Deconstructionism! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
That's basically the main thing this chapter presents to us. First of all, I'm almost positive now that these conversations with students aren't real at all, I mean, they seemed so contrived before but some of the ones in this chapter were just ridiculous. My other problem with the chapter is that Appleman basically uses the quotes from other people to try to cobble together a definition of deconstructionism, and even the "clear and lucid definition" is seriously lacking. Basically the best way to get an idea of what deconstructionism "is" is from the name itself. I realize that one of the main aspects of this theory is that it's a little vague, but it was really aggravating reading an entire chapter about a vague theory, and the reactions the students had to it and the warnings made about it didn't really make any sense. Claiming that deconstructionism takes apart everything it means to be a person and destroys the other theories is really darn melodramatic.
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I was wondering about that student's response. I definitely want to spend some time with it in class. I can't imagine a high school student melting down like that over a theory. It seems very strange.
Censorship issues aside...
It sounds like the school district fell down on this one. They probably placed the book on the approved list after it won the Pulitzer. Obviously, no one read it. The teacher probably had the book available because it was on the approved list. Should the teacher have personally read every book he allowed? Maybe, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Does this mean that as a teacher you need to read every book a student might decide to write about in class?
Ultimately, the teacher can not be found guilty of any crime, but the school district will never forgive him for their black eye. He will ultimately have to teach elsewhere.
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