Mary+Koke

=**When is it okay, if ever, for a school to censor or limit the speech or expressions of a student?**=



Free Speech in schools is a pretty big deal. If we weren't protected by our first amendment rights we would not be able to say what we want anywhere. The big question is, does this still apply inside a school environment, where the only reason why you're there is to learn? And if so, to what extent does it apply? Many people believe that students should not have the full extent of their free speech rights while they are in school, because they aren't there to address politics or their beliefs, but instead to learn. I believe that students should be able to express their opinions in school though because another responsibility of school officials is to develop younger generations to become good members of society, which includes teaching them how to express their opinions in peaceful and reasonable ways.

their opinion without using violence. ||< May cause disruptions in schools. || oppressed. ||< People could use their freedom to hurt other people. || would be able to do something about it. ||< Students with unpopular opinions could add tension to the school environment. || at school-- they may have a problem with this. || (sources from table) Moser, Josh. "40 Years after Tinker vs. Des Moines, Part II." //Examiner.com//. N.p., 25 June 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
 * ~ __**Advantages to Freedom of Speech in schools**__ ||~ __**Disadvantages to freedom of speech in schools**__ ||
 * < Students are taught acceptable ways to express
 * < People are able to share their opinion and not feel
 * < If a student doesn't agree with something he/she
 * < Students can make decisions for themselves ||< Parents won't be able to censor what their child hears

Cases being discussed: Can a student be expelled for writing a poem about violence in school that is written in first-person? Court Ruling: Yes they can, the school did not violate any First Amendment Rights becasue they had reason to believe that violence could come of it.
 * Laine v. Blaine School District:

"LaVINE v. BLAINE SCHOOL DISTRICT." //United States Court of Appeals,Ninth Circuit.// FIndLaw, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.

Can a school make a student not wear things that show their political opinion to school, even if their opinion is controversial and unpopular? Court Ruling: No, a school can not make students hide their political opinion, even if it is unpopular.
 * Tinker v. Des Moines:

"TINKER ET AL. v. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ET AL." //Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist., 393 US 503 - Supreme Court 1969//. Google Scholar, 1969. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Can a school limit what a student says in a speech and provide disciplinary action if the speech includes innapropriate material? Ruling: Yes they can.
 * Bethel v. Fraser:

"BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 403 ET AL. v. FRASER, A MINOR, ET AL." //Bethel School Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 US 675 - Supreme Court 1986//. Google Scholar, 1986. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

REFLECTION:

To take away a student’s right to freedom of speech just because they are in a school would be against one of basic building blocks of our country. Some say that a school is simply not the place for these kinds of opinions to be spoken but I disagree. The definition of school is: “ an institution  where <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">instruction is <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> given, especially to persons <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">under college age” (school). Eventually, younger generations become the older generation that runs this country, and even the world, so if they are not taught to express their opinion in a reasonable way without the use of violence than the world will end up in chaos when those same students who weren’t taught those things are running it. By definition, the school is a place of learning, and although math, English, science, and history are important they won’t get you anywhere if you are not able to have an educated conversation with someone of an opposing opinion without losing your temper. There is no contest as to whether freedom of speech should be allowed in school, but rather where to draw the line between a healthy opinion, and an opinion that is detrimental to the school environment. This does not mean an unpopular opinion, but an opinion that could hurt the other students in the school, or one that would cause disruptions in the school that would make it hard to learn.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"School." //Dictionary.com//. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Works Cited:

Allie. "Free Speech Ain't Always So Pretty." The Law Street Journal. N.p., 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

Austin, Matthew. "Anti-Bullying Laws Could Lead to Anti-Free Speech Policy." NewsReal Blog RSS. N.p., 21 May 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <[|http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/05/21/anti-bullying-laws-could-lead-to-anti-free-speech-policy></http]:>.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">"BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 403 ET AL. v. FRASER, A MINOR, ET AL." //Bethel School Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 US 675 - Supreme Court 1986//. Google Scholar, 1986. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">"LaVINE v. BLAINE SCHOOL DISTRICT." //United States Court of Appeals,Ninth Circuit.// FIndLaw, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Moser, Josh. "40 Years after Tinker vs. Des Moines, Part II." //Examiner.com//. N.p., 25 June 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"School." //Dictionary.com//. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">"TINKER ET AL. v. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ET AL." //Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist., 393 US 503 - Supreme Court 1969//. Google Scholar, 1969. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">(I tried to indent after the first line but it wouldn't let me...)