First Amendment

I'll never forget the time, not so long ago, when the school superintendent at the school I was teaching in explained to my American Government class that the petition some had brought to a recent school board meeting was not going to be put on the agenda. He then pointed out to them all that they were not citizens, only students. As such they had no right to petition the board no matter their concerns. Then he wheeled around and left the room. I'm sorry to report that we, none of us brought suit. I wish I could relive that moment in my personal history. Don't let that happen again.

I would discuss the attempts by certain groups and individuals to restrict free speech and why these initiatives are bad for all Americans and threaten the Constitution itself.

I am not only talking about legislation, I am talking about how the current adminstration uses FUD and other questionalble practices (like leaking the name of a CIA operative) to squelch opposing opinions.

I would show, by example, how suppressing free speech helped lead us to the problems we have now in Iraq.

EricJP

mtully has it exactly right. What Hank suggests makes a very good blog entry, but less so for a talk at a high school. From my own experiences on the other side of those talks, when you mention old people in charge, the kids tune out. The example given about Cheney, while egregious, is a fact of life to the average high school student. Remember, they've spent a minimum of 9 years previously learning the not-so-subtle lesson that what the Old People In Charge say is The Law.

Show them that there's something in it for them in all of this. The first examples that always comes to mind for me are the cases about the students who wore black armbands to class to protest the Vietnam War. It's an especially good example for high schoolers because 1. it shows them that there are rights that apply to them, and that can matter right now, and 2. since the students won, it's a great message that some of the Old People In Charge will be on their side sometimes, even right now.

Cram it into their brains that the principle of the Separation of Church and State is what allows religion to thrive in this country in the first place and that all religious people should be defending that principle because it ultimately protects their own (and everyone else's) religious freedom.

C’mon. They’re high school students (think MySpace) and you’re a blogger.

“You find out the chemistry final exam key has many errors in it and that these errors have caused several students to fail. While talking to your friends at lunch, you mention that you are planning to post it on your MySpace page. One of your “friends” tells the chemistry teacher he is about to get dis’d on MySpace and the teacher informs the principal. Next thing you know the principal calls you into his office. He asks you if you know that by exposing this you will hurt the confidence of students in chemistry course. You answer defiantly that, ‘that is not my problem.’ The principal then tells you that you’re a threat to the entire school system and if you write about the chemistry final on MySpace you will be permanently expelled from school and all your grades will be changed to F’s.”

This boys and girls, is something called Prior Restraint. Now let me introduce you to a little thing known as The Pentagon Papers.

Talk about something like Vice President Dick Cheney (and too many others) saying point-blank that anyone who criticizes the president, or disagrees with the president, or anyone who questions the government in a time of "war", is a traitor.

Make the point that THOSE people are the ones who don't understand America, and are the traitors (use some softer word) to American ideals.

There are definite times when you might hold your tongue, just out of discretion, but anytime anyone in government is telling you're a traitor if you DON'T, it's they who don't understand the concept of the First Amendment, and who are veering away from the basic concepts that make America what it is.

I am having a difficult time imagining the school administration that can handle a real confrontation with the importance of free speech, but then my kids were always in trouble for speech when they were in school.

If you want to never be asked back:

- The absolutely universal reaction to make people shut up who are saying things you don't like
- People vs. Larry Flynt
- Tom Sawyer vs. "People against the N-word"
- Only offensive speech really needs protection
- Profanity, just get over it
- If you have not confronted ideas that made your blood boil, and had to control your passions and make a rational reply, you are not ready for life in a democracy.
- Holocaust deniers & assorted skinheads
- Interpersonal free speech (On that strain, one of my sons, carrying a copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, was threatened by a black student who saw the swastika and thought it was neo-Nazi lit)
- Why 'free speech' does NOT apply to religion in science class or government communication
- ...and how it DOES apply everywhere else, or "Why Scientologists are running around loose"
- The responsibility to look beyond immediate offense to find meaning in context

Just a few thoughts. What a fantastic project you have taken on. Keep us posted!

Does it have a newspaper? If so, I suggest you include something about how school newspapers in…the state in which you live…(and in which I, too, live) possess more freedoms than pretty much the rest of the country.

Or perhaps compare US schools to those in countries without free speech laws; mention how girls in Afghanistan were only permitted in schools a few years ago.

Methinks the gist should be about how kids generally don't know how important their freedoms are. A 2005 study by the Knight Foundation showed that 36% of high school students take their rights for granted, and only 27% "personally think about them". 75% believed flag burning was illegal, and almost half believed that the government could restrict indecent Internet content.

In fact, it also showed that, in general, students at schools with newspapers were more knowledgeable of their 1st Amendment rights.

Well, good luck. Incidentally, does this school also have a "Day" for every ethnicity imaginable? Mine does, and I get quite annoyed by school-sponsored events teaching people to be moral (am I the only one?).