High school teacher Robert C. Mossman asserts that literary magazines reflect and elevate school communities' values. As adviser of his school literary magazine, Mossman encourages students to uphold certain standards for decency, while helping students learn to distinguish between original writing that is specific and thoughtful and writing that…

Presents a list of books that were protested/attacked/censored at least three times between 1986 and 1995, culled from the American Library Association's "Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom." Discusses the limitations of any survey and standards for censorship. (TB)

Suggests ways to increase student interest and involvement in composition assignments. (GB)

Warns that the lessons of Abscam--innocence by reason of stupidity or irresponsibility--are bad ones for our students. (JL)

Reviews the events and issues surrounding a parent-driven attempt to ban John Gardener's "Grendel" from the high school curriculum on the grounds that it would corrupt the young morally. (TB)

Provides the annual "Honor List" of the nine best young adult books published in 2001. Notes that many of this year's books were written from the point of view of outsiders. Provides a short summary of each book. (PM)

Reviews the censorship debate in light of three underlying assumptions: (1) reading influences the opinions and beliefs of the reader; (2) the effect of a book, article, or passage is universal, implying there is one correct meaning for a particular work; and (3) the effects of reading are context independent. (SRT)

Proposes that in the quest for truth, teachers and students concern themselves with the prevalence of information overload, euphemisms, and doublespeak. (JL)

Examines the health of literature, both in the market place and in the schools. Contrasts the pervasive effects of uncensored popular literature with vigorous efforts to censor the classroom study of literature. (RL)

Discusses the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley and how it might be used in secondary English classes as a means of investigating contemporary issues of technology and morality. Describes how one teacher asked students to identify a social issue from the novel and investigate it in today's news media. (HB)

Presents a two-part debate on the criticism and review of children's books and textbooks by the Council on Interracial Books for Children. (RL)

Summarizes results of a survey of 309 students concerning their plagiarism while in high school. Reports data about how many teachers recommended copying, how many required crediting sources, whether students understood about plagiarism, and the relationship between understanding and copying. Recommends action based on survey results. (EL)

A description of an English course for high school slow learners in which students discussed and wrote about the moral dilemmas presented in two films shown in class. The author advises how such a course should be conducted and notes the value of student evaluation of the course. (JB)