This study examines the question of using controversial literature in the secondary school classroom from legal and professional standpoints and provides suggestions for activities whereby English teachers may avoid dismissal. The contents include: (1) a discussion of the question of standards, both of the community and of the profession, which…

Reviews the case of Cissy Lacks, who was summarily dismissed from her teaching job after her principal went into a locked closet and found a videotape of students reading their creative compositions, which contained profanity. Discusses the effect of censorship on teaching. (TB)

The Kanawha County textbook controversy of 1974 sparked profound changes in the American political landscape and American education. The roots of this controversy go back to the 1960's, when drug use, women's liberation, violence, and sex education convinced conservatives that America was in moral decline. Parents in Kanawha County fingered school…