penzt: that's some heavy-duty reading for college kids, much less hs students. kudos to your daughter.
i've not read Zen, but i've read the other titles; you should definitely pick up Catch-22 and read it. (although when i read it in jr. high, i mistakenly thought it was about vietnam; it's actually about WWII. doh!). i have to say, though, that C-22 definitely has some raunchy moments in it. the teacher must assume some serious maturity on the part of the students to assign it (which speaks highly of the students and is good in my opinion).
a lot of folks worry about liberal teachers/profs, but it's been my experience that most of them have a much more (if not outright) conservative stance. in h.s., i was the lone student "lefty" challenging many of my teachers on their indoctrination. my wife teaches hs english now, and her colleagues definitely have a right-wing stance that gets conveyed in the classroom. she is waaaaay on the left but is careful not to "indoctrinate" but welcome all sides/views in a discussion -- with equal time, without judgment, and sensitive to a variety of belief systems, but in such a way that encourages both individual thought and teaches critical thinking skills. she and her colleagues tend to ask students questions rather than taking one stance over another ("what leads you to that conclusion" kind of stuff, things that call upon the students to be able to defend their comments with critical thinking skills that will serve them well in life).
good on you for your comments to your daughter.