High Schoolers are losing their freedom of speech from how they feel politically, or simple opinions that they have on the internet somewhere far away from schools and this is unfair in every way shape and form. Schools are suppose to be places where students can both express themselves but also learn from the teachers and also between the students themselves. So what is happening in the 21st century is that schools are taking away High Schoolers individuality.
Starting with the claim High Schoolers are losing their freedom of speech politically. “How so?” you are probably asking yourself well let me first introduce to the Diocese of Rockville Centre they run three catholic schools in each of this schools they have stated that if any student
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Such examples include when a senior in high school named Pat Brown was suspended for three days because while he was on twitter he made a rude hashtag name “#shitCNSshouldcut” which he used to suggest ways he wanted his school to save money after the event of voters rejecting a 144.7 billion budget plan. But also making jokes like laying off the principal and getting rid of the anime club. The Principal on the other hand didn't enjoy the jokes which cause Pat Brown to be accused of “harassing the principle” and “inciting a social media riot that disrupted the learning environment.”Pat Brown was wrongfully accused it was just a bad joke that went awry and should have not been suspended for it. This is not the only example of the school administrators punishing students for what they say on the internet such a case to the student in Heights High School Ms. Wesley Teague was suspended and barred from attending graduation for tweeting “Heights U is the equivalent WSU’s Football team” which is a reference to a nearby school football team shutting down. The school found this to be “inciting a disturbance” as well as “aggressively disrespecting the athletes”. This is completely unfair Teague did not do any harm it was another harmless jokes that did not hurt anyone but someone probably took it to offense and caused this backlash which
Beussink v. Woodland R-IV School district was the first case to decide that students were protected under the freedom of speech when using online social media outside the school. This case is also often cited in other cases related to off-campus speech. In this case, the student used his home computer to post on his website about his principal and other teachers, using vulgar language. The principal found about the vulgar comments through another student. The principal decided to suspend the student for a total of 10 consecutive days, which resulted in the student’s grades dropping drastically, and also asked him to remove his page.
This case involved a public high school student, Matthew Fraser who gave a speech nominating another student for a student elective office. The speech was given at an assembly during school as a part of a school-sponsored educational program in self-government. While giving the speech, Fraser referred to his candidate in what the school board called "elaborate, graphic, and explicit metaphor." After his speech, the assistant principal told Fraser that the school considered the speech a violation of the school's "disruptive-conduct rule." This prohibited conduct that interfered with the educational process, including obscene, profane language or gestures. After Fraser admitted he intentionally had used sexual innuendo in the speech, he was told that he would be suspended from school for three days, and his name would be removed from the list of the speakers at the graduation exercises.
Furthermore, the opinion of the Supreme Court reveled that students can express their opinions anywhere even when the principal clearly made a rule banning armbands so problems would not be created. The disruptions from armbands could ca...
“Marvin L.Pickering, a high school science teacher in Illinois wrote a letter published in a newspaper denouncing the board of education's choice of allocating of funding between athletics and academics, he also criticized the superintendent who did not inform the local taxpayers why they were actually paying more for the school. After posting the letter, the high school teacher was fired because the board claimed that he delivered false information that could affect the efficiency of the school administration, it damage the reputation of the board of education and of its superintendent and that it could possibly encourage “controversy, conflict, and dissension” between the school staff "Detrimental to the best interests of the schools"(Findlaw.com, I) . Pickering decided to sue the school for violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech and of equal protection because he claimed that he has the right to free speech and is allowed the same rights as everybody else.“
Fraser (1986). During a student assembly, Senior, Matthew Fraser gave a campaign speech to elect his friend to student government. Fraser’s speech was rife with sexual innuendo. Consequently he was suspended and his name removed from the list of possible graduation speakers—he was second in his class at the time. In this case, the Court established that there is a monumental difference between the First Amendment protection of expression for “dealing with a major issue of public policy and the lewdness of Fraser’s speech” (“Key Supreme Court Cases,” 2015). Comparatively, Foster’s high school points out that there is a monumental difference between Foster’s desire to express his individuality and impress girls, and the school’s desire to regulate the serious public concern of gang activity within the school. Indeed, in the petitioner’s application of Tinkering and Chalifoux court cases, the defense notes, in both First Amendment cases the students were addressing a major public issue—political and religion statements. Foster’s message of individuality, however, decidedly lacked a message that would safeguard his First Amendment
Schools have become more interested in limiting students rights because cyber bullying is becoming a huge problem these days .School officials and administrators are responsible to protect their student body and maintain a safe environment. They want to make sure their students are safe and happy at school and off -grounds.They want to limit online speech so they can protect students and teachers who get cyber bullied online.
