How to Protect Tender Minds

Are Aristotle and Machiavelli too tough for tenth-graders?

The principal had a stern warning for English Teacher Cyril Lang: the books he was teaching were not approved for tenth-graders by the school system's curriculum experts. Some parents had complained as well. But Lang went right on using the books in his classes at Charles W. Woodward High School in the plush suburb of Rockville, Md. Lang even based exams on them. School Superintendent Edward Andrews took that as "insubordination and misconduct in office." Last October he asked that Lang be suspended without pay, a request that the Montgomery County School Board last week began to consider in private hearings.

The startling thing about the Lang affair is that he was not purveying pornography, or even mildly racy novels. He was merely introducing his students to the Poetics by Aristotle and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli as an aid to their study of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Lang, 55, a ten-year teaching veteran, is a man determined to challenge his students, pitted against a school system that wants him to take things easy.

Was the material too difficult?

"Tenth-graders can handle Aristotle," insists Robert Squires, president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English. Indeed, whether or not Aristotle is mentioned by name, most high school discussions of Julius Caesar, Othello and other tragedies build on the characteristics of tragedy originally set out in a few pages of the Poetics. Such fundamental questions as "Is Brutus or Caesar the hero of the play?" and "Why would an honorable man like Brutus join in the conspiracy against Caesar?" are good Aristote lian questions. Nor is Machiavelli unfathomable in an age well versed in political manipulation. Merely asking if Caesar, Cassius and Brutus appear honest, awe-inspiring or venal amounts to considering these characters in Machiavellian terms.

Some of Lang's former students were quick to defend him. "I didn't think his class was too hard at all," says Julie Shapiro, who edits the Woodward High student newspaper. "Mr. Lang had us go over the readings line by line, and I think they added a lot to the course. Some kids hated the course in the beginning, but at the end they liked the work. He treated us like adults. He had standards."

To school officials the issue was the system, not the subject matter. Says School Superintendent Andrews: "I don't know whether Lang is right or wrong about the books. But in a public school system, you have to have reasonable procedures to determine what is to be used, and the superintendent has to uphold them." Montgomery County has approved Aristotle's Poetics only for senior honor students. Asked Andrews: "What if a teacher decided to use Playboy or Hustler? I think the school system has an obligation to set standards and to set curriculum."

Lang concedes that the school system's concern for its authority is important. But he was not teaching Hustler or Playboy. Lang believes that his rights and responsibilities as a teacher take precedence in this case. If the seven-member Montgomery County school board agrees with him, Lang could be reinstated in January, although he will no doubt be assigned to a different school after so much controversy. A decision against him could mean five months without pay. If that happens Lang plans to fight in the courts, if necessary, for reinstatement. "I made a premeditated, intellectual decision to continue teaching the way I had," he says. "There's nothing wrong with the genetic makeup of these students. It's the educational system that's declining. We are bearing witness to the triumph of mediocrity."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.