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In this booklet, Mark Kleiman offers a passionate critique of the American high school system and calls upon students to embrace a new paradigm of activism. Published under the auspices of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the text challenges readers to see beyond the “barbed wire” fences and rigid administrative structures that, Kleiman argues, keep young people isolated from their communities and each other.
Railing against outdated curricula, authoritarian discipline codes, and a climate that prioritizes order over genuine learning, High School Reform implores students to organize collectively to remake their educational experiences.
Historical Context
By the late 1960s, youth activism in the United States had taken on unprecedented scale and visibility. Inspired by civil rights campaigns, antiwar demonstrations, and the broader counterculture, high school students increasingly saw their campus environments as microcosms of societal injustice. Groups like SDS recognized that many of the same issues—hierarchical authority, lack of meaningful participation, and the stifling of free expression—could also be found in secondary schools. As such, they began developing organizing guides specifically for high schoolers, hoping to spur a grassroots, student-led challenge to the status quo.
Within this broader wave of protest, High School Reform stands out for its direct focus on everyday struggles in the classroom. Rather than dwell solely on the Vietnam War or national civil rights, Kleiman orients his critique on aspects of day-to-day life—strict dress codes, forced assemblies, underfunded classes, and administrative condescension—that he sees as symptomatic of a deeper authoritarian impulse.
Strategies and Content
- Pointed Critique of “Artificial” Education
Kleiman likens the typical high school to a fenced-in community designed to insulate students from “reality,” training them for meek conformity rather than active citizenship. He challenges the notion that students should quietly endure irrelevant course material or oppressive rules, calling for a renewed focus on critical thinking and relevant content. - Emphasis on Collective Action
Departing from the idea that individual rebellion alone can effect systemic change, the pamphlet advocates the building of a broad-based student movement. Drawing on SDS ideals of participatory democracy, Kleiman envisions coalitions that transcend cliques and social hierarchies, embracing both “liberal” and “conservative” students who share grievances. - Concrete Examples of Protest
Real-world anecdotes of sit-ins, walkouts, and picketing—often sparked by such things as canceled assemblies or restrictive dress codes—illustrate how discontented teens were already testing methods of resistance. These examples provide a roadmap for other students seeking to mount similar campaigns. - Critique of Bureaucracy and Curriculum
The text skewers standard approaches to science, health, English, and history, arguing they ignore real-world issues and stifle creativity. Kleiman attacks “health” classes that gloss over sex education and “government” classes that obscure socio-political injustices, insisting schools must encourage authentic inquiry into pressing social problems.
Language, Imagery, and Symbolism
- Mythic Cover Illustration
The pamphlet’s cover features a Hercules-like figure cloaked with “SDS” and a “student power” sash, straining mightily against boulders labeled “grades,” “meaningless classes,” “in loco parentis,” and other structural burdens. This epic motif underscores the idea that challenging the system is both heroic and daunting. - Rhetorical Urgency
Kleiman’s tone is forceful, casting the status quo as repressive. He invokes terms like “Orwellian nightmare” to accentuate the degree of control administrators wield over students. - Collaborative, Empowering Language
Urging peers to “break out” of artificial communities, Kleiman frames high school transformation as a collective endeavor that can only succeed through mutual respect and open dialogue among students and, ideally, with teachers.
Impact and Relevance
Although precise data on this pamphlet’s immediate circulation is scarce, High School Reform was part of a larger wave of SDS literature that rippled through campuses nationwide. Its arguments about student agency and participatory democracy resonated with a generation skeptical of top-down authority—whether in government, business, or education.
The call for “student power” helped lay the groundwork for subsequent reforms, including student councils with more substantive roles, greater flexibility in dress codes, and expansions of free speech on high school campuses. The pamphlet also anticipates contemporary debates about how to make secondary education relevant, inclusive, and responsive to student needs.
Special thanks to the USC Digital Imaging Lab for their support in digitizing this item.