According to “Freedom of Speech” by Gerald Leinwand, Abraham Lincoln once asked, “Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its people, or too weak to maintain its own existence (7)?” This question is particularly appropriate when considering what is perhaps the most sacred of all our Constitutionally guaranteed rights, freedom of expression. Lincoln knew well the potential dangers of expression, having steered the Union through the bitterly divisive Civil War, but he held the Constitution dear enough to protect its promises whenever possible (8).
High school publications are not protected by the first amendment, therefore they are not entitled to free speech. Controversial issues such as homosexuality, teenage pregnancy, and drug issues are forbidden in many high school newspapers because the school officials think it will hurt the schools image, or that it will influence students to make poor decisions. If a student writes about a controversial topic anyway, then it is possible that either their article will not get published, or that the student will be punished for writing dissenting opinions without permission.
Censorship is “the restriction or removal of information, or the prevention of free expression” (Taylor 8). There are many things that can be censored such as books, movies, TV shows, newspapers, and the way people dress. People censor things for a number of reasons- they do not agree with it, find it offensive, or think that it is just inappropriate in general. Different people consider different things inappropriate, so the content of what is censored varies. Anyone can censor, including parents, teachers, school officials, and board members (Taylor 8-10) Many things are censored in schools and places where children are present because parents do not want their kids to be exposed to inappropriate content (Taylor 10). Students are entitled to their First Amendment rights just as much as adults are, but schools still censor things like newspapers, books, and clothing.
Censorship in Schools There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read.
For example, in private schools, when such an incident occurs on their campuses the policies are very different. In private institutions, the 1st, 4th, 5th amendments do not apply to these school’s strict guidelines. However, these schools are obligated to adhere to the terms of the contracts between them, the parents and the students (Aftab, 2011). Due to these terms, the school have an advantage in the way they can respond to these circumstances. A lot of people go to rally for these very rights, soldiers die for these rights and now you have young adults abusing these rights to bully other people on social media. When it comes to social applications like Facebook and twitter, it should be taken into consideration that words are a powerful tool and if used carelessly can cause severe psychological issues (Alexander, 2012). With that said, hate crimes are illegal period. Yet, hate speech is not. Even though hate speech can eventually manifest itself into a hate
In the United States, students have slightly different rights in school than outside of school. While outside of school, students are considered and viewed as normal members of society. However, when in school, different things are expected of students. That is why students have slightly different rights in school than outside. The supreme court has taken many cases related to students that cover all areas of their rights. This paper will cover three main areas of student rights: censorship, privacy, and speech.
In contemporary society, we censor or dance around touchy subjects; avoiding material that could potentially offend students. According to Fox News, a 14 year old student in Fort Worth, Texas, was sent to the principal’s office and suspended due to his words against homosexuality.
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life,LIberty,and the Pursuit of Happiness”(“From the Declaration of Independence”). Society doesn’t guarantee individuals unalienable rights, yet it's stated in the Constitution that, “all men are created equally with certain unalienable rights” (“From the Declaration of Independence”). As well as society doesn’t believe in civil rights for kids, because of their age and era. Constantly people keep discriminating against student rights because adults get to decide for kids. In addition students are also American citizens, and also have unalienable rights that our past generations had to fight for.
In 1965, a couple of teenagers in Iowa wore black armbands to protest America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and the school noticed and banned the armbands. Freedom of speech has been a long debate since the Vietnam War. Freedom of speech is the first amendment in the Constitution, and it is where the people have the right to express their opinion. Even in some schools, they have either banned or suspended kids for wearing t-shirts, armbands, and other offensive clothing. Others claim that the citizens have the right to protest their own opinion no matter the cause, while a few say no the citizens do not have freedom of speech because it could disrupt the educational process and what they say online.