Protecting the Right to Teach and Learn: Power, Politics, and Public Schools

Censorship stifles the ability of schools and teachers to educate students in meaningful and productive ways. In recent years, challenges to what gets read, taught, and learned in schools have increased. With the aim of protecting the academic freedom of individuals and groups from across political and religious spectrums, the authors, along with noted authorities in education, consider how schools respond to these challenges. The authors include a fascinating case study of a school district embroiled in a dispute about the progressive philosophy and practices at an elementary school. They also examine the legal and pedagogical implications that accrue, and offer educators strategies for addressing challenges and censorship issues that may arise in their districts and classrooms. Other topics explored are: o;What happens when teachers and curricula are condemned o;The ambiguity of academic freedom in public schools o;Specific cases of curriculum on trial This intriguing work is a must read for anyone interested in what does and does not get taught in schools.

About the Author :
James K. Daly is director of secondary education in the College of Education and Human Services at Seton Hall University. Patricia L. Schall is chair of the Education Department at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, New Jersey. Rosemary W. Skeele is director of the Instructional Design, Information Technologies, and Educational Media Specialist programs in the College of Education and Human Services at Seton Hall University.

Review :
"At last, a book which gives us the voices of front line dues payers, the teachers who have fought the exhausting, heroic struggles for academic freedom in their classrooms. At the same time, the book takes us on a rare, up-close excursion into the heartland of the complicated forces pushing at the K-12 classroom door at the turn of the century." - Miles A. Myers, Executive Director of EDschool.com and former Executive Director, National Council of Teachers of English; "Not since the 1950's attack on educators during the McCarthy era have there been such constraints on the rights of teachers at every level to choose materials and develop curriculum as there are today. The voices in this research narrative illuminate opportunities for professional educators to become articulate about censorship issues and ways to protect academic freedom: the right to teach and the right to learn in a democracy." - Yetta M. Goodman, Regents Professor of Education, University of Arizona