Dealing with a Parent Who Wants an "Obscene" Assignment Eliminated

The Situation

Suppose a parent of a child in your class phones you one day demanding to know why you have assigned such an "obscene, nasty" book. You are taken aback, in part because you cannot imagine which book the parent is talking about. After listening to the explanation, you understand the parent's point of view, but you believe it is misguided. You argue that, given a reasonable interpretation-as you certainly will provide in class-the book is not offensive and is an excellent learning resource. The parent, not at all appeased, demands to know what right you have to use that book in class or to force children to read it.

Thought Questions

1. What are your legal rights in such a situation? Can you stick to your position? Should you? Must you at least exempt that one parent's child from the assignment?
2. By changing your stance, would you be abandoning your professional commitments and beliefs or your responsibility to provide the best possible education to all your students?
3. Who could you turn to for advice? Where might you obtain, on your own, useful legal information related to the situation?
4. What actual book do you think might have generated this scenario? Would you try to avoid using this book or similar books in the future? What modifications would you consider making in how you plan to use them?
5. What steps might you have taken in advance to make it easier to respond to this parent? What steps could you have taken, short of not assigning the book, to prevent such a scene from occurring in the first place?