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Negative effects of censorship in schools
Censorship in schools cons
Censorship in schools cons
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High School Journalism: Breaking the Barriers
Throughout the many trials and tribulations of the adolescent years teenagers try to find many different ways to express themselves and discover who they are. There are different forms of expression including music, art, fashion, and, of course, writing. Whether it is through a personal journal used to express private feelings, or through the high school publications such as the school newspaper or yearbook. These forms of expression give teens an outlet for creativity and a sense of accomplishment. They also teach time management skills such as meeting deadlines, and help develop a work-based environment with other. While these publications remain important to students, school authorities continually challenge them.
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.
For example, one h...
At Hazel East High School, the school has a sponsored newspaper called “The Spectrum” that is written and edited by the students. On May of 1983, the high school principal, Robert E. Reynolds, received the edited version of the May 13th edition. Upon inspecting the paper he found two articles that he found “inappropriate.” The two articles contained stories about divorce and teen pregnancy. The article on divorce featured a student who blamed her father’s actions for her parents’ divorce. The following article featured students at Hazelwood East and their experiences as teen parents in high school. Reynolds immediately asked for the two articles to be withheld from that weeks edition. Reynolds had concluded fairness required the father in the divorce article to be informed of the article and given the chance to make any comments. He also stated that changing the names of the girls in the teen pregnancy article may not be sufficient enough to keep them unidentified. Also, the topic is not suitable for younger students. As a result he forbid the two articles from being published. On October 13, 1987 Cathy Kuhlmeier (a student at Hazelwood East High) claimed that Hazelwood East High School was violating her First Amendment rights, and her case was
Every teenager has the same exact problem: high school. The conflicts, drama, and social assemblage is a part of every high school student experience at his or her different campus. While most students determine that there is no single adult that has any idea of the situations and circumstances that each person faces in their daily life, they are unbelievably mistaken. Novelist and screenwriter, Stephan Chbosky, perfectly captures these issues in a mature, thematic experience that every teen can relate to. And for some odd reason, some individuals feel that this coming-of-age story needs to be banned from public libraries and schools throughout our nation.
... the established case law because of the schools ability to limit those freedoms. When looking at restricting or granting student or group speech administrators must be consistent, because allowing one student or group to expression their First Amendment right opens a door for other student or groups that can be difficult to close. The institution should have clear policies that designate Public Forums, Designated Public Forums, Limited Public Forums, and Non-public Forms. Furthermore, a policy should be created explaining a student’s rights with procedures for a student to redress grievances. Beyond the established policies, administers must be aware of (and have training in) student rights, but should also understand the breadth of power public institutions have to restrict those freedoms when the expression of those freedoms would cause disruption to the school.
Students in high school should be able to wright what they want. Freedom of press states,” The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives newspapers, magazines, and other publications the right to print whatever they see fit, without interference from the government. The framers of the Constitution felt that a free press is vital to a democratic society. This important idea breaks down when schools
To continue, it is very rare that one reads or hears about the good teens do for society. Rather, journalists and publicists seem to enjoy highlighting the acts that hurt teens' images. For example, in an article of last year's (1998) "Teen People Magazine", an article told about the recent high-school shootings. One of these incidents occurred when a young boy brought his father's rifle to school and started shooting people. As a result, the boy shot and killed four schoolmates and a 32-year-old teacher. This and other incidents of the sort give teenagers a very bad image. The article shows that some teens are irresponsible and not very smart.
Agreeing with this matter is Andy Johnson, a current high school football player who says, that "They [the students] should be able to say what they want. Freedom of speech. If they
All people in the United States are guaranteed this right by the Constitution. Students, however, do not have this right to the same extent as adults. This is because public schools are required to protect all students at the school. The major aspects of this right are speech and dress. Both the right to speech and dress are not absolute in public high schools. According to the American Civil Liberties Union: "You (students) have a right to express your opinions as long as you do so in a way that doesn't 'materially and substantially' dirsupt classes or other school activities. If you hold a protest on the school steps and block the entrance to the building, school officials can stop you. They can probably also stop you from using language they think is 'vulgar or indecent'("Ask Sybil Libert" ACLU 1998). Public schools can also restrict student dress. In 1987 in Harper v. Edgewood Board of Education the court upheld "a dress regulation that required students to 'dress in conformity wit hthe accepted standards of the community'"(Whalen 72). This means that schools can restrict clothing with vulgarities and such, but they cannot restrict religious clothing: "School officials must accomodate student's religious beliefs by permitting the wearing of religious clothing when such clothing must be worn during the school day as a part of the student's religious practice"(Whalen 78).
Id. at 261. The school argued that the school newspaper was written and edited by a journalism class, as part of the school's curriculum, as well as, pursuant to the school's practice, the teacher in charge of the paper submitted page proofs to the school's principal. Id. at 262. Therefore, it did not classify as a public forum for public expression, meaning that no first amendment rights were violated by the school by exercising editorial control over the content of the article. Id. at
Pressures outside of school itself are also very apparent in adolescent’s lives. These other influences on their behavior can affect how well they fit in or how much effort they put in to doing so. It is not always easy for teens to balance e...
The topics that some people believe are not appropriate (partying and dating) are actually relevant to teen life. One would think that if an article is, in fact, relevant to teen lives then it should be able to be published, topic aside. Let’s take partying for example. The fact of the matter is that teens party, whether it be a small get together or a large bonfire behind so-and-so’s
Teenagers are actually the worst thing ever. Not only is this the point in life where they are able to freely explore without relying so heavily on their parents, it is a period of storm and stress (Koenig Lecture, 2015). Regardless of how hard it is to get through it, adolescence is a crucial point in life, and I find it interesting enough to share with you, I hope you find it interesting too.
The yearbook played such a large role in the end-of -year activities because the teachers and administrators believed that it gave a tremendous sense of belonging. The “x” factor of adolescence and peer-group “clicks” constructed filters, and it seemed, this prevented school personnel from seeing the yearbook as exclusionary. Although the yearbook was viewed as a symbol of equality for all students, only a particular population of students was made to feel as if they belonged to this club. Other students remained outsiders.
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.
Do students really have the freedom of speech, expression,and religion in a school? Can I say this? Can I wear this? Can I pray at lunch today? These are questions students ask themselves on a daily bases, but they really shouldn't worry because all American students are given those rights in the Constitution. Should all those rights just disappear because you are in a school? There has been lots of Federal Court cases that have helped students rights and took away student right. I hope to inform you about some of the most controversial ones.
Because I am a journalism student, I have talked, researched and discussed with many of my fellow students and faculty members about the topics above. I am choosing to talk about this because I think it is important and they are pertinent issues in the journalism field. I am also very interested in this topic, so I thought it would be fun to take the opportunity you gave us to design our own multi-part question and write about something in journalism that is appealing to me.