Presents a cultural analysis of the process by which controversial subject matter in social studies remains deemphasized or omitted. Examines research related to taboo topics in schools. Notes that the closer and more meaningful a topic is to students' lives, the more likely it is to be taboo. Offers practical suggestions for teachers to explore…

Describes how a professor teaching a "Writing Arguments" course focused on two cases involving the death penalty to show students how arguments are constructed, and how students can form strong arguments of their own. Notes that this approach does not force students to choose sides when they stand somewhere in the middle. Describes four…

Shares interviews with elementary and middle school teachers that offer insight into how they respond to potentially controversial writing topics in an effort to understand their perspectives and beliefs about writing topics within their classrooms. Suggests that teachers need to ask challenging questions, acknowledge their biases, and get ready…

Discusses two sources of classroom discomfort: the emergence of feelings and understandings that were previously not permitted in classrooms; and the initiatives of contemporary students who represent zones of society that did not previously participate in university life. Discusses classroom examples involving religious stereotypes and racial…

Advances four hypotheses as to why a student requested to be absent during a discussion of Anne Sexton's poem sequence "The Jesus Papers," which the student thought to be offensive. Suggests that English teachers lack a working consensus as to what kind of space the literature classroom is and what they should be trying to accomplish…

Suggests using case studies of resource management conflict involving marine and aquatic resource issues to increase student involvement in decision-making processes. Provides information for a potential case involving oyster farms and six steps to help students explore problems and make decisions. (MDH)

Analyzes Albert French's novel "Billy" and its exploration of the United States' use of capital punishment for young criminals. Addresses the underlying causes of Billy's execution. Discusses specific themes and issues that teachers can use for classroom discussions of capital punishment. (RS)

Notes that social issues books can enrich the understanding of history and life by giving voice to those who have traditionally been silenced or marginalized. Discusses how these books show how people can begin to take action on important social issues and rarely end with "they lived happily ever after." Presents four accounts of teaching with…

Considers how with the move towards balanced literacy, teachers now have the chance to choose books for use in their classrooms. Explores how pre-service teachers felt about including texts with controversial issues in their future classrooms. (SG)

Textbooks rarely emphasize how controversial some physics theories were at the time of their proposal. Makes the case that useful classroom debate can be generated by considering the controversy that arose over models of the atom such as Rutherford's and Bohr's, and ideas about fractional charges put forward by Millikan and arising from quark…

The recent flap over the Kansas State Board of Education's decision to drop knowledge of evolution theory from its science standards has rekindled the perennial science/religion debate in education. This article examines mutual relationships of three knowledge structures (science, mainstream religion, and fringe beliefs) and the middle-ground's…

In 1996, a small group of Roman Catholic parents in a suburban New York district filed suit, claiming that a new program was promoting Satanism, occultism, and New Age spirituality. Activities included a Ganesha story, worry dolls, stories on Buddha and Quetzalcoatl, poetry writing, psychic phenomena, and a cemetery visit. To be continued. (MLH)

Studied the role of anomalous data on controversial topics in the process of theory change among eighth graders studying the topics. The 24 categories of reasons given by the 126 participants fit into the revised taxonomy developed by C. Chinn and W. Brewer (1993) except for the response "ignoring." (SLD)

In 1925, Williams Jennings Bryan, a former congressman from Nebraska and a former Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson, spent two agonizing weeks defending his religious faith that cost him his life a month after. Bryan was a prosecutor of high school teacher John Scopes, who had violated Tennessee state law by teaching the theory of evolution.…

The truth is that today, millions of children have a parent, uncle, aunt, cousin, sibling or grandparent who is gay. Thousands of dedicated teachers, school administrators and coaches are gays or lesbians. What kind of message is being sent to youth when people say that their loved ones and trusted mentors are not safe for children to meet on TV?…