Preserving Intellectual Freedom : Fighting Censorship in Our Schools / Edited by Jean F
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 374 463 CS 214 545 AUTHOR Brown, Jean E., Ed. TITLE Preserving Intellectual Freedom: Fighting Censorship in Our Schools. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-3671-0 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 261p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 36710-0015: $14.95 members, $19.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Collected Works General (020) Books (010) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Academic Freedom; * Censorship; Elementary Secondary Education; *English Curriculum; Intellectual Freedom; Language Arts; Moral Issues; Public Schools; *Student Rights; Teacher Response; Teaching Conditions IDENTIFIERS Controversial Materials; *Educational Issues; *Pressure Groups; Right to Education ABSTRACT Arguing that censorship is not simply an attempt to control what is taught in the schools but also an infringement on the legal learning rights of students, this collection of essays offers insights into how censorship can come about, its impacts and repercussions, and the ways it might be fought. The collection stresses action rather than reaction in guarding the preservation not just of the right to teach, but also. of the right to learn. After an introduction by the editor, the essays ar, as follows:(1) "In Defense of the Aesthetic: Technical Rationality and Cultural Censorship" (Philip M. Anderson);(2) "Policing Thought and Speech: What Happens to Intellectual Freedom?" (Jean E. Brown);(3) "Academic Freedom: Student Rights and Faculty Responsibilities" (David Moshman); (4) "Self-Censorship and the Elementary School Teacher" (Kathie Krieger Cerra);(5) "Literature, Intellectual Freedom, and the Ecology of the Imagination" (Hugh Agee);(6) "The Censorship of Young Adult Literature" (Margaret T. Sacco);(7). "Censorship and African American Literature" (Jim Knippling);(8) "Intellectual Freedom and the Student: Using Literature to Teach Differentiation of Propaganda and Persuasion" (Mary Ellen Van Camp); (9) "Censorship and the Teaching of Composition" (Allison Wilson);(10) "Freedom and Restrictions in Language Use" (Roy C. O'Donnell); (11) "Intellectual Freedom and the Theological Dimensions of Whole Language" (Ellen H. Brinkley); (12) "Being Proactive, Not Waiting for the Censor' (Jean E. Brown and Elaine C. Stephens); (13) "The Secondary English Teacher and Censorship" (John H. Kean); (14) "Keeping Abreast in the Trenches: In-Service Censorship Education" (Adrienne C. May and Paul Slayton); (15) "What Do I Do Now? Where to Turn When You Face a Censor" (Robert C. Small, Jr. and M. Jerry Weiss); (16) "Caution, Novice Teachers: The Promotion of Reading, Writing, and Thinking Could Be Grounds for Censorship" (Dee Storey); (17) "Who's Protecting Whom and from What?" (Lynda K. Kapron and Rita E. Faye); (18) "Using 1, Media to Combat Censorship" (Margaret T. Sacco); (19) "Slugging It Out: Censorship Issues in the Third Grade" (C. Jane Hydrick); (20) "Hind-Control Applications of the Constitutional Law of Censorship in. the Educational Environment" (Lief H. Carter and Daniel Carroll); (21) "'Hazelwood': Results and Realities" (Mel Krutz); and (22) "The 'Hazelwood' Decision: Thought Control in the High School? Or from 'Tinker to 'Hazelwood', to Chance?" (Ken Holmes). 00U0 U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION I i- Office of Educational Reuearch and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1RThis document has been reproduced as AI received from the person or organization originating it I 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY ill )2A-1' TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). 3 9 BEST COPY AVAILAI3LF _ NCTE Editorial Board: Hazel Davis, Keith Gilyard, Ronald Jobe, Joyce Kinkead, Louise W. Phelps, Charles Suhor, Chair, ex officio, Michelle Sanden Johlas, ex Officio CEE Commission on Intellectual Freedom: Jean E. Brown, Chair, Saginaw Valley State University; Hugh Agee, University of Georgia; Philip M. Anderson, Queens College, CUNY; Sandra F. Bone, Arkansas State Uniw_rsity; Ellen H. Brinkley, Western Michigan University; Kathie Kriegel CPrr?, Ivlacalester Col- lege; James Hill, Albany State University; Ken Holmes, Lincoln Senior High School, East St. Louis, Illinois; John M. Kean, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Margaret T. Sacco, Miami (Ohio) University; Paul Slayton, Mary Washington University; Robert E. Shafer, Arizona State University; Robert C. Small, Radford University; Mary Ellen Van Camp, Ball State University; Geneva T. Van Home, University of Montana; Allison Wilson, Jackson State University Preserving Intellectual Freedom Fighting Censorship in Our Schools Edited by Jean E. Brown Saginaw Valley State University National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 Manuscript Editors: Robert A. Heister, Hamish D. Glenn Humanities & Sciences Associates Production Editor: Michelle Sanden Joh las Interior Design: Torn Kovacs for TGK Design Cover Design: Jim Proefrock NCTE Stock Number: 3671('-3050 co1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Preserving intellectual freedom : fighting censorship in our schools / edited by Jean F. Brown. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8141-3671-0 I. Academic freedomUnited States. 2. Public schoolsUnited StatesCurriculaCensorship. 3. Language artsUnited States. 4. Literature- -Study and teachingUnited States. 5. Educational law and legislationUnited States. 1. Brown, Jean E. II. National Council of Teachers of English. I.C72.2.P74 1994 379."55dc20 94-1986(1 CIP Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Jean E. Brown I. Intellectual Freedom and English Education 1 1.In Defense of the Aesthetic: Technical Rationality and Cultural Censorship 3 Philip M. Anderson 2. Policing Thought and Speech: What Happens to Intellectual Freedom? 17 Jean E. Brown 3. Academic Freedom: Student Rights and Faculty Responsibilities 26 David Moshman 4. Self-Censorship and the Elementary School Teacher 36 Kathie Krieger Cerra II. Intellectual Freedom and the Curriculum 51 5.Literature, Intellectual Freedom, and the Ecology of the imagination 53 Hugh Agee 6. The Censorship of Young Adult Literature 63 Margaret T. Sacco 7. Ccnsorship and African American Literature 73 Jim Knipp ling 8.Intellectual Freedom and the Student: Using Literature to Teach Differentiation of Propaganda and Persuasion 81 Mary Ellen Van Camp 6 vi Contents 9. Censorship and the Teaching of Composition 91 Allison Wilson 10. Freedom and Restrictions in Language Use 100 Roy C. O'Donnell 11.Intellectual Freedom and the Theological Dimensions of Whole Language 111 Ellen H. Brinkley III. Providing Support for Teachers 123 12. Being Proactive, Not Waiting for the Censor 125 Jean E. Brown and Elaine C. Stephens 13. The Secondary English Teacher and Censorship 133 John M. Kean 14. Keeping Abreast in the Trenches: In-Service Censorship Education 143 Adrienne C. May and Paul Slayton 15. What Do I Do Now? Where to Turn When You Face a Censor 151 Robert C. Small, Jr., and M. Jerry Weiss IV. Taking Action for Intellectual Freedom 165 16. Caution, Novice Teachers: The Promotion of Reading, Writing, and Thinking Could Be Grounds for Censorship 167 Dee Storey 17. Who's Protecting Whom and From What? 178 Lynda K. Kapron and Rita E. Pave 18. Using Media to Combat Censorship 192 Margaret T. Sacco 19. Si/egging It Out: Censorship Issues in the Third Grade 198 C. Jane Hydrick V. Legal Implications of Limiting Intellectual Freedom 203 20. Mind-Control Applications of the Constitutional Law of Censorship in the Educational Environment 2(15 Lief H. Carter, assisted by Daniel Carroll 7 Contents 21. Hazelwood: Results and Realities 216 Mel Krutz 22 The Haze/wood Decision: Thought Control in the HighSchool? Or from Tinker to Hazelwood, to Chance? 228 Ken Holmes Afterword 233 James E. Davis Index 235 Editor 247 Contributors 248 To Robert and Eileen Ross, for confirming my belief that great teachers have a lasting influence on their students, with my gratitude, admiration, and fondness 9 Acknowledgments As with any edited volume, this book is the collected work of many people. I thank the contributors, especially those who have been in- volved since I became editor in 1989. This volume was originally suggested by Jim Davis in 1988 when he became the first chair of the CEE Commission on Intellectual Freedom. He has been generous with his insights and assistance throughout the process, as was demonstrated by his willingness to contribute the a fterword. We have also benefited from the interest and encouragement of the CEE Executive Committee, first under Bob Small's leadership and more recently under Joe Milner's and Carol Pope's direction. Also, the comments of the NCTE Editorial Board members and the peer reviewers were insightful and helped