Search

A fourth grade textbook which discusses four subcultures: the Tasaday of of the Philippines, the Mossi of Upper Volta, the Aymara of Bolivia, and the Uzbeks of the Soviet Union.

The five chapters of this book on teachers' need and responsibility to prepare themselves for criticisms and attacks on their teaching methods and materials deal with the scope of censorship issues, the significance of academic freedom, recent judicial rulings, school-community tensions, and case studies of censorship cases. The first chapter, "Child Abuse in the Hate Factory" (Edward Jenkinson), describes tactics used by critics of public education to create dissatisfaction among parents and to encourage people to challenge books, courses, and teaching methods. The paper lists 50 aspects of public education targted at one time or another by schoolbook protesters. Chapter 2, "The Significance of and Rationale for Academic Freedom" (Jack Nelson), discusses the professional and social significance of academic freedom, teacher competence necessary for academic freedom, some problems, and some needed improvements. The chapter called "Academic Freedom: What the Courts Have Said" (John Strope, Jr. and Cathy Broadwell), focuses upon cases where public school teachers went to court arguing for their right to academic freedom and other cases offering insights into teachers' rights. Chapter 4, "Academic Freedom and Community Involvement: Maintaining the Balance" (Arnold Fege), discusses social and demographic changes contributing to censorship tensions and argues that parents involved in their children's education should not impose their own values by narrowing the content of the educational program. The fifth and final chapter, "Lessons Learned from Three Schoolbook Protests" (Edward Jenkinson), outlines myths about schoolbook protests and describes three Indiana experiences. An appendix prepared by Janet Jones includes "The Typical Censorship Scenario,""Six Case Studies with Helpful Tips,""Countering Far Right Tactics,""Generic Materials Selection," and "Survival Tips." References accompany each paper. (JDD)