Features Students, Teacher from Wilton, CT whose play, “Voices in Conflict,” Was Banned by School Principal
Beginning with the recent decision by Wilton High School (CT) to cancel a student-written play, the panel discussion, “Voices in Conflict: Art and Censorship in Public High Schools,” will explore the meaning of artistic and academic freedom in public schools in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century. The panel will take place on Sat., April 28 at 4 p.m. at the Provincetown Playhouse, 133 Macdougal Street. The panel is presented by The Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and will feature a panel of teachers and students as well as historians and artists from NYU. [Subway: A, C, D, E, F (W. 4th St.)]
“Voices in Conflict” was planned by students in Wilton’s advanced theater class as their major spring production. The play draws on letters from soldiers serving in the war in Iraq, including a 2005 Wilton graduate who was killed in Iraq last fall. He wrote from Iraq, “I never thought I’d ever say this, but I miss being in high school.”
The moderator of the panel will be James W. Fraser, professor in Steinhardt’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and author of A History of Hope: When Americans Have Dared to Dream of a Better Future. In addition to students from Wilton High School, panelists include Bonnie Dickinson, theater teacher, Wilton High School; Philip Taylor, director, Program in Educational Theatre, NYU Steinhardt; Robby Cohen, Chair, Department of Teaching and Learning, NYU Steinhardt; and Madeleine Grumet, professor of philosophy of education, UNC School of Education.
Reporters interested in attending the panel discussion should contact either David Montgomery, by phone 212.998.5869 or email dm635@nyu.edu at NYU Steinhardt or Timothy Farrell, 212.998.6797 or tim.farrell@nyu.edu, in NYU’s Office of Public Affairs.