Teaching Huckleberry Finn: Why and How to Present the Controversial Classic in the High School Classroom

Nearly all of the Gadsden County's student body is black and considered economically disadvantaged, the highest percentage of any school district in Florida. Fewer than 15 percent perform at grade level.

An idealistic new teacher at East Gadsden High, John Nogowski saw that the Department of Education's techniques would not work in this environment. He wanted to make an impact in his students' lives. In a room stacked with battered classics like A Raisin in the Sun and To Kill a Mockingbird...