Student ignorance and apathy about freedom

[DrSmellThis]

This relates to recent discussions in the open forum:

January 31st, 2005 2:06 pm
First

Amendment no big deal, students say

Study shows American teenagers indifferent to

freedoms
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -

The way many high school students see it, government censorship of newspapers may not be a bad thing, and flag

burning is hardly protected free speech.</FONT>

It turns out

the First Amendment is a second-rate issue to many of those nearing their own adult independence, according to a

study of high school attitudes released Monday.

The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United

States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.

Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three

high school students said it goes “too far” in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers

should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.

“These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous,” said Hodding Carter III,

president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which sponsored the $1 million study. “Ignorance about the

basics of this free society is a danger to our nation’s future.”

The students are even more restrictive in their views than their elders, the study

says.

When asked whether people should be

allowed to express unpopular views, 97 percent of teachers and 99 percent of school principals said yes. Only 83

percent of students did.

Indifference,

misunderstanding
The results reflected indifference, with almost three in four students saying they took the

First Amendment for granted or didn’t know how they felt about it. It was also clear that many students do not

understand what is protected by the bedrock of the Bill of Rights.

Three in four students said flag burning is illegal. It’s not. About half the students

said the government can restrict any indecent material on the Internet. It can’t.

“Schools don’t do enough to teach the First Amendment. Students often don’t

know the rights it protects,” Linda Puntney, executive director of the Journalism Education Association, said in the

report. “This all comes at a time when there is decreasing passion for much of anything. And, you have to be

passionate about the First Amendment.”

The

partners in the project, including organizations of newspaper editors and radio and television news directors, share

a clear advocacy for First Amendment issues.
Federal and state officials, meanwhile, have bemoaned a lack of

knowledge of U.S. civics and history among young people. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has even pushed through a

mandate that schools must teach about the Constitution on Sept. 17, the date it was signed in 1787.



The survey, conducted by researchers at the University of

Connecticut, is billed as the largest of its kind. More than 100,000 students, nearly 8,000 teachers and more than

500 administrators at 544 public and private high schools took part in early 2004.

Lack of education
The study suggests that students embrace First

Amendment freedoms if they are taught about them and given a chance to practice them, but schools don’t make the

matter a priority.

Students who take part in

school media activities, such as a student newspapers or TV production, are much more likely to support expression

of unpopular views, for example.

About nine in

10 principals said it is important for all students to learn some journalism skills, but most administrators say a

lack of money limits their media offerings.

More than one in five schools offer no student media opportunities; of the high schools that do

not offer student newspapers, 40 percent have eliminated them in the last five years.



“The last 15 years have not been a golden era for student

media,” said Warren Watson, director of the J-Ideas project at Ball State University in Indiana. “Programs are under

siege or dying from neglect. Many students do not get the opportunity to practice our basic

freedoms.”

[a.k.a.]

I agree that student media are an

excellent teaching tool. I was involved in student publishing during both high school and college.
The article

fails to mention ( or only hints) that there was a systematic political-economic assault on student publications

during the 80’s. Media projects were removed from countless school budgets and many teachers that encouraged

alternative opinions were denied tenure.
There was also a landmark court case which asserted that high school

publications are NOT protected by the First Amendment . (I’ll try to track it down after work.)

[a.k.a.]

(I’ll try to track it

down after work.)

Here it is:

" In the 1969 court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent

Community School District, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that students in public schools are entitled to First

Amendment rights, provided their methods of free expression are not disruptive or vulgar. According to the majority

opinion, written by Justice Abe Fortas, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their

constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Nearly two decades later, in the

1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case, the court revised its stance and ruled that public school

administrators can censor student speech in newspapers, yearbooks, and other official school publications, even if

the speech is not disruptive or indecent. In that decision, Justice Byron White argued: “[We] hold that educators do

not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in

school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical

concerns.” These concerns include teachers’ abilities to instruct their classes and the orderly operation of

schools. As a result of Hazelwood, censorship in public schools has become commonplace. In addition, even though

college newspapers were not technically affected by the Hazelwood decision, they too have been repeatedly censored.

"

http://www.enotes.com/free-speech-limits/

[tim929]

Constitution? Whats a

constitution? Ever seen the U.S.A. Patriot act? By 2007 when you purchase alcohol or tobacco your drivers license

will be swiped thru a scanner to determine if you have any outstanding warrents.The system is run directly thru the

NCIC computer network used by the F.B.I. and local,county and state police departments.it will also be in limited

use in places like resturaunts that offer delivery...like pizza joints.And dont even begin to get me started on

technologies like RFID.Our constitution is realy nothing more than a technicality at this point.So why should

students even bother?