions exceeding their level of writing skill. (RBW)

Offers an appreciation of the work of Ring Lardner, and especially of his humorous use of the vernacular. Laments that so much of Lardner's writing is no longer in print. (RBW)