Oleanna Lesson Plan

The teacher should be aware that Oleanna centers on an accusation of sexual misconduct between a teacher and student and features several instances of (putatively) non-sexual violence. As such, the teacher should be mindful of how students may view the play both in the climate of their particular school and in light of any particular history of sexual abuse or manipulation by authority figures. Mamet's play operates more in the register of ideological disagreement than it focuses on these issues per se, but in a modern context, the teacher would do well to address its relationship with movements such as #MeToo upfront and underscore that, above all, the classroom must remain a safe forum...